Two days ago, I diaried how tickets disappeared in ten minutes for a January 22 speech by Al Gore, who will give the keynote address at Boise State University's upcoming conference on climate change. This morning, Boise State officials announced that Gore's talk will be moved to the on-campus Taco Bell Arena.
I'm glad they are making the move and opening Gore's speech up to all who want to hear him. (There were more than a thousand people in line when tickets were released Wednesday, and many more came during the day for tickets, only to hear they'd swiftly been given away.) This seems to be another sign that Boise State's famous Smurf Turf isn't the only part of Boise that's blue.
Here's the release from Boise State:
The Frank Church Institute announced today that due to the high demand for tickets, former Vice President Al Gore’s keynote speech, “Global Warming: Beyond the Inconvenient Truth,” has been moved to the Taco Bell Arena at Boise State University. Gore is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Jan. 22.
All tickets distributed on Jan. 3 will be honored, and those who purchased reserved tickets will be seated in a special section on the floor. In addition, 1,000 free tickets have been set aside for Boise State students.
Additional general admission tickets will be available beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, at the Taco Bell Arena Box Office, at (208) 426-1766, at all Select-a-Seat locations, and online at www.idahotickets.com. Tickets are $5, including all service fees. Students can pick up their free tickets (limit of two free tickets per student) with student identification at the Taco Bell Arena Box Office and at the Student Union Info Desk.
The remaining sessions of the daylong global warming conference, scheduled from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., will remain in the Student Union Jordan Ballroom and are free and open to the public. No tickets are required to attend these sessions.
I am a little miffed that the Frank Church Institute event planners didn't foresee the demand for Gore. Like many who were turned away Wednesday when the free tickets disappeared, I sprung for a $50 reserved seat and abandoned plans to take my 12-year-old daughter along.
Now she can go, too, but we can't sit together. Bah. But seeing how much of a rock star Al Gore is these days, maybe she can find some friends to go, perhaps for extra credit in their science class. I think I might mention that to her teacher ...