Despite high demand from Notre Dame students for tickets to the Feb. 3 New York Philharmonic performance at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, organizers still have not decided exactly how many tickets they will allocate to students.According to PAC Director of Audience Development Tom Barkes, 1,231 students entered the lottery to purchase tickets, which cost $25 each. The performance will be held in the Leyton Concert Hall, which seats 961.Barkes said while exact numbers would not be decided upon for a couple days, students would be allocated a "majority" of the tickets.He said that the PAC was setting aside tickets for multiple groups including faculty, community members and others, and organizers needed time to determine exactly how many tickets each group would receive.Barkes said he primarily worked on organization of the lottery, so PAC Executive Director John Haynes would likely decide final numbers and specific distribution methods for all groups. Haynes was not available for comment Monday. "There's a lot of different groups out there that are represented," Barkes said."The Philharmonic wanted some seats - they did not know how many people would be coming." Freshman Franciso Castillo said organizers seriously underestimated student demand and he was not hopeful about receiving a ticket. "I'm quite concerned. ... It's unfair. The University should try to just do more than one performance."Barkes said students and other individuals picked in the lottery would be e-mailed about their status during the next couple days. During winter break, the PAC sent an e-mail explaining the lottery process in which each student chosen would be able to purchase a single ticket. Students in the lottery had mixed reactions to the lottery system. "At least we're getting a fair chance," said graduate student Belinda Byrne. "I would've preferred it if there had been two tickets [per winning lottery number]."Because this was one of the first high-profile events of its kind at the PAC, Barkes said it was difficult to anticipate student interest exactly but organizers expected it to be high."I'm certainly pleased with the numbers of students that responded," he said.This performance marks the first time the PAC has used a lottery for student tickets, Barkes said."With the exception of very few events, students have been able to get into everything they've wanted to get into," he said.Although not particularly concerned about the lottery process, sophomore Margaret Auer said she intended to wait for the results and hoped to be chosen."It's something I personally was really interested in," she said.
