When tickets went on sale for the Broadway show Wicked at the Campus Concierge desk this past February, over 100 students waited up to two hours for the chance to purchase them.
This is not an uncommon scene when big events go on sale at the Campus Concierge.
“Particularly when we sell events, Lion King and Wicked are always the most popular and sell out within minutes,” student worker Nathalie Rodriguez said. “Our manager actually did an analysis and when we sold Lion King a few weeks, ago we did one transaction per 14 seconds.”
Located in the hub of D’Angelo Center, the concierge serves as a place on campus where students can purchase discounted tickets to events in New York City and on campus. These events include Broadway shows, sporting events, dances, movies and local dining.
“We sell metro cards and movie tickets always,” Rodriguez said. “Our sporting events sell out too. Knicks tickets and Nets tickets always go quick.”
The Campus Concierge is a hotspot on campus and students utilize it not only for specials events, but on a daily basis as well. The most popular item the concierge has to offer is the MetroCard.
“We sell a couple hundred a month,” Christina Blanchard Coordinator of Campus Activities said. ”That’s probably our most popular item that goes throughout the year.”
Despite the recent fare raise for NYC, public transportation the concierge did not have to make any drastic adjustments to their MetroCard prices.
The concierge tries to cater to St. John’s students as they realize that life in New York City can be extremely expensive. They receive a yearly budget in which they buy tickets to events at full price. They then sell the tickets back to the students for a heavily discounted price and the budget is able to absorb the extra cost.
“I think definitely being someone not from the New York City area, its nice to know the campus is allowing people who might not be from around here to be able to experience all the things New York City has to offer at a discounted price,” Blanchard said. “At the end of the day, we are all
students and no one wants to pay full price for a Broadway ticket if they don’t have to.”
Later this semester, they will be offering tickets to the Broadway shows, Once and Mamma Mia. On Wednesday, a very anticipated item will most likely quickly sell out, tickets to the Knicks vs. Orlando Magic game. Additional ticket sales and specific information about events can be found on the St. John’s website.
They also offer discounted tickets to seasonal events such as the Christmas Spectacular and the Black and White Ball during Black History Month.
“I think [Campus Concierge] really popular,” Blanchard said. “I think it’s definitely beneficial. For the most part, we sell out of most of the events we buy. I think that in itself really speaks for the popularity of it.”
