ELVIS TICKETS NOT GOING AS FAST AS IN THE PAST
Everyone wanted Elvis Presley to come back, and he’s coming back, but the concert is not selling well this time. The last time Presley came to Abilene, the tickets were sold out within several days of the concerts, but this time, plenty of tickets are still available.
Rumors have floated around town that because the concert has not sold out, Elvis may cancel his appearance here. Dennis Templeton, manager of the Taylor County Coliseum, said the rumors are not true.
“He’s coming,” Templeton said. “He’ll be here. I’ve talked to them every day. He’s already started his tour, and it’s too late to go to another building to fill the date. They wouldn’t have time to get another building or print and sell tickets. It’s firm – I wouldn’t worry about it.”
The most obvious reason the tickets are not selling is that they are priced so high this time - $15, $12.50, and $10, the bulk of those being $15 tickets. But the high prices also help to guarantee that Presley will not cancel the concert, Templeton said.
“His ticket prices are so high he’s already got over $70,000 in the bank,” Templeton said. “They’re not going to turn that down. They can’t afford the labor to refund all that.”
The stories about the elaborate security and secrecy surrounding the arrangements for one of Presley’s concerts are true, Templeton said.
“They do keep it a secret where he’s going to be staying,” he said. “I feel sorry for the guy. It’s bad that they have to do that, but they do.”
Templeton recalled a past experience he had with a Presley concert, when the secret leaded out.
“When I was working for the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show,” he said, “We had him at the Astrodome. We took him to Astroworld Hotel across the street, where he had a whole top floor. But the girls found out about it.”
Presley and his crew were mobbed. Templeton said, as they were driving their vans to the hotel. “They knocked my boss flat on his back,” Templeton said. “They would destroy him. It’s dangerous. He has to do it, just for his own safety. He couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t eat without it. I don’t know why people react this way, but for Elvis, they do.”
No one needs bother with trying to find out where Presley will be staying, Templeton said, because he will not be spending the night in Abilene. “They had planned to” he said, “but they’re not. He’s going to fly in and fly out Sunday night.
Tickets for the concert, priced at $15, $12.50, and $10, will be available at the door Sunday night. The concert begins at 8:30 p.m.
Robert Williams, Abilene, Texas. Sunday morning 27 March 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfJv3fXyysA