Talk about waiting forever to cash in your Who tickets. In 1979 the band was forced to call off a show in Providence because of safety concerns cited by Mayor Buddy Cianci. Those concerns arose following a stampede before a show in Cincinnati, a tragic scene in which 11 people were killed.

This week The Who announced that they would return to Providence to play a show on Feb. 26, 2013 and the performance which will take place at the Dunkin Donuts Center while any tickets fans still have from 1979 will be honored.

The venue’s general manager Lawrence Lepore  announced the ticket exchange program on Thursday while noting that many ticket holders simply asked for a refund back in 1979. Tickets that are still left over have likely been turned into die-hard fan memorabilia which might make some fans decide to purchase new tickets rather than parting with their old ticket stubs.

According to Lepore:

“Somewhere, someplace, someone’s got it stashed. The question is, are they willing to give that up? If they are, we’re willing to take it.”

Lepore first asked fans to turn in their tickets during a WPRO-AM appearance but no one took him up on the offer at that time.

In 1979 a ticket cost $14 and today they range from $57.50 to $127.50. Based on those numbers buying a ticket in 1979 to see a show in 2013 is quite the return on investment.

Donated tickets from 1979 have an added bonus, they will be donated in an attempt to auction them off with proceeds going to support the Special Olympics of Rhode Island.

‘The Who’ Tickets From 1979 Can Be Redeemed At 2013 Providence Concert is a post from: The Inquisitr