Looks like four-day passes for NEXT YEAR’s San Diego Comic-Con are selling out pretty quickly.

Honestly, this is just…INSANE. At this rate, the show is going to be sold out six months ahead of time. It really is like a concert or sporting event now.

1 COMMENT

  1. 70% and counting…

    Of course, one could always buy the four days individually. Unless CCI:SD plans to sell those tickets on site.

    IF people are purchasing just one or two day tickets, then I suspect the dealer floor will be more crowded, as people “marathon” what would be four days of fandom into one. That’s good for the retailers (new customers every day), and possibly good for the panels (not as many people camping in line for hours).

    Myself, my two big cons will be C2E2 and NYCC. Perhaps Dragon*Con as well. San Diego is too much, and I’ve done it already.

  2. The average attendance at a Dodgers or Yankees regular season game is 45,000. A typical Dallas Cowboys game is 90,000. Comic Con sellouts are going to be the norm and it will happen earlier and earlier even as the price goes up. The amount of entertainment you get for $100 is amazing. For every one lost comic fan, there will be 2 pop culture fans to take his place.

  3. Of course with Dragoncon, it is other events that are part of the reason that the hotels are sold out. The day the Marriott, the most popular hotel, went on sale at con rates it was a lot like Hotel day for San Diego.

  4. Perhaps it’s time to extend it past 4 1/2 days?

    How about 10 days beginning Friday and extending to the second Sunday after?

  5. Even though I get in as press, I’m having a hard time deciding if I should go or not. This year was the most crowded and stressful SDCC in the decade that I’ve been going. Regardless, I’m pretty sure my husband is not interested in attending next year; this may be my first work-only con.

  6. i’m curious about who is buying the tickets this far in advance.

    with the show selling out these last couple of years coinciding with plummeting sales for comic sellers, publishers and creators, i’d suspect that it’s hollywood studios buying large blocks of passes (and booking up the hotels) for their employees, marketers, assistants, p.r. people, etc… leaving fewer and fewer tickets for fans, and no tickets for casual fans. which means fewer sales for us comics people.

    i dunno… this is all speculation, but even though they say the show has sold out in ’08 and ’09, it seems like there were more people in ’06 and ’07… but maybe all those new people are just movie people and the comics people aren’t getting in. if this trend continues, my tenth year may be my last year to exhibit at SDCC.

  7. That show and all their exclusive Hollywood crap can suck it.

    I’d rather attend a smaller “comic” show than that ego-fueled, VIP in-crowd

  8. If more folks are planning this far ahead on tickets, then more folks will plan ahead on hotels. That’s my larger concern. Like Matt Maxwell, I’m a working professional so getting *in* is not the problem, it’s how (and where) to *stay* in.

    Last year a lot of attendees jumped on at the last minute because Twilight was announced, but 2010 has yet to announce their Hollywood lineup and still it’s already huge which could possibly impact early hotel arrangements (and on the SDCC hotel travel desk.. more computer lottery woes).

    I didn’t want to drive to San Diego again in 2010, but if the affordable hotels / rooms are farther out then I might need wheels to get back and forth.

    But I’m happy to see this show do so well, and once again I tip my hat to the organizers and I will be there. I’m lucky to live in the same state.

  9. Tom’s theory about Hollywood buying tickets for their *staff* and *handlers* is plausible.

    I’m not sure how many tickets they’d soak up, but if they have big plans then I’m sure it’s not a small group, either. If anything… I would add that theory to the pot and stir it all up.

  10. If you need to commute, I recommend the Coaster, which runs from Oceanside to San Diego. No Sunday service, $13.00 round trip. $14.00 for a day pass gets you trolley service as well.
    http://www.gonctd.com/coaster_intro.htm

    If you’re out by Oceanside, take a day and visit the Nixon Library, Carlsbad Caverns, and/or LEGOland.

    Or search for hotels on the Blue Line SOUTH of the convention center. Lots of affordable rooms down in San Ysidro! (Also Bayfront and National City.)

  11. Well let’s see. My wife for one bought a ticket last week finally. A couple of weeks ago two buddies bought some of the last 4-Day+Preview tickets left (I bought mine at the Con). So seemingly “normal, ordinary” people are buying the tickets too. Oh, and we mainly buy indie comics that we don’t otherwise see.

    I get a bit weary of the complainers that blame Hollywood for ruining SDCC. I’ve been going since 1987 and have attended 12 of the last 13 years. And I have a blast every single year. YOU CAN AVOID THE STUDIOS. It’s a huge enough convention that everyone can coexist. See you there!

  12. austinspace – I’ve attended every one since 1985 -the year I moved out to California – and when I tell myself I’m going to sit one out one year, the time approaches and all of a sudden I lose my nerve and end up hopping on the next Amtrak.

    It’s a like a calling. A destiny you refuse to ignore.

    But I’m afraid that I’ll never get a table to sell or display my books down there ever again, because these Hollywood schmoes just ruin it for the little guy.

    ~

    Coat