Free tickets for Muhammad Ali’s public memorial service in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, sold out in less than an hour Wednesday — and some greedy ticket holders immediately tried to turn a profit by selling them online for cash.
A total of 15,000 tickets were made available for the star-studded Friday service for the legendary boxing icon at the KFC Yum! Center.
Thousands of fans of the three-time heavyweight world champion flocked to the venue’s box office hours before it opened Wednesday to try to snag tickets for the service. Chants of “Ali” broke out as people waited in line, according to local media.
The tickets, which were only available at the box office, with a four-ticket-per-person limit, were given away on a first-come, first-served basis, and thousands left empty-handed.
But some lucky enough to scoop up the limited tickets went online to sites like Craigslist looking to cash in on the in-demand tickets by selling them for hundreds of dollars.
One holder was selling six tickets online for $100 each to the service at the 22,000-seat arena.
“Any links to Craigslist tickets are being sent to the Secret Service who are taking care of the issue,” said a spokeswoman for Ali’s family.
Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell told the Associated Press, “I’m personally disgusted and amazed that someone would try to profit off of Muhammad Ali’s memorial service.”
Gunnell added, “I hope that those buying tickets or trying to buy tickets would stop those efforts by not purchasing … Muhammad Ali wanted this to be a free event, an event that was open to all.”
The legendary fighter, who died Friday night at age 74 after a painful, decades-long struggle with Parkinson’s disease, will be eulogized by an array of dignitaries including former President Bill Clinton.
Some people even took to Craigslist to make a plea to buy tickets from holders.
One 57-year-old man from New York posted on the website that he was willing to pay $100 for a ticket.
“Hi, I am a 57 yr old disabled gentleman from NY who met & was inspired by Muhammad Ali,” wrote the man, who added that he will be traveling to Louisville on Thursday. “I am hoping someone locally will be kind enough to secure me 1 ticket so I may honor the respect & love that I have for the man who literally changed my life.”
Online users were also trying to hawk tickets for an Islamic funeral prayer service for Ali Thursday at the Freedom Hall arena in Louisville, which also made thousands of free tickets available.
One eBay user sold five tickets for $50 apiece.
