Surry Business

Ticketmaster, the world’s leading ticketing company, plans to open 58 Ticketmaster retail ticket centers in Lowes Foods stores in North Carolina.

Fifteen Piedmont Triad-area Lowes Foods Ticketmaster locations will begin selling tickets on Saturday, Dec. 15, and the remaining locations will follow in early 2008.

Ticketmaster said tickets to events at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, the Winston-Salem Sports and Entertainment Complex and other venues throughout the Carolinas and surrounding areas will be available for purchase seven days a week at selected Lowes Foods stores during normal hours of operation. None are in Surry County, where Lowes Foods has stores in Mount Airy, Dobson and Pilot Mountain, but Ticketmaster’s announcement only identified 32 selected stores (15 in the Triad, 17 in the Triangle).

“Having Ticketmaster outlets in our stores is another great way of providing added convenience for our customers,” said Gary Watson, vice president of business support for Lowes Foods. “Many of our customers enjoy going to events at local venues. This way, they can easily purchase tickets when they are at Lowes Foods without having to make an additional special trip.”

“Through our agreement with Lowes Foods, fans of sports, music and other live entertainment will be better served by a greater number of retail locations for purchasing tickets,” said Sandy Gaare Sr., vice president of ticket centers for Ticketmaster. “Ticket Centers in Lowes Foods stores throughout the Triad and the state of North Carolina will offer consumers convenient access to purchase tickets to the events they want to attend and learn about new events coming to the area.”