BTS “Ticket War” Leaves El Paso Fans Refreshing, Crying and Fighting for a Seat

EL PASO, Texas — For many fans, getting tickets to see BTS in El Paso was more than a routine online purchase.

It was a battle.

BTS, the South Korean group known for selling out stadiums around the world, has built a massive following often referred to as the BTS Army. The group has walked red carpets, earned Grammy nominations and drawn enormous crowds globally.

This comeback tour carries extra weight for many fans because the members had not performed together for years while several completed South Korea’s mandatory military service, a requirement for most able-bodied men in the country.

For fans, that meant this was not just another concert.

It was a reunion many had waited more than four years to see.

When tickets for the Sun Bowl dropped in January, Bella Tate was one of the fans trying to get in.

To even have a shot at presale, fans first had to purchase a BTS membership through Weverse. Then they had to apply separately for presale access.

Tate said she missed that second step.

“Well, I got the Army membership, but I didn’t know that there was an application you had to fill out to get the presale access… so that’s why I couldn’t get into the presale,” Bella said.

That meant waiting for the general sale.

Bella said the night before, she was so anxious she could barely sleep.

“I was stressing so much. I was so scared that there’d be too many people and that I would not have a chance to get tickets,” she said.

When the queue opened, the pressure only got worse.

“When I got in the queue, there was 21,000 people in front of me, and I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to get tickets,” Bella said.

Then came the heartbreak.

Tate said tickets kept appearing and disappearing as she tried to select them.

“When I was clicking for the ticket there, it kept saying that they no longer available… and that happened like five times,” she said.

Still, she kept trying.

“When they kept saying the tickets weren’t available, that’s when I was like, there’s no way I’m going to take it. So my mom kept encouraging me to keep trying,” Bella said.

Then, finally, she got through.

“At first, I was crying because I think I was in shock… but then, like, after a couple minutes, I was like, oh my God, I got these tickets. So it’s just so happy. I was screaming,” she said.

Tate was not the only one capturing that emotional moment. Fans across social media posted videos of themselves crying, freezing in disbelief and reacting with shock and happiness as they secured tickets.

Within hours, both Sun Bowl shows had sold out.

On resale sites like StubHub, some ticket prices climbed dramatically. Front row VIP seats were listed for as high as $11,355, while some lower bowl seats also jumped into the thousands.

For Tate, though, the moment meant more than a seat inside a stadium.

“This ticket means so much to me because I’ve waited since years after their military service… I wasn’t sure if they were going to come back together, but they did and I’m so excited,” she said.

This story is part of ABC-7’s mini-series “BTS Countdown.” Next week, we’ll show how one young BTS fan is helping out-of-town visitors get ready for their trip to El Paso.