PITT ARTS Cheap Seats Program Moves to Online-Only Ticket Sales for Cultural District Events

Issue Date: 
August 21, 2012

As the University of Pittsburgh’s popular PITT ARTS Cheap Seats program continues to grow, two changes will take effect this Fall Term.

Beginning Sept. 4, Cheap Seats tickets for venues in the Cultural District will be sold online only, through the PITT ARTS Web site. (Previously, customers could also visit the PITT ARTS office in 907 William Pitt Union to pay in person for Cultural District events tickets.) In addition, City Theatre has become a PITT ARTS program partner, enabling the Pitt community to enjoy discounted tickets for shows at that South Side venue.

PITT ARTS Director Annabelle Clippinger said the change in ticketing methods follows a move by “all of the Downtown Cultural District performing arts organizations in migrating completely to an online system for Cheap Seats.” Specifically, Cheap Seats tickets must be bought online through the PITT ARTS Web site (www.pittarts.pitt.edu/tickets) for performances and events occurring through the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and at the August Wilson Center, the Pittsburgh Opera, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh CLO, and CLO Cabaret.

Online buyers will no longer have to type in a PITT ARTS promo code when buying their Cheap Seats tickets online via the PITT ARTS Web site. The promo code is already applied when buyers visit a special link, and once a Cultural District account is established, buyers need only enter their user names and may make other Cheap Seats purchases. In addition, buyers will be able to choose their own seats and get a virtual view of the stage from their chosen seats when using the PITT ARTS Web site.

PITT ARTS partners with several additional arts organizations for Cheap Seats offerings. Tickets for events offered by those other organizations may be purchased either online or at the PITT ARTS office in 907 William Pitt Union.

Since its founding in 1997, PITT ARTS has been connecting the University’s Pittsburgh-campus students to the cultural life of the city. Funded by the Office of the Provost, PITT ARTS sponsors more than 110 free student outings for Pitt undergraduates each year. The program also provides on-campus art experiences and free museum visits for Pitt students, as well as discounted cultural opportunities for faculty, staff, and undergraduate and graduate students. Through the PITT ARTS program, there is a total Pittsburgh-area arts-events attendance of 50,000 annually made by Pitt students, some of them repeaters.