Garth Brooks to play 6 concerts in Saskatoon with record-breaking ticket sales

Garth Brooks has broken the ticket sales record for the province of Saskatchewan, selling over 86,000 tickets forhis six June performances.

The previous record was held by the Rolling Stones when they played two shows in October 2006 at Regina'sMosaic Stadium. They sold 80,127 tickets.

Within thefirst 16 minutes of ticket sales, Brooksbrokehisrecord in the Bridge City selling40,525 tickets. His previous record was set in August 1996 when he sold 28,144 tickets.

He originally announced that his first stop in 20 years would be on June 11 at 7 p.m. CST at SaskTel Centre. But as tickets went on sale Friday morning, five more shows were announced.

He will now play sixshows (CST) at SaskTel Centre:

• 7:30 p.m. on June 9.
• 7 p.m. on June 10.
• 10:30 p.m.on June 10.
• 7 p.m. p.m. on June 11.
• 10:30 p.m. on June 11.
• 7:30 p.m. on June 12.

The superstar country singer will be stopping in Saskatoonas part of his world tour with his wife Trisha Yearwood.

Tickets are priced at $79.98 with an eight-ticket limit.

Tickets for all six shows went on sale 10 a.m. and areavailable here.

Buyer beware

Fans of GarthBrooks should be careful when buying tickets from re-sellers or third-party websites,according to the provincial Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority.

The authority's consumer protection division has been receiving complaints about advertisements about ticket sales before the concert tickets went sale.

"They are trying to sell tickets they do not own," the media release said.

The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority has the following tips:

1. Don't buy phantom tickets

Consumers who purchase "pre-sale tickets" from "scalpers" or pre-sale websites may be subject to fraud and lose their money.

Consumers are reminded it is illegal to sell, advertise or list for saleany tickets to an event in Saskatchewan unless the tickets are in the seller's possession or control. If a seller does not hold a ticket, they may not sell it.

2. No botsallowed

It is illegal to use computer software (bots) to automatically buy tickets.

It isillegal to use or sell software to avoid or defeat a ticket seller's website security, control system or measures designed to ensure a fair and equitable ticket buying process.

3.Ticket Sales Act

The Ticket Sales Act and regulations have more details about advertising restrictions, pre-sales and additional rules to protect consumers.

4. Report fraud and illegal ticket sales

If consumers wish to file a formal complaint or report fraud about pre-sold tickets, they can contact the Consumer Protection Division toll free at 1-877-880-5550 or atconsumerprotection@gov.sk.ca.