OVO Fest ticket costs frustrate Drake fans as prices reach $900 for lawn seats

Just hold on, we’re going broke.

That was the sentiment shared by many Drake fans in Toronto on Friday as OVO Fest tickets became available for purchase, with prices soaring to as high as $900 for lawn admission and close to $2,000 for floor seats.

The Canadian pop star is set to host his first OVO Fest in two years after in-person events were sheltered due to the COVID-19 pandemic with a three-day, star-studded event slated for July 28, July 29 and August 1.

Understandably, fans got a little eager in anticipation for tickets as many waited hours in the queue on Ticketmaster before being subjected to sky-high prices.

When some got their hands on the highly coveted tickets, people were re-selling them for as high as $2,600.

Imagine spending more to sit ON THE GRASS AT OVO FEST than my mortgage payment.

Couldn’t be me. I’m all for spending money on experiences, but absolutely tf not.

Y’all done lost your minds @Ticketmaster

— Dani | Money & Travel Tips ????✈️ (@danicaSnelson) July 15, 2022

If Ticketmaster really think they could charge me $750 for OVO fest lawn tickets they best be performing on MY lawn.

— Kristina R (@dawandalorian) July 15, 2022

It’s 2022 and the situation isn’t any better for the Young Money Reunion. .@Drake, my guy, we have larger venues across the GTA. #ovofest https://t.co/xhz8mRyyvF

— Martin Hoang Nguyen (@TheMartinNguyen) July 15, 2022

https://twitter.com/TweetTweetTyler/status/1548050342050377730?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

$500 for lawn seats is crazy lmao.

— FOCUS ON YOURSELF???????????????????? (@Relly_95) July 15, 2022

One Drake fan based in Toronto tells CityNews that he waited in Ticketmaster’s queue for four hours before buying two lawn tickets for $650 apiece.

“That was right when it opened to the public, too,” Dan told CityNews in an email.

“I kept seeing people complaining online, and I don’t blame them. I know someone that had to buy one lawn ticket for $950… they weren’t happy about it. Ticketmaster didn’t make it any easier, that’s for sure.”

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The first concert on July 28 will feature “all Canadian North stars” at HISTORY on Queen Street East.

The second set will see Chris Brown and Lil Baby perform alongside Drake at Budweiser Stage on July 29.

Drake is bringing in the big guns for the August 1 show, with frequent collaborators Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj performing in the Young Money reunion at Budweiser Stage.

The Canadian superstar also caught the ire of some who were irritated by the short notice as Drake shared details of OVO Fest on Instagram only two days ago.

“OCTOBER WORLD WEEKEND. I am currently working on bringing OVO FEST around the world in 2023 for the 10th anniversary, but of course, we wanted to turn the city up for the summer!” Drake wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.

“More event announcements to come. Tickets on sale Friday at Ticketmaster.”

CityNews has reached out to Ticketmaster for comment.

The most recent OVO Fest took place in 2019.

OVO Fest first started in 2010 and has seen a vast collection of famous musical guests, including Kanye West, OutKast and Travis Scott.

Soaring concert ticket prices the new norm

In recent months, as consumer spending has gradually shifted away from goods and toward services like vacation travel, restaurants, meals, movies, and sporting events, the resulting higher demand has fueled high inflation in concerts, too.

According to the Globe and Mail, which cites concert data provider Pollstar, updated figures show that as of late June, the average ticket to one of the 100 most popular tours in North America cost US$108.20 — 17 per cent more than an average ticket in 2019.

Toronto concertgoers have had some rough luck lately, too.

On July 9, thousands of fans were disappointed and dejected as they arrived at the Rogers Centre to learn the highly anticipated start of The Weeknd’s world tour in his Toronto hometown was sidelined thanks to the nationwide Rogers network outage.

One woman who had tickets to the Toronto concert said it was another inconvenience for Canadian music fans who are trying to get back into the habit of buying tickets to live shows but too often find themselves left in the lurch.

In June, Justin Bieber postponed two concerts at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena only hours before he was set to perform, leaving fans to wander around outside the venue as reality sunk in.

The Stratford, Ont., pop singer would later say he pulled out because he was suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a form of facial paralysis.

With files from The Canadian Press