This article has been updated to reflect the National Policy Institute's statements.
Tickets for Richard Spencer’s talk Thursday will not be able distributed until the day of the event, a spokesperson for National Policy Institute said.
Evan McLaren said the distribution was postponed from Saturday to Thursday after the institute heard two Gainesville bars, The Midnight and Tall Paul’s, were going to give beer to anyone who turned in a ticket.
“These obstacles that we are faced with are a little bit tricky,” McLaren said. “We were not really excited about the ticketing arrangements to begin with.”
The institute wants to give tickets to both supporters and people who want to learn more about the ideas Spencer will discuss, McLaren said. He called the events they have held at Texas A&M University and Auburn University successful because there was an audience with a diversity of perspectives.
“That gives rise to dialogue that we are interested in,” he said. “We are just thinking of the end goal, to have a good event.”
McLaren said the institute will announce Thursday where and when they will distribute tickets.
Editor's Note: The University of Florida has been advised that the event organizer has decided to distribute its own tickets in lieu of using the University’s box office at the Phillips Center. The university has no other information on tickets for this event scheduled for Oct. 19, despite rumors of tickets being available starting tomorrow at the Phillips Center. The following information is outdated, as of Oct. 14.
The National Policy Institute announced Friday how it will distribute tickets for Richard Spencer’s upcoming Thursday speech.
Tickets for the event will be available for pickup from the box office at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, located at 3201 Hull Road, from noon to 6 p.m. starting Saturday until Wednesday, excluding Sunday.
Tickets will not be available for pickup the day of the event, according to AltRight.com.
UF spokesperson Janine Sikes said UF was not involved with ticket distribution plans. As of Friday afternoon, the school was still unsure if the 800 tickets would even be distributed Saturday.
“This is (NPI’s) event. This is a private organization hosting a private event,” she said. “They get to dictate how and when tickets are distributed.”
Tall Paul’s Brew House, located at 10 SE Second Ave., and The Midnight, located at 223 S. Main St., are both hosting events to give out free beer to anyone who turns in a ticket to the event at the bar.
David Ayers, the manager of The Midnight, said the tickets would be distributed to protesters of Spencer.
“It’s a protest of the speaker who’s coming to campus,” he said. “The idea is to get as few people or as many protesters in stands as possible.”
Richard Spencer
