Gators fans looking to buy football tickets for the next home game from someone on the street should be wary - they could be paying big bucks for counterfeit tickets.
Tommy Kleckley's niece traveled from New Hampshire to see her family and watch the Gators play the University of Alabama on Saturday.
Thanks to two bogus tickets, she never laid eyes on Florida Field.
Kleckley, 50, of Gainesville, said his niece, Katrice Sutherland, and her husband, Tim, who are both in their late 30s, bought tickets from a stranger on University Avenue on Saturday for about $100 apiece.
When they showed their tickets to the employees at the gates of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, employees said they were counterfeit.
"I knew quite a few people who got tickets on the street, and they were good, so that's why it really threw me," Kleckley said.
The Alabama game was the first this season that had a counterfeit ticket problem, said Margie Addison, director of ticket systems for the University Athletic Association Gator Ticket Office.
When reports of counterfeit ticketing roll in, the University Police Department sets up an area nearby to handle the problem.
People with counterfeit tickets are sent to the designated area, where UPD employees gather information so they can investigate and potentially find the people responsible, Addison said.
If there are tickets available for the game, people who purchased counterfeit tickets may be able to buy valid ones through the ticket office.
"We are hoping that most folks do not buy tickets on the street because they're taking a very big risk of counterfeit tickets," she said.
Maj. Brad Barber, UPD public information officer, said people should purchase tickets to athletic events from UAA or from a person they know.
The reselling of tickets is not allowed in any capacity on campus, Barber said.
If people are considering buying a ticket on the street, they can come to the ticket office to check them for validity.
Sellers often aren't willing to go to the ticket office to have them checked, though.
This may be a sign that the tickets are counterfeit, Addison said.
The south ticket plaza between Gates 1 and 2 is open from four hours before the game through halftime.
Employees can use their computer systems to determine whether the ticket bar codes have already been scanned to allow other people into the stadium, which is a sign of counterfeiting.
"We can do a visual and tell you whether it's good or bad in most cases," Addison said.
