Rocky-Hannity debate tickets snapped up

When tickets for the on-again, off-again showdown between Sean Hannity and Rocky Anderson finally went on sale Thursday morning, it took less than two hours for fans to grab them all up.

Tickets for the May 4 debate between the Salt Lake City mayor and the conservative radio and TV talk-show host went on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday. By 11:45 a.m., they were sold out, ticket agents said.

After all the hype surrounding the debate since Hannity first issued the challenge in early March, no one was surprised by the quick sell-out.

"I think everybody anticipated the tickets to go that quickly," said Brian Burton, programming adviser for the Associated Students of the University of Utah. "There was a big interest expressed from the public, and students, as well."

Anderson and Hannity will debate the war in Iraq, which Anderson opposes and Hannity supports, and Anderson's calls for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, which Hannity opposes.

The debate will be held at Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus, which has a capacity of more than 1,900. ASUU held 900 tickets for U. students for $5; the rest were sold to the general public for $20 each.

That means ticket sales brought in nearly $25,000, minus the debate's operating costs, to be split three ways among the Guadalupe Schools, Primary Children's Medical Center and a scholarship at the university.

Burton said Anderson, Hannity and university officials have all signed a contract that spells out the terms of the debate, including format, date, time, place, media policy, promotions and moderator. The moderator will be KUED associate director Ken Verdoia.

The face-off started as an off-the-cuff challenge by Hannity on his radio show, which airs locally on KSL Newsradio. After the Fox News Channel canceled a planned appearance by Anderson on the "Hannity and Colmes" TV show, the mayor told reporters he suspected Hannity may have been afraid to debate him.

When a caller from Salt Lake to the radio show told Hannity of Anderson's comments, the talk-show host said, "I will fly out to Salt Lake City at my own expense for charity, and I will debate the merits of the war, impeachment and the liberal-conservative debate of our time."

Anderson's response: "I look forward to it."

But as recently as Monday, doubts remained as to whether the debate would happen.