As the sun rose Saturday, Jerry Hoffert set out to the U.S. Bank Arena ticket box to schedule a visit with “The Boss.”

        “I've never missed a (Bruce) Springsteen concert yet,” the Fort Thomas man said in the midst of a 3 1/2-hour wait for a chance to rock 'n' roll with Mr. Springsteen and his band at the Nov. 12 concert.

        By day's end, several hundred tickets - all priced at $75 - were still available. But each of the 1,800 festival floor spots vanished 45 minutes after tickets went on sale at 10 a.m., said Jim Moehring, general manager of the arena.

        “Festival ticketing” was reinstated last week for the Springsteen concert after a 23-year absence. Before a Who concert in 1979 at then-Riverfront Coliseum, 11 people were killed as fans stampeded toward the doors as the gates opened.

        In addition to attending five Springsteen concerts, Mr. Hoffert, 44, was on hand for that Who show, albeit a bit late. By the time he arrived, he said, the scene was “gross” - with shoes, bodies and blood pools on the ground.

        Years later, he said the time is right to return to festival-style ticketing because today's crowd is “mostly middle-aged people who should know better.”

        Mr. Moehring says he's heard mixed opinions about the return of standing-room-only festival tickets, but pointed out that only 11 percent of the stadium will be first-come, first-serve.

        Mr. Moehring, who declined to say how many seats were sold Saturday, said he expects tickets to be available until Tuesday. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or charged by phone at 562-4949.

        Mike Thompson, 36, of Harrison was the first to arrive at the arena Saturday, just before 6:30 a.m.

        But by the time the first ticket was purchased, another 75 fans had gathered.

        Bobbye Gresh of Edgewood and her friend Kim Ciraulo of Newport were among dozens who lined up at the arena hours before tickets went on sale.

        ““We are all in our 30s now, so I don't imagine us trouncing each other to get in,” Ms. Gresh said. “I don't imagine a lot of people sitting at a Bruce Springsteen concert anyway.”

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