Fans grew frustrated after long entry lines caused delays at the Day 1 BTS concert in El Paso on Saturday, May 2, as the K-pop group’s ARIRANG world tour stopped in the city. Social media posts shared that fans waited in line for over an hour, and the concert was delayed about 45 minutes.
TikToker Kimberly told MySA that the lines were “chaos.” She said people were standing in “real lines,” and then those lines merged without staff direction. She said the staff didn’t really check bags and just scanned tickets. Kimberly waited about an hour and 45 minutes before entering the venue. She confirmed the concert was delayed for 45 minutes.
In another TikTok post, a fan shared that the fanbase, known as ARMY, had started to get “pissed” over the lines. Her video had nearly 200,000 views, with many people complaining in the comments. Someone wrote, “This is probably why it started 45 minutes late.” Another person said, “Got there at 6, had to walk the entire stadium to find the back of the line and didn’t even get to my seat until 8:20.”
In a statement, Sun Bowl Stadium officials said the delays were caused by a combination of technical issues and crowd flow, particularly at the venue’s main entrance. Officials said some Android devices experienced slower ticket scanning speeds, while roughly 30,000 fans attempted to enter through the north gate, creating long lines.
The venue said five gates were open, including the main north gate, southeast and southwest stairs and ramp, and a west gate designated for premium seating and ADA access.
According to the stadium, many fans arrived hours before doors opened, with some lining up as early as 9 a.m. for the 4 p.m. entry. General admission attendees also began queuing at least three hours before doors opened at 5:30 p.m., contributing to congestion.
Officials said the venue was fully staffed at ticketing and security checkpoints, but delays were worsened by slow scanning on non-iPhone devices and by fans arriving late due to heavy traffic and limited parking. Some attendees also had difficulty quickly accessing tickets, particularly if they had not downloaded them to their mobile wallets in advance.
To address the issue, stadium officials said they plan to begin scanning tickets earlier for future events, including the second day of the concert.
Despite the delays, officials said all ticketed attendees were admitted before or during the performance. They added that show producers worked with the venue to hold the start of the concert to allow more fans to enter.
The stadium also pushed back on some fan complaints, saying reports of insufficient signage were inaccurate. Officials said a signage plan was in place and that 46 Destination El Paso staff members were deployed to help guide attendees to the stadium.
The Day 2 BTS “ARIRANG” world tour concert in El Paso is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, at Sun Bowl Stadium. Doors to the Sun Bowl open at 5:30 p.m.
The group headed to the University of Texas at El Paso’s Sun Bowl Stadium for two nights as part of their ARIRANG world tour, the highly anticipated culmination of a new album after all seven members completed their mandatory military service. BTS is made up of rappers RM, Suga and j-hope alongside singers Jung Kook, Jimin, Jin and V.