The Bengals are closer to selling out Sunday’s wild-card game vs. the Chargers, but they aren’t there just yet.
Kroger, a national grocery chain with its executive offices in Cincinnati, has purchased “a large quantity of tickets” for Sunday to be distributed to current and former U.S. military personnel, the club announced Friday morning.
Tickets will be given out at seven Cincinnati-area Kroger stores on Saturday, and two free tickets will be given to individuals who show military identification.
According to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Kroger declined to disclose how many tickets it purchased. However, Reedy reported that “indications are Kroger bought more than 1,200” tickets.
Andrew Brown, the Bengals’ manager of ticket sales, wrote on Twitter after Kroger’s ticket purchase that the Bengals had not yet sold out of all seats. He posted an online link to buy tickets, and the Bengals’ official Twitter feed retweeted his message.
The Bengals have until 4 p.m. Eastern on Friday to sell all of their tickets to ensure the club’s first home playoff game since the 2009 season will be aired on local television.
Earlier Friday, the Colts announced they had sold out Saturday’s wild-card game vs. Kansas City. The Packers, like the Bengals, have work left to do on the ticket-selling front.