A special Mondavi Center booking announced last week, "An Afternoon with President Clinton" on Nov. 17, has sold out in the fastest event sales run in the 48-year history of the UC Davis performing arts and speakers program.

Within three days, the tickets to hear the 42nd President of the United States were sold out to Mondavi Center Charter Members, Distinguished Speakers Series subscribers, seat licensees and invited guests. Tickets will not be available for sale to the general public.

Current UC Davis students still may purchase 150 tickets being held for them at the Mondavi Center box office beginning at 10 a.m. on Wed., Nov. 6. Student ID is required, with a limit of one ticket per student. There are no sales by telephone and these seats are expected to sell out that day.

"An Afternoon with President Clinton" was announced to the media on Monday afternoon, as the subscribers and charter members were being notified via mail. By Friday, the tickets had been sold out to these priority-ticketing groups. The lecture will take place in the Barbara K. and W. Turrentine Jackson Hall at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, which seats up to 1,800 people.

Like many performing arts centers, Mondavi Center follows the common practice of giving ticketing priority to its regular patrons. The practice allows performing arts centers to cover the cost of presenting high-quality programming while keeping ticket prices to a minimum. Ticket sales are expected to account for only half of Mondavi Center's $7 million operating budget, with the remaining half primarily generated by donations. The Clinton event costs are anticipated to be covered entirely by ticket sales.

The President Clinton lecture is presented as a special addition to the inaugural season of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis.