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General manager of Alltel Arena lays down gauntlet against ticket scalpers
Michael Marion, general manager of Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, AR, has a bone to pick with anyone who resells tickets.
The 25-year entertainment industry veteran is aggressively taking on ticket scalpers and brokers with a blistering letter he recently emailed to fans on the arena's mailing list entitled "Alltel Arena vs. The Scalpers," in which he makes it clear that if you resell a ticket to an event at the facility, he considers you the enemy.
"I’ve always been opposed to scalping as long as it’s been around," Marion told TicketNews in an exclusive interview. "With paperless ticketing, we now have a functional way to get the tickets in the hands of the fan, at the price the artist wants. With the recent press scalping has gotten, and people still simmering from their Hannah Montana experience here a couple of years ago, I wanted to let them know our stance and what we were doing."
Alltel Arena serves as one of the beta sites for Ticketmaster Entertainment's paperless ticketing initiative, which has been a source of some controversy in recent weeks over the decision by the Miley Cyrus tour to go entirely paperless for this year's North American trek. Ticket scalping is legal in Arkansas, but not for concerts and college sporting events, and only after tickets have been made available to the general public. Tickets to High school and charitable events also cannot be resold above face value.
As a test site, Alltel Arena has held several paperless ticket shows, and Marion said the venue has never experienced a problem with people growing frustrated with the non-transferability of paperless tickets. The lack of the ability to transfer or resell paperless tickets, coupled with the inconvenience of having to wait in long lines while individual credit cards at swiped at the gate, are among the biggest complaints about paperless tickets.
"In all the paperless shows we have had, [transferability] has not been an issue. The vast majority of people buying paperless tickets (usually 3,000-4,000) are loyal fans who will do whatever it takes to be at a show. The notion of wanting to transfer their ticket is just not an issue. They want to be at the show. From what I have seen, scalpers are the only people who worry about transferability."
For Marion, his decision to come out against scalping comes down to simple economics; the more shows a fan attends the more opportunities Alltel Arena has to generate revenue.
"As a building manager, I want people to be able to afford to come to more than one show a year. If they can get a ticket at face value, maybe they’ll have enough to see three or four shows. If they pay scalper prices, they may only come to one," Marion said. "I’ve never had a patron call and say they are glad they bought from a scalper at an inflated price instead of us, at face price. So no, I don’t see any circumstance where scalping is a good thing."
The text of Marion's email, "Alltel Arena vs. The Scalpers":
As you may have read, scalpers have been in the news lately and I'd like to share some information about scalping and what we are doing to try to stop this deplorable practice from occurring for Alltel Arena shows.
- Alltel Arena has always believed that fans of a show should buy the tickets at the price the artist sets.
- Scalping is illegal in Arkansas, but out of state scalpers are still buying our tickets and ripping customers off.
- Unfortunately, most scalping occurs on the internet and out of reach of Arkansas law.
- Most scalpers will list tickets they don't even have and that aren't yet on sale. Arkansas has passed a law to prohibit this practice. Let's hope the scalpers follow the law, but based on the way scalpers have traditionally behaved, they will probably ignore it. They also list sections, rows and seats that don't exist. If you want to buy from a scalper, it's Buyer Beware.
- Most scalpers list the same tickets on multiple sites and that's why it looks like the scalpers have a bunch of tickets.
- With instructions from the artist, we build the ticket map for each show and monitor how they are sold thru Ticketmaster, who acts as our ticketing services provider.
- While Ticketmaster owns TicketsNow, a scalping site, Ticketmaster has honored Arkansas' anti-scalping laws, so you won't find tickets for any events in Arkansas on the TicketsNow website.
Here are a few things we do to try to thwart the scalpers:
- On the day of an on-sale, we work with the artist to limit the number of tickets one person can buy on the 1st day of sales. If we (or Ticketmaster) find duplicate orders, we void them.
- Recently, Ticketmaster has introduced a new scalper-fighting technology called paperless ticketing. We have used it on most of our shows this year. This requires the person who bought the tickets to come to the event with ID and credit card in hand in order to get in. In addition to new scanners, each ticket taker has a printer that prints your seat location right at the door.
- We are a beta site for this new hardware/software, but we have found that it has been very effective in getting the tickets into the hands of the fans as opposed to the scalpers.
- Like any new idea, it has some limitations, such as the fact that you must buy them on-line or by phone. Paperless tickets are not available at Ticketmaster outlets or the Alltel Arena Box Office. You may purchase these tickets only online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone (800-745-3000). We continue to work with Ticketmaster to improve our service.
- The number of paperless tickets offered depends on the show, but it usually involves 3,000-4,000 of the best seats. Scalpers are not usually interested in ripping you off for seats at the top of the building.
- Since starting paperless ticketing, we have noticed a marked decrease in the number of tickets available on scalping sites to Alltel Arena events.
- More and more touring attractions are using paperless ticketing and it will continue to grow in use.
Rest assured that the Alltel Arena is committed to making sure that fans get their tickets at the price the artist sets. If you have questions, feel free to go to the Contact Us link on our web-site – we answer every e-mail we get. Thank you. We hope to see you at a show.
Sincerely,
Michael Marion
GM, Alltel Arena
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Just a question Marion? When you buy gas to you pay cost price or a markup? Better yet when you buy a necessity like Bread do you pay cost or a mark up.....YES YOU ARE RIGHT, A MARK-UP. So you say re-selling tickets is wrong at a mark up but inflating gas prices and food prices is okay? Why can't bread and milk be sold at cost price, it's a necessity???? In order to deal with certain food outlets you have to be a company or on as a supplier. You can't as JOE PUBLIC walk in and get bread at cost.... Instead you have to go to Wal-Mart and pay them extra to buy the same loaf of bread! So now I'm going out and start an anti-bread scalping law!!!!
If only a small portion of seats are paperless (3000-4000) then I don't have a problem with this. I didn't catch that part the first time I read the article. Still I wouldn't buy paperless tickets because you never know what can happen at the last minute and the buyer might not be able to make it. Still I think this helps scalpers, if there are 4000 less tickets on the secondary market then that can only make secondary ticket prices higher.
BTW I've gotten tickets below face value from scalpers in the past so it works both ways.
This happened to me a few years ago. I bought 3 tickets to see Brad Paisley who is my daughters favorite singer. I was taking my daughter and her best friend. The day of the concert I was supposed to work until 4pm but at 2pm there was an incident and I had to work a double. It was either work a double or get fired. I ended up getting my sister to take them to the concert. So if I understand this correctly if the show was at the Alltel they would have been turned away at the door because the tickets were in my name bought with my credit card. This is supposed to help the fans? I'm sure I am not the only person who had to miss something at the last minute. Given my experience with the Brad Paisley concert I don't think I would ever buy tickets to an event in which the purchaser of the tickets had to be present. What if I want to buy as a gift for somebody? Love how you can't even buy the tickets at outlets or even their own box office. They want to force you to pay the ridiculous convenience charge fees. THANKS FOR LOOKING OUT FOR THE FANS.
I am not a scalper but I don't have a problem with them. It's all about supply and demand, this is the USA. When I was in high school I didn't have a lot of money and couldn't afford to go to a lot of concerts. I was always the one willing to camp out for the tickets then my friends would all chip in for my ticket and I got to go for free. Apparently they would have a problem with that at the Alltel.
Thanks to Michael Marion, and the other people who believe in paperless tickets, I sold my Miley Cyrus tickets for a 400% markup.
And if you read the fine print, the purchaser does not have to even ENTER the venue....just escort the party to the front gate......
These people cannot do anything right, and this is just a feeble attempt to get his podunk little arena on the national map......wake up Michael, real brokers do not buy for Little Rock.
... as when I got this e-mail.
I had noticed months ago when Alltel went to paperless tickets and wondered if it would have a negative impact on their sales.
Here is my answer.
The fact that this guy felt the need to spam anyone who ever bought a ticket at Alltel several months after coverting to paperless for the top 10% of seats means they are desperately trying to get people to buy their tickets.
Here's the funny thing. Not ALL events are paperless. Only the ones they *THINK* will sell out. So, here is a fun little game to play.
Check out American Idol (not a paperless event). It is completely sold out.
Check out Demi Lovator (A partially paperless event). PLENTY of seats avialble... in fact it hasn't sold past the 9th row.
Then check out Keith Urban (a partially paperless event). PLENTY of seats available.
Then check out those artists in non paperless areas... very few seats avaialble or completely sold out.
Then for a good laugh check out Miley Cyrus (an entirely paperless event). PLENTY of seats available.
The reality that Mr. Marion doesn't understand is that without "scalpers", your shows sell like crap and the venue fails. It is scalpers investing in your shows that keeps your venue a float.
So congrats Mr. Marion. Your paperless experiement is working so well, that you needed to spam everyone who ever bought a ticket to an event at your show. Most likely 60% of those e-mails went to "scalpers" who decided that they will find something better to do at 10:00AM CDT from now on.
LOL...awesome post. Having worked in both the primary and secondary markets, and currently as a broker, I don't act like I'm God's gift to ticket sales, but I have worked enough in BOTH sides of the coin to realize brokers do account for a pretty decent chunk of the pie on many occasions. This whole knee-jerk reaction to Ticketmaster/TicketsNow manipulating the market on a few occasions suddenly has everyone down on the secondary market, without realizing its importance to the primary market. A Representative from NJ and a Senator from NY want to overhaul the entire ticket industry because of isolated incidents that happened in their states. The majority of states have done a good job of regulating their ticket sales, and I don't think we need a federal system to regulate an industry which varies state-by-state, region-by-region.
Buying through ticketmaster...ugh!!!
So, i just attempted to purchase james taylor tickets through ticketmaster. The problem was that ticketmaster didn't accept my credit card, even though i've been using the same credit card for years. As a result of ticketmaster attempting to verify my credit card, i lost my tickets on line...row 7! So, when i returned to ticketmaster, available seats were at the back of the theatre. The Price...well, lets see, they were charging a 20% convenience charge + 3.00 for email per tickets...In all, the $87 tickets now cost $107 each...give me a break...the Ticketmaster monopoly continues. Given the situation, i will now buy the tickets through the secondary market...thank goodness for ticket brokers to have a ticket service...
Mike, you need to wake up!
if you went down to the arena, you could have bought the tix for $87. If that's not convenient for you,pay the marked up price and stop trying to blame everyone else (Ticketmaster) for finding a way to capitalize on your laziness,
Funny how this Marion guy wants people to afford to go to more than one show. I'm pretty sure that he NEVERS PAYS for anything if anyone in his family wants to attend a show. Let's not forget about the 3000% markup on popcorn and about 2000% on soda. Your ticket might cost $79 but, if you were to buy 4 drinks and 4 popcorns or something else your looking at an easy $40-$50. Think they get a cut of that action. When was the last time a scalper got $4000 up front for playoff tickets and held it for you for 3 or 4 months when the team was eliminated??? Shows sell out BECAUSE of BROKERS...All they want is their cut plain and simple. TicketMaster, TicketsNow and Stubhub have been selling at what ever price they want for years because of who owns them..Corporate America.
you should do your homework. Michael Marion is a seasoned rock and roll veteran, having worked the artist side before moving to venue manager.
Who goes to Little Rock? Let's see...check the tour routings. He has consistently kicked butt on getting concerts since the building opened, and the acts do not go there if they cannot make $$$$$$.
I know, he consistently "stole shows" from other bigger markets, like mine for years.
Read his anti scalping reasoning again: if a fann only pays face value, then he can afford to go to more shows. it is simple math. it is not about sell outs, that is not the true mesurmnt, although Alltell has had many. it is the first 70-80% of the house that tells the tale.
Remember, the act makes money only from the face value, not the scalped price (except for the funny club and auction stuff).
So the building's ability to make the act $$, which brings them and others represented by the same agent back for more shows, depends on the initial sales, not the scalped sales. Sorry to bore you, but facts are facts.
is this you michael marion writing this??
Brokers don't care who's playing here. We don't even bother to look. Any good act is going to have much better shows going on sale in the same time slot. He should be TRYING to get brokers to buy tickets to this place. Fans could afford to go to 10 shows a year instead of only 5, by buying the fire sale of whatever broker is dumb enough to buy here.
btw: I know you probably don't see a computer much down there in hickville, but try using spell check!
People in positions like this guy are dangerous to themselves and others.
They have no respect for people -only for their own power.
People like this fall hard.
Keep tuned , as with Springsteen-one shouldn't throw rocks living in a glass house.
Seriously, how many ticket brokers are actually buying tickets for arena without having an order to fill for a customer? I can probably count them on one hand. But those 2 brokers are the ones buying up those 3,000 best seats.
Does anyone even live in Little Rock? Why would he choose to have his venue do this? He is lucky to sell out half the arena
You answered your own question. He took this stance because he knows it won't affect his little operation. Brokers don't waste their time in this useless venue, so he can afford to come off as the anti-broker and look like the good guy, and people might applaud him for it. BTW...I'm sure any brokers who end up buying tickets at that arena end up taking a loss on them, but I'm sure he didn't mention that.
who appointed this guy GM???
I did and he is doing a fine job.
Who cares! Next time they sell out a show let me know - it will be the first...
I don't even know any brokers who buy tickets in Little Rock...
Give the complete lack of interest in Miley Cyrus tour and lack of paperless ticket sales, that would be a bad example to use. This is easy, don't buy paperless tickets.
has his arena ever had a sell-out? ac/dc wasn't, it must have been one of the few cities on the tour that didn't sell out. every time i've been to that horrible arena, it has been half empty or more. the last thing he needs to worry about is scalpers.
What one must often ask "is the arena half empty or half full?" One other thing you might ask is "what words should I capitalize when I make a sentence?"
Mike-
Sure am glad you did your homework. Let's see, most "scalpers as you call them" are seasoned investors with VC backing that provide a service...they are a service company provider. Sometimes you can purchase tickets above face value and give them as a gift to a family member or some times below face value and give them as a gift to friend. Let's not forget company write offs for gifts either. All in all, brokers provide a service that paperless ticketing doesn't allow. I dont see you getting upset when you purchase your TV from best buy when best buy is receiving a cut of the profit. Let's not even begin to look at the monopoly ticketmaster is establishing similar to Bill Gates. I wonder what ticketmaster's cut is...i'm sure it is more than a ticket broker. Finally, lets' not even look at the tickets withheld by Miley Cyrus for her fan club (lottery tickets but only if you pay to be a member...rip off!!!).
Next time you miss the onsale date and you want to take one of your clients to a show, don't call ticketmaster for help...wake up Mike!!!
Marions got some skeletons in his closet, he should watch his mouth.
Marions got some skeletons in his closet, he should watch his mouth.
Michael Marion is a fat washed up hick from Arkansas. Most importantly, nobody really gives a shit about his little Arkansas venue. I find it so hard to believe how such an uneducated person could be appointed GM of a venue.
Sounds to me like this fellow has got a set of steel balls that he's going to smack upside a few scalpers heads.
Mike-
Sure am glad you did your homework. Let's see, most "scalpers as you call them" are seasoned investors with VC backing that provide a service...they are a service company provider. Sometimes you can purchase tickets above face value and give them as a gift to a family member or some times below face value and give them as a gift to friend. Let's not forget company write offs for gifts either. All in all, brokers provide a service that paperless ticketing doesn't allow. I dont see you getting upset when you purchase your TV from best buy when best buy is receiving a cut of the profit. Let's not even begin to look at the monopoly ticketmaster is establishing similar to Bill Gates. I wonder what ticketmaster's cut is...i'm sure it is more than a ticket broker. Finally, lets' not even look at the tickets withheld by Miley Cyrus for her fan club (lottery tickets but only if you pay to be a member...rip off!!!).
Next time you miss the onsale date and you want to take one of your clients to a show, don't call ticketmaster for help...wake up Mike!!!