Last Update:
07/29/2010 - 11:34am EST
E-mail
Save This
Add new comment
Print
Digg
Facebook
Fark
Newsvine
StumbleUpon
Twitter
More- Lilith Fair and American Idol tickets sell on secondary market for a fraction of the cost
- Discovery information due August 3 in Action Seating / Vancouver Olympics tickets case
- Stone Temple Pilots tour extends through fall with new U.S. concert dates
- Nine productions surpass $1 million in ticket sales on Broadway last week
- Gorillaz tour 'escapes' with fall concert dates for North America
- Razorgator layoffs reportedly due to $3.5 million loss on World Cup tickets
- Wicked again holds onto its top spot in the Weekly Event Rankings
- New private report says Australians are not entirely opposed to ticket resale
- NATB plans to hold 2011 World Ticket Conference in Las Vegas next July
- 'America's Got Talent' goes live for first national tour
NFL Commissioner aims to keep Super Bowl tickets out of the hands of scalpers
Sat, Nov 22nd 2008 10:36 am EDT
By Tim Fraser
One thing is for sure about National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, he is not a fan of the secondary ticket market, and is now looking for ways to try and prevent the resale of tickets to the NFL's biggest game, the Super Bowl.
The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Goodell wants to make sure the league can get the lowest priced Super Bowl tickets into the hands of fans who want to attend the game, not the ones who are looking to make a profit. While not claiming any changes to the NFL's ticket policies were eminent, he did speculate possible ways to prevent scalping.
"It's difficult and it's time consuming, but it may be the next step that we need to take is where you actually say, 'You come to the stadium with your identification, and you'll get your two tickets after you're inside the gate," Goodell told the newspaper.
The criticism of the secondary ticket market by the NFL comes less than a year after the league signed a contract with Ticketmaster to be their official secondary marketplace.
"The ticketing marketplace continues to evolve and sports fans demand more creative opportunities to experience our games. We will now be able to meet their expectations with our safe, consistent, and guaranteed service," Eric Grubman, the NFL's Executive Vice President and President of NFL Ventures, said in a statement in December 2007 when the deal was finalized.
Despite Goodell being the commissioner during the time the contract was negotiated, it has not stopped him from criticizing those in the secondary ticket industry. In June, Goodell partly blamed the industry for rowdy fans at league stadiums, calling it a "factor" in how the league would write its new fan conduct policy, which was released in August.
Recently, the NFL announced that some of this year's Super Bowl tickets would carry as high as a $1,000 face value, with 1,000 other tickets being set aside and will be sold for $500.
"The reality is that Super Bowl tickets are trading at four to five times face value," Goodell said. "One of the big issues that we had in reducing those lower-priced tickets is, do they fall into the wrong hands? Do the scalpers go and take them, and they get the reduced price? All they do is get a better margin, which we're not interested in. . . . We're trying to figure out how to get the tickets to the fans."
Subscribe to this feed
Comments
Comments represent the opinions of users and do not necessarily reflect the views of TicketNews.I suggest that people be required to provide ID and use the first initial of their last name, the last 4 of their social security number and their date of birth. A limit of one ticket per person/ID can be imposed. This will help to insure that the tickets are going to actual persons. The ID can be barcoded to the ticket and each person who passes through the gate would have to provide an ID to show that they matched the barcoded information. If someone is unable to attend, they would have to return the ticket to the NFL by mail for a refund. This would allow the ticket to be resold by the NFL. This type of system is used to track millions of medical records, casino cards, etc. It would be inconvenient for people who have to return the tickets; however, it would be no different than many people who purchase concert tickets and find they can't attend. Yeah,yeah, I can already hear the scalpers crying about how inconvenient this will be. Too bad, it will put reasonably priced tickets in to the hands of the fans. The scalpers will just have to get over it and the people who want to attend NFL games can finally rejoice.
it is a tangled web woven, and indeed a strange marriage between the secondary market, and the entertainment providers (ie games, concerts, etc.) BUT there IS a limit to what the average consumer can bear. Supply and demand does NOT give anyone the power to resell tickets at prices that reach the sky. They will simply revolt and refuse to buy leaving someone holding the bag on a quickbuck gamble gone wrong. Anyone can still buy tickets to hand demand events if they pay attention, and plan properly. Power to the people and long live the dedicated fans!
It's about time this hypocrite Goodell did something to stop the scalping of Super Bowl tickets!!
Toward that end I assume he's going to stop letting NFL players, coaches, executives and alumni purchase the Super Bowl tickets because they are the biggest scalpers of Super Bowl tickets in the country!! If I had a dollar every time I bought a Super Bowl ticket with the intention of reselling it on the secondary market....only to find out that the ticket was originally "owned" by an NFL player, coach, executive or alumni who scalped it to the person I just bought it from....I could retire to Tahiti!!
So I say: Go for it, Roger!! I'll be standing right next to you when you tell all of the NFL players, coaches, executives and alumni that they won't be getting an opportunity to purchase Super Bowl tickets!!
LL
I am so tried of the "Big Head Control Freaks" who believe that they are entitle to every little dollar that is made on a investment that is not funded with their money! The NFL belongs to the paying fan and some hired hand who only investment is his idea on how to "Control The Process". If you are real about getting this money out here in the secondary market we as Brokers or Investors need to buy out these events and let our money do the talking. Remember " Monies Talks and Bull---- Walks"! If we get that money and buy those tickets Brokers or Investor want be stop!
Mr.Wright
Wright's Season Ticket Holdings
Texas
P.S. StubHub and Ticketsnow is selling the Secondary Ticket Market out, by sharing info on what Broker, Investor, and customer are buying and selling in the Secondary Marketplace on their website to "Big Head Control Freaks", who do not respect the industry and that always bad for business in the long run. By the way, if fans/customers wanted to buy direct from the Teams they would because it is AMERICA! Get that money!
NEXT TIME USE THE WORD TICKET BROKER.....SCALPER IS THE STREET TERM THANKYOU
Or use a reputable company like Tickets by Request, LTD.
There's nothing wrong with using the word scalper. The word is not exclusive to ticket brokers. According to Merriam Webster, to scap means:
"to buy and sell so as to make small quick profits: especially to resell at greatly increased prices."
Society has caused us to create a negative association with this term. As long as it's legal, I don't see anything wrong with scalping. I think brokers should reclaim this word.
Roger Goodell is like every other pro sports commish...they're happy to take millions of dollars from StubHub and Ticketmaster in exchange for resale rights, but then they turn around and criticize the secondary market for the ills of their sport. If Goodell truly cared about the fan, have a regular onsale for the Super Bowl tickets rather than a random drawing that fans have about a 1:100,000 chance of winning. As a broker who sells Super Bowl tickets, I acquire most of my tickets on consignment from companies who get them through contractual obligations with the NFL and its teams.
And while we're at it, if Goodell is all of a sudden a man of the people, how about seriously discounting the worthless pre-season games so that fans aren't paying full price to watch a bunch of backups. That is a far bigger ripoff to the fans than Super Bowl tickets on the secondary market are.
Good luck - you'll need it. Nice PRing though commissioner.
Wha, wha, what? Since when are real fans actually getting Super Bowl tickets anyway. Dont the majority of them go to corporate sponsers?? Its not like ticketmaster says on December 1st Super Bowl tickets go onsale. If there is no secondary market how in the world would anybody who isnt a corporate sponsor or lucky enough to get lottery tickets supposed to get tickets. Listen I am not condoning it but if people really want to pay thousands of dollars let them. And I especially love how he makes a comment about Super Bowl tickets, which are almost impossible to get anyway, and doesnt reference the fact that the NFL signed this big deal for people to scalp their season tickets on ticketmaster. That is a little hipocritical dont you think
That has got to be the only reason he's doing this. He's a whore he takes $20,000,000.00 fro TicketMaster and then F*cks em
I get "Super Bowl package" offers directly from NFL.com via e-mail. The NFL's "package" sells a game ticket for OVER $3,000. If you also want a hotel room the package price is over $4,000. They throw in a "party" and ride to the game as part of the package. Pretty transparent. The NFL is selling tickets with an $800 face value for $3,000. So the only reason the NFL Commissioner wants to get rid of the ticket brokers' secondart market is because he is in COMPETITION with them to gouge fans.