As it continues its legal tussle with the New England Patriots over the resale of Pats tickets, StubHub has issued a statement calling the Patriots subpoenaing of ticket brokers regrettable and stressed that it would continue the fight.
The two sides have been in court for more than a year over the issue, in part because the Patriots have tried to stop the resale of tickets to its games, one of the only NFL teams to take such a hard line. The NFL recently signed a contract for Ticketmaster to become the official ticket reseller for the league, something StubHub considered bidding on.
Sean Pate, spokesperson for StubHub, told TicketNews that the subpoenas, a total of 28 to a mix of brokers and independent sellers, are “merely a part of the ongoing litigation between” the two sides, and he added that StubHub does “not expect further litigation by other teams on this matter as it’s become clear that most every team fully embraces ticket resale at market prices for season ticket holders.” In the meantime, StubHub has reached out to ticket brokers who have received subpoenas and offered them legal assistance.
“The Patriots are clearly one of the only teams who have yet to come to grips with the options fans want for resale,” Pate said. “The Patriots have already used the litigation to get a court order that required StubHub to hand over customer information. It’s regrettable that they feel the need to pursue customers directly for more interrogation.”
