Oak View Group announced a long-term partnership deal with Ticketmaster, going with the Live Nation Entertainment-owned company for the ticketing systems at six venues opening in 2021-2023. The buildings include New York’s UBS Arena, Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, Austin’s Moody Center, Coachella Valley Arena in Palm Desert, California, Savannah Arena, and Co-Op Live in Manchester, England. As part of the deal, Ticketmaster will remain the primary ticketing vendor for the New York Islanders as the move to UBS, while the Climate Pledge contract includes the Seattle Kraken expansion franchise and WNBA’s Storm.
“OVG is setting a new standard for arenas with world-class hospitality and state-of-the-art technology. Their portfolio boasts some of the most modern and progressive new venues in the world,” said Mark Yovich, President, Ticketmaster. “Through our leading-edge ticketing technology, Ticketmaster will help OVG deliver premium fan experiences for sports fanatics and music lovers.”
Oak View Group, formed in 2015 by former AEG CEO Tim Leiweke and former Live Nation Entertainment chairman Irving Azoff, also has ties through Azoff to Azoff MSG Entertainment, and a myriad of other facilities through its OVG Facilities division. It operates and books arenas, theaters, convention centers and amphitheaters. OVG is part-owned by Silver Lake Partners, which also owns peices of companies such as Endeavor, and Australia’s TEG, which led to some questions whether or not the connection to Oak View would lead to bringing the Ticketek brand to the United States to compete in these new buildings – but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards, at least for the time being.
As part of the integration, these new arenas are slated to feature a “ticketing concierge” box office powered by Ticketmaster, enabling ticketing transactions, account support, refunds, and will call. The technology will also allow for contactless payment, mobile ordering, and in-venue purchases through the Ticketmaster app, which will undoubtedly be converted into massive amounts of user purchase behavior data to share with Oak View Group and its marketing partners.
“Ticketmaster is the best ticketing system in the world, and we’re pleased to offer their industry-leading technology across all of our world-class venues,” said Tim Leiweke, CEO, Oak View Group. “We know what a strong partner Ticketmaster is when it comes to bringing that premium ticketing experience to fans, and we look forward to partnering with them to bring the biggest artists and sporting events as we return to live.”
