The proposed broker-owned ticket exchange, which is being touted by the owners of Texas-based Golden Tickets, appears to be gaining some momentum, and its organizers are planning to meet with brokers about it in Las Vegas in July.
Originally, the group planned to hold a meeting July 16 in the Palazzo, the attached hotel next to the Venetian where Ticket Summit will be held on July 14-16, so organizers are being forced to move to another location. Ticket Summit is operated by TicketNetwork, with whom Golden Tickets publicly feuded, which was part of the impetus for the broker exchange.
The group has not yet disclosed a new location for the meeting, which was also to be held on the first day of the World Ticket Conference held by the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB).
Ram Silverman, co-owner of Golden Tickets, told TicketNews that he and fellow co-owner Steve Parry are reserving comment on the proposal. “We’re saving what we have until we get a chance to meet with the brokers.”
Earlier this month, the pair sent out a questionnaire to dozens of brokers that asked questions about what they would like to see in a broker-owned ticket exchange, and what their current experiences are like with the major exchanges StubHub, TicketNetwork, TicketsNow and RazorGator, among others.
Silverman declined to disclose what answers the brokers gave, and he also did not say how many questionnaires were returned. However, in a May 10 email to brokers, he said that 219 questionnaires had been returned.
The organizers hope to generate at least $2 million from brokers to launch the exchange, but they are also considering approaching venture capital firms for additional investments. Several brokers have questioned how the exchange will be funded, and how everyday operational expenses will be handled.
Over the past few weeks, Silverman and Parry have also met with web developers and software companies about the project, but Silverman declined to elaborate on those meetings.
TicketNetwork is the parent company of TicketNews.
