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Sports Ticket & Sports Ticket Management Links: Week Ending 3/7/10
Spotlight’s weekly collection of relevant press, tweets, and blogs shaping the world of corporate ticketing. The evolution of Corporate America’s involvement in sports is leading towards more responsibility and better analytics. Please read on for more on: sports sponsorship, sports business, ticket management, corporate accountability, and The Spotlight Ticket Management Solution.
$3 million dollars in Vancouver Winter Olympics fraud continues to be investigated as more allegations, broken rules, and dicey characters are added to Gene Hammett’s story. Hammett, the broker and owner of Action Tickets, failed to deliver on over $3 million in tickets for the games and is now alleging that there were National Olympic Committees invloved in selling him the tickets. The Olympics have long been the most corrupt and unreliable event for corporate buyers and, as evidenced by Vancouver, that isn’t about to change.
- In the worldwide scramble for Olympic tickets, the International Olympic Committee strictly prohibits countries and their agents from reselling tickets on the black market. But a U.S. ticket broker says he bought thousands of tickets from two dealers who claimed to have a pipeline to European Olympic officials. In an interview with The Seattle Times, Gene Hammett, who owns Action Seating in Suwanee, Ga., said he purchased and resold thousands of tickets for the 2008 Beijing Games from a father and son with Hungarian connections — and recently paid one of them nearly $3 million for tickets to the Vancouver Winter Games, which come to a close Sunday. Read More…
The upcoming NFL labor impasse is threatening the plans for a new stadium in Los Angeles. Spotlight Advisory Board leader David Carter points out that the NFL historically has focused on their biggest issuses first, which leads to planning such as a new team in LA being pushed to the sidelines. Corporate Los Angeles has strongly supported the Lakers and Angels, proving that the market for luxury suites and club seats in the NFL is in place.
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There’s a battle waging in the National Football League – and it’s not between rival teams over yards, touchdowns and victories. It’s between team owners and the players’ union over money. And if it continues, it could lead to no pro football in 2011. So when it comes to priorities, experts say the NFL is more worried about a possible labor stoppage than moving a team to billionaire Ed Roski Jr.’s proposed $800 million Los Angeles Stadium in Industry. “The potential for a labor impasse complicates all of the NFL’s business,” said David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute. “Generally speaking, the league focuses like a laser beam and everything else goes to the backburner.” Read More…
- In a market already flooded with high-priced premium seating options, Madison Square Garden has set a new bar for major sports arenas with a luxury seating price tag that has reached $1 million. As part of its $800 million renovation, the Garden is selling 20 planned “bunker” Read More…
Infiniti signs on to become a Corporate Partner of CBS and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament- better known as “March Madness.” Infinit already carries a rather extensive portfolio of sports sponsorships to move their brand. College Sports does a terrific job of connecting with the core customer, however the metrics behind these deals are still not conclusive enough.
- Infiniti continues to expand its substantial presence in men’s college basketball with the announcement that Infiniti is an “Official Corporate Partner of the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and CBS Sports.” The agreement with CBS Sports follows Infiniti’s recent multi-level, multi-platform sponsorships with ESPN, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the SEC (Southeastern Conference) and the Big Ten Conference. Infiniti also is creating, in conjunction with CBS Sports, original-content custom on-air features that bring inspired college basketball and coaching stories to viewers during CBS Sports’ broadcasts. “This is our second year of involvement as a major sponsor of college sports through individual conference partnerships and now, what we believe is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on CBS Sports,” said Ben Poore, vice president, Infiniti Business Unit. ”The tournament on CBS Sports is also the ideal showcase for the broadcast debut of our all-new 2011 Infiniti M performance luxury sedan and our message, ‘Inspiration changes the game.’” Read More…
The Federal authorities tracked down and charged four men connected to “Wiseguy Tickets” for allegedly cheating the on-sale systems of muliple ticket providers to acquire and resell Hannah Montana, Bruce Springsteen, & other tickets. The practice of hacking into ticketing on-sales, known as “spinning”, is far more regular than the general public would believe. There is plenty of conjecture as to which major ticket brokers are connected to Wise Guys, I guess we’ll all find out soon enough. Transparency is coming to the market- whether promoters, brokers, or resellers like it or not and Spotlight is a significant step forward in that direction.
- Federal authorities in New Jersey today charged four men with hacking into websites of online ticket sellers and illegally buying tickets to Hannah Montana, Bruce Springsteen and other shows around the nation. The massive conspiracy virtually hijacked the online ticketing systems and prevented average consumers from buying prime seats. The men, who ran a Nevada-based company called Wiseguy Tickets Inc., employed a computer programmer in Bulgaria who crafted software to swarm the websites of Ticketmaster, Live Nation, Major League Baseball and other companies, according to a 60-page indictment unsealed in Newark. Read More…
Relevant Sports Ticket & Sports Business Management Tweets Of The Week:
- darrenrovell1 Rockets GM Daryl Morey says team signs contracts w/interns to protect intellectual property. : Rockets on the cutting edge
- SBJSBD PNC Financial Inks Naming-Rights Deal For Club At Wrigley Field. http://su.pr/2aLtgU
- SBJSBD Nets officially announce move from Izod Center to Prudential Center. http://su.pr/7N47Gw
- SBJSBD Judge rebukes NFL after its bid to move the StarCaps case to federal court. http://su.pr/2IkCcW
- dougrobson SAP extends title sponsorship in San Jose three years to 2013. – Very curious the ROI on that event. Well attended event
- SBJSBD Sale of Tampa Bay Lightning is finalized. http://su.pr/69ChBN play in one of Spotlight’s favorite arenas. Very nice locale
- SBJSBD Sale of Tampa Bay Lightning is finalized. http://su.pr/2kHqkA
- SBJSBD Seahawks raise prices slightly for season-ticket renewals. http://su.pr/32ZRSr
- darrenrovell1 Adidas CEO says Adidas will grow faster than Nike in US in ’10 http://su.pr/94kU6r Easier when your business is smaller.
- SBJLizMullen #NFL on #NFLPA proposal: “The union’s latest statement is simply another call to preserve unacceptable economic system…”
- LATimesfarmer NFL says 2011 Pro Bowl will be played week before Super Bowl, like this year, but back in Hawaii
- SBJSBD N.Y. Presbyterian Hospital Signs On As Newest Sponsor Of NFL Giants. http://su.pr/4ehN2x
- darrenrovell1 Floyd Mayweather just last second canceled my intv w/him. Not cool & not what boxing needs.
- SBJSBD Hershey’s near deal for NHL sponsorship in Canada. http://su.pr/4tIcky
- SBJSBD Phoenix Open sees smallest crowd in a decade. http://su.pr/8XozZY .. WM can’t be happy about that in year 1 of sponsorship
- darrenrovell1 Will yesterday’s hockey game help the NHL? That’s a lot to ask for http://su.pr/2MoBqx numbers agree
- @darrenrovell1 Tag Heuer CEO: Tiger ads up in China because “your success is measured by your # of mistresses.” http://su.pr/5HOB1a