Friday, December 12, 2003
Cubs Win! Cubs Fans Lose...Mariners Next?
I got clued into the story that the Cubs have set up their own ticket scalping service over the summer. I just heard that the judge ruled in the class action case against the Cubs parent, the Tribune Corporation, and I just can't believe it. Derek Zumsteg is outraged on Baseball Prospectus (this is a BP premium link).
The story goes like this. Some companies, referred to as ticket brokers, were buying tickets for Cubs games from the Cubs at face value and then selling them for higher prices. This is quite legal as long as there is no unfair advantage held by the ticket broker over the general ticket buying public. The Cubs and their corporate parent the Tribune saw that other folks were making money on their tickets and wanted a cut. So they set up their own ticket brokerage company called Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services. Let me repeat, the Tribune Corporation owns both the Cubs and Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services.
A class action lawsuit was brought against all these parties for violating the Illinois Ticket Scalping Act. Greg Couch of the Chicago Sun-Times has been reporting on this in his column throughout the trial. Here are links to his articles from just before and on the day the verdict was rendered on November 25. From the November 25th article:
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the actual law at work here, but it seems beyond belief that the Cubs' setup does not violate an anti-scalping law. It came out in court that Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services "bought" over one million dollars worth of Cubs tickets with an initial capital of only $1,000.
Whatever the state of this as the law is concerned, it is clearly slimy business practice in the extreme. What is to stop a team from "selling" tickets for their entire schedule to their dummy broker and claiming all games are sold out...but by the way there is this other company that can help you out, of course it will be for over face value. Now that a legal precedent has been set I wonder how long this practice will take to proliferate. If I trust the Mariners ownership to do anything, it is to maximize their profits.
Pro sports are based on emotion. I love sharing my passion for the Mariners with my kids and up to now baseball, with its long schedule, has remained affordable. I will find it harder and harder to pass on this enthusiasm as tickets go out of reach and fans are rewarded for their passion by being duped.
It's mentioned that the bringers of this suit are considering an appeal - I certainly hope they do so and succeed.
The story goes like this. Some companies, referred to as ticket brokers, were buying tickets for Cubs games from the Cubs at face value and then selling them for higher prices. This is quite legal as long as there is no unfair advantage held by the ticket broker over the general ticket buying public. The Cubs and their corporate parent the Tribune saw that other folks were making money on their tickets and wanted a cut. So they set up their own ticket brokerage company called Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services. Let me repeat, the Tribune Corporation owns both the Cubs and Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services.
A class action lawsuit was brought against all these parties for violating the Illinois Ticket Scalping Act. Greg Couch of the Chicago Sun-Times has been reporting on this in his column throughout the trial. Here are links to his articles from just before and on the day the verdict was rendered on November 25. From the November 25th article:
Judge Sophia Hall ruled Monday that the Cubs can keep scalping tickets to Cubs fans. They set up a dummy company, Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services, to skirt the scalping laws, and now it's legitimate. They saw your loyalty, Cubs fans, your undying loyalty, and they thanked you by running a bait-and-switch on their tickets. Yes, there is profit in your emotions.
Actually, Judge Hall ruled that there was no bait-and-switch at all. The tickets sold at Premium were advertised at one price. That price was printed on the tickets. And then no one could buy them at that price except for Premium, which paid for its original supply with a pretend $1 million. The entire transaction between team and scalping office was done as a book entry and not with money.
I am certainly not qualified to comment on the actual law at work here, but it seems beyond belief that the Cubs' setup does not violate an anti-scalping law. It came out in court that Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services "bought" over one million dollars worth of Cubs tickets with an initial capital of only $1,000.
Whatever the state of this as the law is concerned, it is clearly slimy business practice in the extreme. What is to stop a team from "selling" tickets for their entire schedule to their dummy broker and claiming all games are sold out...but by the way there is this other company that can help you out, of course it will be for over face value. Now that a legal precedent has been set I wonder how long this practice will take to proliferate. If I trust the Mariners ownership to do anything, it is to maximize their profits.
Pro sports are based on emotion. I love sharing my passion for the Mariners with my kids and up to now baseball, with its long schedule, has remained affordable. I will find it harder and harder to pass on this enthusiasm as tickets go out of reach and fans are rewarded for their passion by being duped.
It's mentioned that the bringers of this suit are considering an appeal - I certainly hope they do so and succeed.
<< Home