Private ticket sales will emerge from the shadows under a five year agreement signed by Major League Baseball that will make StubHub the only official site where fans can buy and sell baseball tickets amongst themselves. 25 of the 30 MLB teams already run secondary ticket trading sites, but starting in 2008, they will consolidate under a StubHub-run, MLB-branded site. Some teams are less than excited.

From the New York Times:

Several teams have also openly criticized the use of StubHub in the past. Last season, the New York Yankees revoked season tickets of fans who used StubHub, saying it violated the contract that the ticket holders had with the team. The Yankees even went so far as to ask its flagship radio station, WCBS, to turn down ads from StubHub, and security guards at Yankee Stadium regularly questioned fans arriving with StubHub envelopes.

StubHub charges buyers and sellers a combined fee of 25%, which will be shared with the league. The deal is a gratifying blow to TicketMaster, which had signed agreements to manage secondary ticket sales for 12 teams. We welcome any competition in the traditionally monopolistic ticket sales arena; hopefully, other sports leagues will consider following MLB’s lead.

Baseball Gets Into Resale of Tickets [New York Times]
(AP Photo/Jonathan Drew)

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