Yankees Close To Deal With Ticketmaster After Opting Out Of StubHub Contract

The Yankees are "completing a deal with Ticketmaster" as the team's official ticket resale marketplace after opting out of MLB's new five-year deal with StubHub, according to a source cited by Steven Marcus of NEWSDAY. The source said the Ticketmaster deal will be "much more fan-friendly, have less fees and more accessibility." Live Nation Senior VP/Corporate Communications Jacqueline Peterson, whose company owns Ticketmaster, declined comment. The Yankees "believe the prices of their tickets on StubHub often are too far below the printed face value." StubHub Head of Communications Glenn Lehrman said that the Yankees' departure "will have a 'pretty negligible' effect on the company's business and will not significantly affect the fans' access to reduced-price tickets." Marcus notes private sellers "still will be able to sell their Yankees tickets on StubHub" (NEWSDAY, 12/11). In N.Y., Josh Kosman cites sources as saying that Ticketmaster will "likely agree to set price floors on some ticket sales and stop resales before game time." The Yankees and Angels are among a handful of clubs "opting out of a new five-year deal" between MLB and StubHub. Although the Yankees "cannot ban ticket buyers outright from using StubHub to resell tickets, they can make it far less convenient." The Yankees "blame StubHub for some of their gate woes." A source said that the team "might lift attendance by 5,000 a game by dumping StubHub" (N.Y. POST, 12/11).

IN OR OUT? ESPN CHICAGO's Jon Greenberg noted the Cubs yesterday were "named by StubHub as one of three clubs opting out" of the contract extension with MLB, but this was "news to the Cubs." A Cubs source said that the team was "surprised to be included in a StubHub email to ticket sellers Monday, because no decision has been made about participating in the five-year contract extension, but the team plans to make an announcement about the secondary market in the near future" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 12/10).