The Lions are switching their ticketing provider from Ticketmaster to Veritix, becoming the first NFL team to do so. Veritix, which started six years ago and counts four NBA teams and one NHL club as clients, will now boast the Lions when the club’s single-game tickets go on sale Wednesday. The team today announced the new initiative, which also covers all non-football events at Ford Field. “It was a situation where some of the things Veritix is doing allows us to really take ownership of the ticketing experience,” said Lions President Tom Lewand. One of the big pluses for the Lions, Lewand added, is when fans call the ticketing number starting Wednesday, it will seem as if they are talking to the Lions. He noted Veritix is more of a back-end operation, and the Lions can promote their brand now when fans call for tickets. “A lot of people are looking at a lot of different opportunities to engage with fans,” Lewand said, “so this is a huge opportunity because tickets are a backbone of our operations in a lot of different ways.” The Lions knew Veritix co-Founder and Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert through his Detroit businesses. The new deal will not cover secondary ticketing, which Ticketmaster’s TicketExchange operates for the NFL’s 32 teams. However, all other Ford Field events, Lewand said, will use Veritix’s FlashSeats for secondary ticketing. There is no ability to opt out of the NFL’s TicketExchange deal, Lewand said.
