In Boston, Jerry Kronenberg reports secondary ticketing agencies are selling tickets to Red Sox games at Fenway Park "way below face value amid weak demand." Ace Ticket Owner Jim Holzman said, "Seats are selling for half of what they usually do." For last night's game against the Twins, Pavilion Club seats at Fenway "carrying a $90 face value were available for just $59, while $75 pavilion box seats were listed for only $35." StubHub had "more than 1,200 tickets still available two hours before game time, including $28 bleachers for $6 and $30 grandstand seats priced at $7." Holzman attributed the "cut-rate prices to the Sox’ sub-.500 record at a time when the Celtics and Bruins are in the thick of postseason runs" (BOSTON HERALD, 5/10).
SHARK TALES: In San Jose, Eli Segall reports the Sharks "have quietly launched a 'dynamic pricing' system for individual tickets purchased at the box office or through its exclusive vendor, Ticketmaster." Sharks Exec VP/Business Operations Malcolm Bordelon said that the team began using the system last month for its first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Kings. He said that the Sharks, who had not used dynamic pricing before, plan to "continue using the system" for the '11-12 regular season. Bordelon noted that the Sharks "have sold about 1,500 to 1,700 tickets in each playoff game this year in which prices fluctuated through dynamic pricing" (SILICON VALLEY/SAN JOSE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/6 issue).
A LIGA OF THEIR OWN: FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell yesterday said that the La Liga club's "interest in investing in the MLS is history." During a conference call to announce the team's summer tour of the U.S., Rosell said, "There will be no other Barcelonas in the world." He noted that Barcelona "attempted to be involved in a prospective team in South Florida before the MLS expanded to the Pacific Northwest and Canada, a project of Barcelona’s previous administration" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/10).
SETTLE DOWN NOW: In St. Louis, Robert Patrick reported the Rams "have settled a civil complaint against a man who helped defraud dozens of investors out of $5 million." The Rams sued Joshua D. Gould and a company that he "used the ill-gotten gains to finance, The Sports Nook Inc., for unpaid tickets, the breach of a sponsorship agreement and for the use of a suite" in Edward Jones Dome. Gould and his company have agreed to pay St. Louis Rams Partnership LLC $50,000 "for the sponsorship, $37,800 for tickets and $41,000 for the suite, as well as roughly $1,000 in interests and costs" (STLTODAY.com, 5/5).
