The Yankees said StubHub's plan to set up a ticket pickup location near Yankee Stadium may be in violation of New York state law, setting up a possible legal battle. StubHub intends to open its Yankees ticket pickup location at 68 E. 161st St. in the Bronx, diagonally across the 161st St.-River Ave. intersection from the ballpark. But the club, which on Monday announced plans with Ticketmaster to create Yankees Ticket Exchange, said the move conflicts with the state's ticketing law. New York prohibits ticket resale within 1,500 feet of a venue with permanent seating above 5,000 seats. Yankees COO Lonn Trost said, "We're reviewing our options, and we'll respond accordingly as needed." StubHub operates dozens of similar ticket pickup locations around the country near stadiums and arenas, both on a permanent and temporary pop-up basis for major events. But the company says the law is on its side, as the spots are only to retrieve prior orders. StubHub Head of Communications Glenn Lehrman said, "We don’t think there’s a fight to be had here.” Meanwhile, Trost yesterday told WFAN-AM that ticket sales for the upcoming '13 season were "rough," but last night added that season-ticket renewals are above 90% thus far, ahead of team projections (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). Yankees Managing General Partner & co-Chair Hal Steinbrenner said that YTE will "use exclusive bar-code technology to guarantee that tickets were authentic." He added that it will "dovetail with the online accounts" that season-ticket holders use. In N.Y., Ken Belson noted fans still can "list their Yankees tickets on Web sites like StubHub," but the team site "might become more compelling because it gives fans an additional place to shop." TiqIQ Founder & CEO Jesse Lawrence said, "For season-ticket holders, it's a net positive because there's more places to sell. And everyone's happy with lower fees" (NYTIMES.com, 2/12).
