The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed a partnership with Houston-based ticket distribution company Eventellect, signaling a new strategy for Major League Baseball’s top attendance draw.
The Dodgers, playing in MLB’s largest ballpark with a capacity of 56,000, have long held a liberal stance toward ticket brokers. The club has declined to specify its level of business with brokers, but some industry estimates point to a third of its season-ticket base of more than 35,000 full-season equivalents being previously held by brokers.
But in the new alignment with Eventellect beginning this season, many of those broker accounts will be canceled and the company will assist the Dodgers in overseeing its local ticket resale market. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but agreements between MLB teams and ticket distribution companies typically involve profit sharing on ticket resale revenue, exchanges of sales data, pricing analysis, and controls over the amount of secondary inventory entering the market.
“We hope to keep learning and think this will be a better way to manage our relationship with brokers,” said Stan Kasten, Dodgers president and chief executive. “We see this as an important step as we figure out our best path forward.”
The Dodgers-Eventellect deal follows a 2017 World Series that former Ticketmaster Chief Executive Nathan Hubbard called “probably the most lucrative event for ticket brokers ever.” A potent combination of Dodger Stadium’s large capacity and strong fan interest on ticket resale markets generated an estimated $15 million in profit to brokers for each World Series game in Los Angeles, money that didn’t make its way back to the Dodgers. During the World Series, Dodgers executives said they planned to review during the offseason how they engaged with ticket brokers.
Eventellect is one of several prominent ticket wholesalers and distributors in the industry and works with dozens of other pro teams including the Houston Astros and Atlanta Hawks. Industry estimates now point to more than half of MLB teams having a defined ticket distribution and resale strategy, with that number continuing to grow.
“We’re very excited about our relationship with the Dodgers as more teams look to transform their ticketing business,” said Patrick Ryan, Eventellect co-founder.
The Dodgers-Eventellect deal also arrives as MLB this season is beginning a third contract term with ticket resale marketplace StubHub. The new term contemplates a deeper working relationship between StubHub and clubs.
“They’re both foundational pieces of our overall ticketing ecosystem,” said Tucker Kain, Dodgers chief financial officer, managing director of Guggenheim Baseball Management, and another key figure in the Eventellect partnership. “They’re both major partnerships that will help us get tickets to our fans.”
