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StubHub expands pool of MLB clubs with full mobile integration

The 2019 Major League Baseball season will see longtime ticket resale partner StubHub make several new integrations with individual clubs, including a sharp increase in mobile-based activity and sales beyond first-pitch times in several markets.

The eBay-owned StubHub this year will expand the number of MLB clubs with full mobile integration for ticket resale and fulfillment from nine in 2018 to 25 this year. The ongoing conversion occurs as the entire ticketing industry continues to embrace mobile ticketing and PDF-based paper tickets have been banned in several team markets.

StubHub executives said they intend to also integrate the remaining five clubs — the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals — for mobile-based resales by next year as various technical and logistical issues are resolved.

The company, meanwhile, this year also will support resales up to one hour after game starts for seven teams: the Astros, Angels, Athletics, Dodgers, Giants, Mets and Rangers. 

The third five-year contract term between MLB and StubHub, agreed to in late 2017, created a new “zero-hour” rule allowing resales up to first-pitch times for all 30 clubs. But sales beyond game starts also were tested in several markets last year, and are now being expanded as last-minute ticket buying continues to grow sharply across the industry. One of StubHub’s competitors, Gametime, has based much of its business on exactly that concept.

“We’re obviously seeing a big shift toward last-minute activity and want to support that as much as we can,” said Jill Krimmel, StubHub general manager of MLB, NCAA and other sports. “This is a significant growth opportunity for us.”

Meanwhile, MLB’s upcoming two-game London Series between Boston and the New York Yankees — the league’s first games in Europe — represent StubHub’s currently most sought-after MLB games for the 2019 season. The June 29 opener at London Stadium is StubHub’s No. 1 best-selling baseball game, with the June 30 game ranking at No. 3.

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