The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the only teams who have opted out of MLB's deal with big ticket broker StubHub. Unfortunately, these big-market franchises are seeking to—
essentially—force their fans to deal directly with
them rather than find cheaper seats on the secondary market. The lever being used by the teams is the elimination of "e-ticket" transfers. From now on, these teams will require "hard copy" ticket transfers only. To counter this move in New York, StubHub will open a physical office directly across from
The Concrete Bunker On 161st Street. The teams reportedly will also assign a "floor" price below which secondary market tickets cannot go. Clearly, this is an attempt to break the sweetheart deal brokered by MLB and StubHub—but at the expense of the average fan's pocketbook. Basically, the big boys are battling to see who can screw the average fan more. As the
Fan Freedom Project says,
“There is no defensible reason why any team would block fans from buying or selling tickets for prices below face-value. The Yankees claimed they would find a ‘fan-friendly’ service for reselling tickets, but there is nothing ‘fan-friendly’ about eliminating cheap resale tickets that students and families have come to rely on so they can afford to go to a game.”
Frankly, we don't even understand the cozy side deal between the Red Sox and ACE Ticket—even though the team is technically still in the MLB cabal with StubHub. Clash of the Titans, folks. And, no matter who wins, we lose.
