San Francisco - A web site that aims to reshape how Europeans buy and sell unused tickets to sports matches was unveiled, with around £10-million (about R 128-million) in venture financing and big-league soccer club backers.
viagogo.com of London said it plans to apply the strategy of StubHub.com- the most popular United States online site for fans seeking to buy last-minute sports tickets - based on a unique connection between the two companies.
Founder and CEO Eric Baker was co-founder and president of StubHub before leaving the company in 2004 to move to Europe and start viagogo.
The London-based company said it has signed partnership deals with Chelsea Football Club and Manchester United to create official exchanges so fans can avoid buying tickets from touts, - also known as scalpers - outside sports venues.
While viagogo's initial focus is on sports tickets, its newly launched web site also features links to music concert and theatre and arts events.
Secondary ticketing
"We estimate that the secondary ticketing market in Europe is currently worth approximately £4-5 billion a year, of which the UK market accounts for in excess of £1-billion annually," Baker said.
StubHub.com has a string of similar partnership deals with American football, basketball and ice hockey franchises.
The San Francisco-based company ranks as the fourth most popular online ticketing site in the United States according to web audience measurement firm Hitwise and is the largest sports-focused site.
"We are not affiliated in any way or form," StubHub spokesman Sean Pate said of viagogo. "They certainly are somewhat mimicking the StubHub model. That's probably smart business," he said.
However, an industry source said Baker remains a passive stakeholder in StubHub. He was under no agreement not to form a competitive business, the source said.
StubHub expects to sell $350-million (about R2,3-billion) to $450-million in gross merchandise this year, Pate said. A little over half of the transactions are for sporting events. It also has branched out to supply tickets for concerts and other events.
British football
The new service, at www.viagogo.com, allows season ticket holders at some of Britain's biggest sports clubs to legally sell unwanted tickets to club members or other season ticket holders for soccer games, the company said.
Viagogo said its deal with Chelsea makes it the official online ticket reselling market for the next three years.
Under 1990s laws designed to thwart football hooliganism, it is illegal for fans in Britain to resell tickets outside official ticket registration programs.
After it's initial introduction in Britain, viagogo plans to open up a German site and eventually expand Europe-wide, the company said. - Reuters