It’s an election year and our legislature is hard at work legislating.
This week at www.aconnecticutlawblog.com , I’ll be taking a look at pending legislation in Connecticut. Each day, I’ll tackle a different bill.
Today’s edition of legislators legislating in an election year is: ticket reselling.
Raised Bill No. 5771 is offensively titled: “An Act Concerning Ticket Scalping.” I can’t believe in 2008 that our legislature still refers to this practice as ticket scalping.
If passed, the law would allow tickets to be resold for 50% more than the face value of the ticket which would include all fees except postage.
The bill would also require entertainment promoters and venues (including sporting events and concerts) to make tickets to 75% of the seating capacity of an event available to the general public.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to sell my Rock Cats tickets at face value to family and friends.
Connecticut changed its ticket resale law in 2007. Now, tickets can be legally sold for more than $3 over face value.
According to a TicketNews article, “throughout 2007, several states in addition to Connecticut, amended their ticket reselling laws to open up the market to reflect the progress made by the Internet leveling the playing field for tickets. But almost as quickly, states began looking at ways to chip away at the changes as residents began complaining of being shut out for Hannah Montana or World Series tickets.”
http://www.ticketnews.com/Connecticut-considers-bill-restricting-ticket-resale384653
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Crystala,
You are right. Connecticut did repeal the $3.00 above face value statute in 2007.
The questions concerning ticket reselling have a lot less to do with statutes and a lot more to do with enforcing whatever is on the books.
As a Red Sox fan, I know first hand the challenges that can be associated with obtaining tickets.
As someone who believes in a free market economy, I could care less.
Charley Finley, the owner of the Oakland A’s once said regarding Major League Baseball free-agency: “make’em all free agents.”
I say give all the tickets to the resellers and let the market control. My guess is that only then would tickets become more easy to obtain and more affordable.
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