Will Haligonians Pay More for Events with Ticketmaster? Scotiabank Centre Responds
HALIFAX–“To be the best, we have to work with the best.” That is what representatives of Scotiabank Centre said in their news release announcing the centre’s switch to Ticketmaster, exclusively, for future events.
The event-industry giant is replacing Ticket Atlantic at Halifax’s largest arena.
While Scotiabank’s press release sounded excited and upbeat about the new partnership, online reaction in Halifax was swift, and not particularly positive. This likely was not a surprise for Scotiabank Centre.
When Scotiabank Centre posted the announcement on its Facebook page, it restricted commenting, which it hasn’t done for any other recent posts. Out of more than 500 reactions, 425 were angry emojis. The post received only 33 thumbs up.
Ticketmaster has come under heavy fire recently for what many consider its near-absolute monoploy on the ticket selling industry and the unfair practices it employs as a result. This was particularily evident last year, when many Taylor Swift fans couldn’t get tickets to the superstar’s tour, or had to pay well above the normal price for tickets.
Ticketmaster merged with event company Live Nation more than a decade ago, which has given the company a stranglehold on the events market.
The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Ticketmaster over these allegations. The backlash against the company is one of the few issues that have brought Democrats and Republicans together.
Senators representing both parties sent a letter to the DOJ earlier this year asking them to keep investigating. They laid out several troubling allegations including signing lengthy exclusivity deals, as long as 10 years, with venues. The senate hearings also dug into how much extra money is added onto tickets by Ticketmaster.
In an email correspondence with Huddle, a representative from Events East, the group that runs Scotiabank Centre for the municipality, said the group is aware people have concerns with the new deal.
“We understand reactions from fans,” wrote Adria Young, a communications advisor with Events East. “Ticketing and box office services, including our on-site box office, will continue to be managed by the same team, delivering the same level of customer service for Scotiabank Centre fans. We will continue to keep fans updated as the transition takes place over the coming weeks.”
Whether or not this new deal with Ticketmaster will mean more expense for Haligonians also seems up in the air.
“Scotiabank Centre continues to work closely with event organizers and our ticketing provider to ensure ticket prices are consistent with the industry and our market,” said Young. “In developing our partnership with Ticketmaster, we worked to ensure minimal impact to fees for season ticket holders or recurring local events.”
“We are confident in the services provided by Ticketmaster. Ticket fees are determined on an event-by-event basis and in line with industry standards.”
Few will take comfort in knowing that the pricing will be based on industry standards, since Ticketmaster controls such a large portion of said industry. And even if you just want to attend the typical Mooseheads or Thunderbirds game, you will go through Ticketmaster. Every event, whether concert or sport, will be handled by the company.
“Ticketmaster will provide ticketing services for all events at Scotiabank Centre (from recurring local events like Mooseheads and Thunderbirds to comedy, concerts, and other events),” said Young.
When asked why they made the switch from Ticket Atlantic to Ticketmaster, Young said it happened through a procurement process.
“Scotiabank Centre completed a full procurement process and business analysis for its ticketing services and as a result, is entering into a long-term partnership with Ticketmaster as the exclusive provider of ticketing services for the venue.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].
Editor’s note: This story was last updated on June 29, at 4:30 PM
June 30, 2023 @ 9:11 am
I most certainly agree with the frequently quoted business adage “To be the Best, you have to work with the Best”. However, there is a cost associated with this service, and if you are the consumer, this added cost may be just the tipping point in making decisions vis-a-vis where their discretionary spending dollars will go. In the spring, I had purchased playoff tickets to see a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game in Moncton which also uses the servies of Ticket Master and was somewhat taken aback when I saw that the total amount I was paying to see the event was in USA currency and that the added transactional costs ( which also included a municipal downtown Tourist Hospitality betterment fee) which in the aggregate amounted to approximately 25% of the event fee, and which was also in US Currency. No wonder municipalities are happy to see Ticket Master handle entertainment venues in their jurisdictions since they can charge extra fees and/or taxes and make TicketMaster look like the greedy bad guy.