North Carolina Legislature Considers Tough Resale Bill

By Alfred Branch, Jr.

State legislators in North Carolina are considering passage of a potentially onerous bill that would allow the resale of tickets over the Internet only if a broker receives prior approval by the venue.

In addition, the proposed bill calls for the venue to set a maximum limit of tickets that can be resold.

Several states recently, including Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania have approved bills allowing ticket reselling, but none contain the type of language in the North Carolina proposal. . .
Senate Bill 1407 is called “AN ACT TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM UNLAWFUL SALE OF ADMISSION TICKETS IN EXCESS OF THE PRINTED PRICE AND TO PROHIBIT THE ACQUISITION OF MORE THAN THE ALLOWABLE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TICKETS FOR RESALE,” and was sponsored by state Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, Jr., who represents the Concord, NC district where Lowe’s Motor Speedway is located.

Ticketmaster has a contract with the speedway to sell its tickets, in addition to deals with other pro and college teams throughout the state, and the primary ticket giant is reportedly lobbying hard for the new law, which could essentially eliminate competition with the legislation.

State legislators are slated to discuss the bill during a public hearing this week. Sen. Hartsell did not return a message seeking comment.