Ticketing primed to get crown jewel treatment 23/10/2008 |
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The government is preparing an about-turn on its opposition to a list of "crown-jewel" events where ticket resales would be banned. It has hitherto resisted sports' pleas to add ticketing to its special rules for broadcasting such events.
Although the resale of football tickets is illegal, the purpose of that legislation was solely to maintain fan segregation and prevent a return of violence in stadiums. So far cricket, tennis and rugby have lost the argument for similar laws against ticket resales for events such as the Ashes, Wimbledon and the Six Nations.
There has been coordinated lobbying from the secondary-ticketing industry and free-market MPs who insist that, once sold, it should be legal to offer tickets to the highest bidder. But that has led to Britain having the most highly developed scalping industry in the world.
The culture secretary, Andy Burnham, has come to recognise the effect on sports' grassroots supporter base - where only the richest can afford entry, with children often priced out of landmark sporting events - and the implications for sports bodies' incomes. He has now called for a wide-ranging consultation that will look not only at protecting consumers against rising prices in an economic downturn but also at a "crown jewels" extension.
(Source: Guardian.co.uk)
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