The chief executive of one of New Zealand’s biggest rugby clubs has personally called secondary sellers offering tickets to this weekend’s Super Rugby final to warn them their seats will be cancelled unless they are removed from auctions.
Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee acted after scores of fans missed out on tickets to the final, between the Hurricanes and the Lions at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium.
Tickets were snapped up in minutes through official partner Ticketek earlier this week, before a flurry of auctions went live on Trade Me – many with prices several times over their face value.
“We have technology that allows us to cancel any ticket illegally put up for resale, and we have a team of people reviewing auctions that contravene the terms and conditions of purchase,” Lee said, according to the Stuff.co.nz news portal.
Paul Ford, a spokesman for Trade Me, a leading secondary seller in New Zealand, questioned whether Lee’s stance would make any difference.
“It’s an interesting approach, so good on them for trying to enforce Ticketek’s rules around the resale of tickets to their event,” he said.
“Enforcing this way does feel a bit like trying to shut the gate after the horse has bolted. We reckon there should be more scrutiny on how event promoters control supply at the outset.”
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