Patricia G. Spira, founder of the International Ticketing Association (INTIX) and Box Office Management International (BOMI) has died at the age of 98.
Spira passed away in San Diego, California on February 12.
Spira graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1967 with a BA in history, before going on to become the Box Office manager at Milwaukee’s Marcus Performing Arts Center.
After being told by her organisation leadership that she was unable to attend a professional conference, Spira went on to create her own association for ticketing professionals.
In 1980, Spira opened the BOMI/INTIX office in New York, where she ran the organisation as its president for 22 years. She retired in 2002 and the INTIX Lifetime Achievement award was renamed the Patricia G.Spira Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 to honour her contribution to the industry.
An obituary from INTIX said: “Patricia will be remembered for being a mentor, a colleague, a friend, and a force. She was an unfailing champion of live entertainment ticketing as a profession but more importantly of the people.
“She always knew ‘who was who’ around the world and brokered countless relationships between people and organisations to advance the profession of ticketing.”
The obituary added: “All of us who call this life and career of ticketing are forever indebted to her. We are grateful for her vision and her service to us in demanding the respect and the acknowledgement of this work and its integral value to live entertainment around the world.”
Spira is survived by her children James, Ann and Ellen, as well as her eight grandchildren. She was married to Marvin A. Spira until his death in 2021.
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