Cristine Hurley Joins Tickets.com as CFO

Tickets.com is pleased to announce the addition of Cristine Hurley in the role of Chief Financial Officer.  She will immediately take on responsibility for all aspects of Tickets.com’s financial strategy and management.

“Cristine has the perfect professional pedigree for our company,” explains John Walker, President and CEO of Tickets.com.  “Her experience in the sports and entertainment industry will help us immediately.  She’s extremely talented and will be a strategic partner within all areas of our business, as well as a rock-solid resource for our clients."

Hurley’s CV includes the role of Vice President, Team Finance for the National Basketball Association, where she was a primary league office liaison with all NBA, WNBA and D-League teams.  Prior to the NBA, she was the Chief Financial Officer for the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball franchise.  Most recently Hurley was a Partner at Pro Forma Advisors, where she consulted on financial feasibility and economic/fiscal impact studies, primarily relating to sports. 

Hurley is a Certified Public Accountant, holds a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and completed the Executive Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.  

Read the complete release here. 

Congratulations INTIX 2013 Award Recipients

The INTIX Awards Program was created to honor and showcase those who have demonstrated professionalism, leadership, service and special achievements through creative, informative and innovative management. 

This year two Tickets.com clients were honored during the Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.  A HUGE congratulations to Aren Murray, Texas A & M University, on winning the Spirit Award and Tulsa Performing Arts Center, accepted by Terri McGilbra, Ticket Office Manager, for Outstanding Box Office.  The recognition is well-deserved in both cases and we're proud to call you family! 

Congratulations to all of this year's winners!  

Terri McGilbra of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center 2013 Outstanding Box Office, Jack Lucas 2013 Patricia G. Spira Lifetime Achievement Award, Tammy Enright 2013 Young Ticketing Professional, Aren Murray 2013 Spirit Award recipient, Laura Zehe 2013 Outstanding Ticketing Professional.

INTIX is currently accepting nominations for the 2014 Awards.   

Gene Simmons to Give Keynote Address at ProVenue® Exchange

Rock icon and entrepreneur Gene Simmons will be the keynote speaker at ProVenue Exchange on April 30, 2013. 

The Singer and bassist of the famed rock group KISS and star of the 7-season-running Reality TV show “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” has agreed to be a Keynote speaker at the Tickets.com ProVenue Exchange conference being held April 29-May 2 at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego.

The conference is an annual gathering of Tickets.com clients and industry professionals. Focused on education, it also explores key topics and business opportunities for executives of sports teams and live entertainment venues around the world.  Simmons’ extensive experience as a performer as well as his insightful perspectives on how to control a brand and leverage it for profit will be invaluable material for attendees and be the highlight of the conference.

“Gene is an absolute ideal fit for our event,” said Doug Lyons, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Tickets.com.  “ProVenue Exchange is all about the business of live entertainment, and nobody – and I mean NOBODY – can talk to this topic better than Gene.  We are so excited to have him join us.”

In addition to being co-founder of one of the most successful and unique performing acts of all time, Simmons has built a reputation for excellence in a wide array of ventures including movies, television shows, publishing, merchandising, live event promotion - even smartphone applications and financial services.  His reputation for directness, superb business judgment and making money is legendary, and his presentation skills and style are unparalleled.

“The fact that we are using a Rock and Roll theme for this year’s event – and holding it at the ultimate Rock and Roll property, The Hard Rock Hotel - was the clincher,” continued Lyons. “Gene was by far our top choice and we know he will inspire our attendees and raise the overall conference experience tremendously.”

Tickets.com, provider of both the www.tickets.com online “ticket exploration engine” and ProVenue, the leading in-house ticketing platform for sports and live entertainment, has been a pioneer in technology since entering the Internet ticketing space in the late-1990s. 

For more information about the conference, visit www.provenueexchange.com. For more about Gene Simmons, visit www.genesimmons.com.

ProVenue® Is Off to the Races!

Unique New Orleans Racetrack and Casino Chooses to Take Control of Revenue

Tickets.com and the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, a member of the prestigious Churchill Downs family of properties, have announced an agreement to use the ProVenue platform for ticketing operations at the New Orleans, LA venue.

This is the first time the Fair Grounds organization has ventured into the online ticketing arena, having predominately been an onsite admission venue. By entrusting Tickets.com to handle their ticketing needs and services, they will now be able to leverage data and control revenue -- including the ability to keep fees exceptionally low -- to aid their drive to increase advance ticket sales. They will further use their flexibility with the system to aggressively compete for non-racing events and grow their business. 

Mark Connor, who leads the facility's marketing efforts, commented, "We made the decision to use ProVenue for several reasons; affordability, ease of use and access, and ability to tailor fit the platform to the needs of our facility. We look forward to offering online ticket sales to our customers as well as an enhanced customer service experience with expanded ticket purchase and delivery options."

Read the complete release here.   

MLB’s Baltimore Orioles Choose ProVenue® From Tickets.com®

Club desires more flexibility and tighter integration of systems for better fan experience

Tickets.com and Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles have signed a long term contract for the use of the ProVenue ticketing platform for all events at the team’s iconic Oriole Park at Camden Yards ballpark.

The Orioles are eager to be part of the leading-edge technologies that Tickets.com has developed with the ProVenue platform. Tickets.com were pioneers in Mobile Ticketing, being the first ticketing company to allow fans to search for, purchase and have tickets delivered to a mobile device. Recently, Major League Baseball Advanced Media and Tickets.com took mobile options a step further by being first adopters of Apple’s Passbook application for iPhones.

“It is important that the Orioles utilize new and emerging technologies to benefit our customers,” says Greg Bader, Orioles Vice President of Communications and Marketing. “We have very sophisticated fans in our region, and they request that we deliver content to them in the latest manner. This includes access to their game tickets and will extend to other programs we will be launching in the future such as loyalty and stored value programs. ProVenue and Tickets.com are positioned to help us get there quickly.”

Tickets.com now provides ticketing solutions for 16 teams in Major League Baseball, as well as prominent sports and live entertainment organizations around the world.

Read the complete release here.

Tickets.com® Proves Success and Staying Power in the Collegiate Market

We are pleased to share that we are renewing clients in the college space at a brisk pace thanks to new innovations and dedication to long-term client needs.

Artermus Ham Hall at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Yale University, as well as the Universities of Toledo, Cincinnati, and Northern Colorado are just a few of the numerous clients who signed renewal agreements so far in 2012.

Jesse Bridges from the University of Vermont credits two new developments in particular - online Interactive Seat Maps (ISMs) and Social Media integration - as keys to the decision.

Colleagues at other schools agree.

“Students and their families are highly social and technologically savvy in this day and age,” points out Randy Blackwood, Executive Director of Athletic and Entertainment Facilities, Missouri State University seconding Bridges’ assessment. “Having integration to Facebook and Twitter and better tools to purchase tickets – including the new online seat-maps - are necessities in today’s world, not options. Tickets.com has come through for us in both areas, and we’re excited about our continued relationship.”

Social media integration and online system upgrades also weighed heavily in the renewal decisions for Northwest Florida State College as it did for the University of San Diego.

Patrick Serrano of Dominican University just outside Chicago, IL shares the excitement about the new social aspects of the Tickets.com offering, and thinks the Interactive Seat Maps will allow them to offer a “dramatically better experience” for their customers. His thoughts are echoed by Karen Pealer of Eastern Kentucky University who adds, “People today want self-service, and the online seat selection tool and ability to inform friends through social channels directly from the ticketing website will give people the feeling of control they desire to have a positive experience with us.”

Other schools renewing recently include Minnesota’s Bethel University, the College of Southern Nevada, and Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Tickets.com® Renews Hult Center to Long Term Contract

Today we announced a long-term extension with the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. The 5 year deal - with options for an additional 6 years - includes the Center’s move to the industry leading ProVenue® ticketing platform.

“Tickets.com has been a valuable partner in providing technology services to the Hult Center and we are excited to take advantage of their latest innovations with the ProVenue system,” said Marcia James-Gluz, Ticket Services Manager at of the Center. “We look forward to expanding our capabilities and creating the best ticket purchase experience for our patrons with the use of this great tool.”

Like many other Tickets.com venues, the Hult Center is excited about upgrading to the system’s new fully-integrated, best-in-breed Interactive Seat Maps, that allow customers to select seats online from maps dynamically generated from the ticketing system. This is unlike other systems where such maps need to be built and maintained separately and updated manually when event configurations change – which is often.

The Hult Center opened to national acclaim in 1982 and is home to a number of important Resident Companies including the Eugene Ballet, Concert Choir, Opera and Symphony as well as the Oregon Bach Festival and Oregon Festival of American Music. It holds over 400 events a year in its numerous performance and entertainment spaces, including the popular outdoor Cuthbert Amphitheater. The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is owned by the people of Eugene and operated by the City of Eugene's Cultural Services Division.

Access the complete release here.