Digital tickets at BC Place a game-changer for Vancouver resellers

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The COVID-19 pandemic has likely put an end to people buying last-minute paper tickets with paper money outside of Vancouver’s stadiums.

Thursday’s BC Lions home opener marks the first time in 656 days that thousands of sports fans were allowed inside one of the city’s arenas. The elimination of paper tickets was one of the precautions brought in to curb the potential for spreading the coronavirus, along with eliminating cash transactions for concessions.

Ticket resellers, like Kingsely Bailey with Vancouver Ticket Service, have been anxiously awaiting the return of live events.

“I can sense, just by sitting here on Beatty Street across from the stadium, the excitement in the atmosphere of people walking into this building. They’ve been away for so long and they finally got out. It’s like they’ve been in prison and now they’ve just been released,” he tells NEWS 1130.

So happy to welcome you all back to our den again #ThisIsOurPride pic.twitter.com/OCiTyrRLB0

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) August 20, 2021

But digital-only ticketing is a game-changer. Bailey says making and selling fake tickets will be much more difficult, which is a good thing.

“It really cuts down a lot on the fraudulent activity for people buying tickets that are absolutely no good. It’s made more difficult, but not impossible. I’m glad for that because the riffraff that we’re selling counterfeit tickets are now off the table, you can’t do it anymore,” he says.

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Reselling tickets on game day will likely persist, but the transaction will be a bit more complicated.

“What [a seller] has to do is to transfer it. He’s got to transfer it to that customer’s email address, and that customer will have to create an account to accept the ticket, and have the tickets in his account,” he says.

“There’s a lot of steps involved here for you to have the tickets in the first place. You have to have a Ticketmaster account. For you to sell that ticket, you need to sell it to somebody that has a Ticketmaster account, or they will have to create an account to accept and use that ticket to get into the venue. It makes things a lot slower to process.”

The exchange of personal information complicates the transaction, and may dissuade some people from purchasing tickets outside of stadiums.

“People are still going to be somewhat leery. That’s a little bit more information than you have to provide,” he says.

“If you want to sell that ticket, you have to put the information of who you’re selling it to into their database and the team will have total control of all that information. But again if you have a really good business relationship with clients and you’ve got a good reputable name, they will tend to trust you.”

He also believes the new digital system will spell the end of exorbitant price increases at the very last minute.

BC Place is proud to be using @Ticketmaster ‘s SafeTix system and has moved to an all-digital ticketing platform. For information on how to access your BC Lions mobile tickets, click here: https://t.co/ofCEEiZlC8 pic.twitter.com/SBf9mPkOb4

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) August 19, 2021

COVID-19 precautions also include limits on what people can bring into the stadium. Bailey says this presents another opportunity for a secondary economy outside of large events.

“They’re not allowing you to carry anything into the stadium. If it’s gone into a clear plastic bag which is another business opportunity that I see for me,” he says.

“We’re probably going to implement bag service where we can do storage.”

The province is currently in Phase 3 of the restart plan, which only allows 50 per cent capacity at venues like BC Place. The possibility of requiring proof of vaccination for entry to sporting events and concerts is something that B.C.’s top doctor has not ruled out. However, it is not yet required for events at BC Place.

Dr. Bonnie Henry was at Thursday’s game where she encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, and a drop-in vaccine clinic was set up before the game in nearby Terry Fox Plaza.

“I’m so excited… now if we could just do something about the score.”

Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks at tonight’s #BCLions game, encouraging fans to get vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/GTrEkkqi68

— Tim James (@_TimJames) August 20, 2021