The United States’ largest secondary ticketing marketplace StubHub, owned by eBay, has signed a new partnership deal in Britain with the Lawn Tennis Association and will handle this summer’s AEGON sponsored events at London’s Queen’s Club, Edgbaston and Eastbourne.
The two parties have signed a three year deal and the LTA believe they have secured a safe method of British tennis fans being able to buy and sell tickets.
StubHub have also secured on-site branding opportunities and a presence on the websites of all three tournaments as well as other marketing and communications channels, including editorial and social media.
The company launched in Britain just over a year ago and the LTA agreement follows on from deals with English Premier League soccer clubs Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Sunderland as well as Premiership Rugby Union’s Leicester Tigers and any National Basketball Association events staged in the UK.
Nick Harford: StubHub’s Director of International Partnerships, said: “We are proud to be partnering with the LTA for the first time and look forward to providing tennis fans access to come of the most prestigious events of the grass court season.
“The StubHub.co.uk site will provide fans with a safe and secure place to buy and sell tickets for the LTA’s three high profile grass court tennis tournaments featuring some of the leading international tennis players, backed by our FanProtectTM Guarantee and world leading customer service. We will be working closely with the LTA to create some truly unique and memorable fan experiences in and around the events.”
Lawrence Robertson, LTA commercial director, responded: “We are delighted to welcome a company of StubHub’s pedigree into out sponsor family. Not only do they bring their experience and knowledge of the ticketing marketplace to the table but through our partnership, tennis fans will be able to gain access to a wide range of experiences and events across the UK and beyond.”
StubHub has been involved in several controversies in the United States. In 2006 more than 100 New York Yankees season-ticket holders suspected of reselling their regular-season seats on StubHub received letters denying them the right to buy playoff tickets and barring them from buying season tickets for the 2007 season.
Then the New England Patriots sued StubHub to bar it from reselling the team’s tickets. Fans reportedly showed up at games with phony or voided tickets bought on the company’s website.
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: AEGON Championships, Britain LTA, Lawrence Robertson, StubHub tennis news, Tennis News