They lurk among us: Typical folk who conduct illegal transactions yet look just like the rest of the fans packed into The Convo.
Ticket scalpers — as they’ve been called — are not fans, and no, they are not involved in any shady back alley negotiations, but they are making a charge at Ohio sporting events, as well as other schools in the Mid-American Conference.
Tickets for men’s basketball and football games are almost always readily available, but with the low likelihood of a sell-out, the need for scalping is a farce for mid-major schools.
Yet, ticket scalpers who sell tickets in a secondary market have made their way to Athens to sell tickets that have already been sold to the general public. The number of scalpers is hovering around one to two; a figure that Director of Marketing Drake Bolon says is less of a hindrance than it is a measurement of Ohio Athletics against top-tiered sporting events throughout the country.
“We have the best attendance in the MAC in football and men’s basketball, and (the rise of scalpers) is a testament to how much better our teams and players have improved,” Bolon said. “As you get better, it’s more of a reality.”
Tickets in the lower bowl, which sold out before the season began, may be resold through the scalpers, which are apparent at almost every crucial game Ohio plays.
“They (scalpers) would not be selling if there wasn’t a demand,” Bolon said. “There’s scarcity for seats no longer available through the ticket office.”
Other schools in the MAC see a trend in scalpers, especially around promoted games.
Dave Nottke, assistant athletic director of development and major project athletics at Toledo, says scalpers are more frequent at football games than other events, but are not making handsome profits doing so.
“Most of the time, (scalpers) are selling them at less than face value,” Nottke said. “Companies or employers may provide athletic tickets in bulk to employees, who then may pass them on to scalpers who try and make a few dollars per ticket.”
There is no general admission for basketball games at Toledo as there is at Akron, where Adam O’Connell, the director of ticket operations, says scalpers make most of their money.
“Big-time people aren’t selling their tickets, but general admission tickets are getting sold off and often times for less than what they’re worth,” O’Connell said.
Scalpers may come off rarely as the salvagers of tickets before they’re thrown away unused, but especially in small college sports, may be a herald of success for the school.
@ColinHanner
ch115710@ohiou.edu
