Events East, the group that oversees operations at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, says it needed a ticket provider after their contract with Ticket Atlantic expired.
“At the end of the day Ticketmaster was the selected proponent,” says Erin Esiyok-Prime, a spokesperson for Events East.
That decision isn’t a popular one with event-goers. Many took to social media to voice their displeasure.
“This is highly disappointing to see ticket sales going to an out of province company with a horrible reputation and platform,” one person said on social media.
Another says: “ this is not the exciting news you think it is. I’m pretty sure no one is buying tickets like Ticketmaster.“
Esyiok-Prime says she’s heard from worried event-goers about the change.
“Some fans have expressed concerns about Ticketmaster and the perception in the news they have heard around fees. But I think it’s important to clarify that Scotiabank Centre as a venue still operates off the box office. We still have a contract directly with those events and we set the fees in conjunction with the event organizers. The Ticketmaster fees are fixed,” she says.
In the United States, President Joe Biden is taking on Ticketmaster and what he’s calling “junk fees,” hidden costs that are added to the final price of a ticket at checkout.
According to Esyiok-Prime, that’s not an issue north of the border.
“In Canada, Ticketmaster does an all-in fee so you’ll see the upfront cost for the ticket,” she says.
“I don’t think anything is going to change drastically,” says Louis Thomas, who owns Sonic Concerts.
The promoter says as far as he’s concerned, it’ll be business as usual.
“Every promoter that goes in there would have to use Ticketmaster. That will not negatively affect the amount of business that we do there and I would be very surprised if it negatively affects the business that goes in there at all,” Thomas says.
He says he doesn’t think the partnership with Ticketmaster will lead to more shows because Halifax is geographically isolated and doesn’t have a large enough venue to house the big names on tour.
Tickets already sold to upcoming events are valid.
If any changes are needed, ticket holders will be contacted directly.
The change to Ticketmaster isn’t immediate.
A phased in approach has already started with Halifax Moosehead season ticket holders. A full switch should be complete no later than the end of august.
