djgriff
03-12-2008, 01:41 PM
Scalper bill is music to fans' ears
BY FRANK LOMBARDI
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Wednesday, March 12th 2008, 4:00 AM
Fans of entertainers like Miley Cyrus and Billy Joel will have something to sing about under a new City Council bill forcing publicly subsidized venues to reserve 40% of all tickets for individual customers.
The bill, to be introduced today, is aimed at stopping brokers and scalpers from snapping up most of the tickets the moment they go on sale and reselling them for a small ransom.
"It seems to me that if taxpayers are subsidizing these arenas then they should certainly have a fair opportunity to buy tickets to events that are being held there," said the bill's sponsor, Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-Queens)
Venues affected include Madison Square Garden and Yankee and Shea stadiums.
Violations by the venues - not the scalpers - could be punished by civil fines as high as $500 for each improperly sold ticket.
The city can't punish scalpers because Gov. Spitzer and the state Legislature scrapped limits on how much they can legally add to the face price of tickets for events held in the state, Comrie noted.
The scalpers had made hefty contributions to state politicians, including $40,000 to Spitzer, according to Common Cause New York.
Comrie said his bill was prompted in part by the furor triggered over the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana tour in the metro area last December, where $65 tickets were resold for $1,250.
BY FRANK LOMBARDI
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Wednesday, March 12th 2008, 4:00 AM
Fans of entertainers like Miley Cyrus and Billy Joel will have something to sing about under a new City Council bill forcing publicly subsidized venues to reserve 40% of all tickets for individual customers.
The bill, to be introduced today, is aimed at stopping brokers and scalpers from snapping up most of the tickets the moment they go on sale and reselling them for a small ransom.
"It seems to me that if taxpayers are subsidizing these arenas then they should certainly have a fair opportunity to buy tickets to events that are being held there," said the bill's sponsor, Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-Queens)
Venues affected include Madison Square Garden and Yankee and Shea stadiums.
Violations by the venues - not the scalpers - could be punished by civil fines as high as $500 for each improperly sold ticket.
The city can't punish scalpers because Gov. Spitzer and the state Legislature scrapped limits on how much they can legally add to the face price of tickets for events held in the state, Comrie noted.
The scalpers had made hefty contributions to state politicians, including $40,000 to Spitzer, according to Common Cause New York.
Comrie said his bill was prompted in part by the furor triggered over the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana tour in the metro area last December, where $65 tickets were resold for $1,250.