Clubs can re-sell Wales tickets with new scheme

THE WELSH RUGBY UNION and Ticketmaster, a Live Nation Entertainment company, have recently launched an initiative to create an official secondary market of international ticket sales by member clubs and the public to supporters.
The WRU has agreed the terms of a ground-breaking new deal, appointing Ticketmaster’s resale business, Seatwave, as the official ticket resale marketplace of rugby tickets for Welsh international matches at Principality Stadium – with more details and access to tickets available here: http://www. seatwave.com/wru
Under the terms of the arrangement the WRU will allow a limited number of tickets to be resold above face value by clubs via Seatwave, with clubs then allowed to retain any extra money raised through the sales.
There will be no restrictions placed on debenture holders, supporters’ club members or members of the public when reselling tickets via Seatwave, but all parties will benefit from the verification process on offer.
The WRU and Seatwave will seek to advise on pricing providing guidance to clubs and sellers over the prices to be charged, communicating average listing and selling prices.
The tickets resold will be verified by the Union and then re-issued to the buyer via the WRU Ticket Office. This verification process will ensure ticket buyers can be as confident buying resold tickets on the official marketplace as buying a ticket direct from the WRU.
Also under the terms of the arrangement all supporters will be informed, at the point of sale, of face value tickets if they are available.
As part of the agreement, the WRU, which allocated more than £22m back into Welsh rugby in the last financial year, has agreed that Ticketmaster will invest in the game in Wales.
The WRU has presented details of the new secondary market to member clubs through the district committees and the WRU Board has approved the initiative.
“Within the spirit of the new arrangement the WRU will actively promote the means of obtaining face value tickets so that they are always offered to customers if available,” said Craig Maxwell, WRU Group Head of Sales and Marketing.
“It remains the priority of the WRU to encourage supporters to obtain tickets directly from their local club at face value.
“However, we have chosen to review our position on the use of a secondary market for selling tickets following many years of trying to regulate secondary ticketing sites.
“In this time many sporting bodies have actually seen an increase in the use of secondary ticketing and supporters of the WRU and clubs have been and are continuing to use the secondary market to obtain tickets for Welsh international matches.
“The WRU have taken the decision to follow supporter demands and provide a service that is clearly being used already, but with the guaranteed safety and security for the ticket purchaser that only the WRU can offer.
“Supporters know that when they are using Seatwave, the tickets are genuine and they are guaranteed to see the match.
“We are pleased to be able to work with Ticketmaster, our long-standing ticketing partner, to offer a safe and secure secondary marketplace with an integrated verification process.
“This new arrangement seeks to protect supporters and promote our clubs as the primary sources for tickets to Welsh rugby matches and ensuring further investment into community clubs.”
Commenting on the agreement, Adam Newsam, Managing Director of Ticketmaster Sport, said: “This is a unique partnership that will benefit Welsh rugby, clubs and fans alike, as well as the grass-roots game.
“It’s a credit to the WRU that they have actively engaged with resale recognising the growing demand among fans to buy and sell tickets with confidence.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with the WRU on this innovative market-based response to the challenges and opportunities around ticket resale.
“Their fans will be offered greater choice, flexibility and protection, whilst at the same time the WRU will obtain a greater level of insight and influence on the ticket resale sector for their matches.
“This forward-looking approach to ticket resale will deliver real benefits for the game, and keeps the revenue within the sport and will eradicate the risk of fraud for verified ticket sales.”
Welsh Rugby fans can access the official ticket resale platform online at http://www.seatwave.com/wru. For more information, fans should follow Welsh Rugby Union and Seatwave on social media.