Ticket Scalping

This ticket that is valued at $125 was bought by
a scalper for $75. A scalper was asking for $100 just
30 minutes before kickoff and eventually sold the
ticket for $60 10 minutes before kickoff. [PHOTO:
Joseph Truesdell]

Ticket scalpers have long been an attachment outside of sporting events, concerts, and other big events, but in Oklahoma it’s all about the Sooners’ and Cowboys’ football games.

Ticket scalping has become a fixture in our culture at nearly all sporting events and concerts. In Norman and Stillwater specifically, the scalping business is booming when both football teams are among the top 10 in the nation.

In some states, it is written that ticket resale is against state law, but in Oklahoma the state leaves the decision for each city to make. Scalping rarely occurs anywhere other than Norman, Oklahoma City, Stillwater, and Tulsa.

“Currently the city of Norman does not have an ordinance that prohibits someone from selling their tickets to a sporting event or some other event for more than face value,” said Norman City Attorney Rick Knighton.

City ordinances allow ticket resale in Norman and Stillwater, where in years like 2011, football tickets can carry outlandish prices.

In Oklahoma City where there are multiple concerts, NBA games, and other attractive events like Big 12 basketball tournaments, the city code states that it is illegal to sell a ticket for more than 50 cents above face value.

In 2006 at the University of Oklahoma, the OU athletic department and ticket office combined to form an online ticket exchange through the sooner sports website.

“The ticket marketplace was formed to provide a safe and secure place for fans to buy and sell tickets,” said senior associate athletic director Kenny Mossman. “If a fan purchases tickets from outside the stadium or from another vendor, there might be some question as to the validity of those tickets and by providing tickets through our website we have given fans the opportunity for fans to purchase tickets that way.”

Ticket scalping outside of venues on event will never go away due to the amount of people searching for good priced tickets during the last minute. However, the ticket-scalping world has slowed in past years because of online vendors and advertisements such as Craigslist and StubHub.

[VIDEO: Joseph Truesdell, runs: 1:30]