Six days before the NBA draft kicks off what will be a condensed start to the new league year, the Cleveland Cavaliers' business team announced a significant signing.
SeatGeek is the new ticketing provider for the Cavs and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the team and the New York-based company said on Thursday, Nov. 12. The deal, according to sources, is for five years and includes options that could extend the partnership.
Flash Seats had been the Cavs' digital ticketing marketplace since it was launched by Dan Gilbert and Sam Gerace in 2006. In 2018, the Cavs added StubHub to the mix, giving the team two official marketplaces.
The StubHub agreement expired after the 2019-20 season. Veritix, which operated Flash Seats, was acquired by AXS in 2015, and the deal that made the Los Angeles-based company the Cavs' official ticketing provider recently expired.
Enter SeatGeek, which will serve as the official ticketing platform for the Cavs and Cleveland Monsters, plus the Cavs Legion Gaming Club and other events that are held at the arena. The new agreement also includes the Canton Charge, the NBA G League team that is owned by the Cavs and plays at the Canton Civic Center.
Nic Barlage, the Cavs' president of business operations, said SeatGeek offers a pair of features that proved to be "key differentiators" when the organization was looking at potential ticketing partners.
SeatGeek Adapt is a tool that helps event operators maintain social distancing and manage COVID-19 protocols. Another feature, Rally, is the hub for customers' tickets, which can be added to their Apple and Android wallets, and can alert fans to retail specials, assist with parking options and help them book a ride to the game (via Lyft, another Cavs partner).
The features will be integrated into the apps of the Cavs, Monsters and Charge, and will be available to Cavs fans who use SeatGeek's app.
"It's a way for us to really streamline the fan journey," Barlage said. "From the moment our fans leave their driveway all the way until the time they're coming for an event, and then ultimately when they're looking to come home as well."
For SeatGeek co-founder and CEO Jack Groetzinger, the partnership is "a dream come true."
Groetzinger grew up in Chagrin Falls and graduated from Hawken School in Gates Mills. He's a huge Cleveland sports fan who has attended "hundreds" of Cavs games in Cleveland.
Groetzinger founded SeatGeek in 2009, two years after he graduated from Dartmouth College. Eleven years later, the company has grown from being a major secondary marketplace to serving as the primary marketplace for the Cavs, New Orleans Pelicans, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.
SeatGeek's enterprise business, which was launched four years ago, provides real-time data to teams that help them "understand who's in their building," as well as identify new fans and "totally reimagine" the game-day experience, Groetzinger said.
The SeatGeek CEO said the Cavs and the ticketing provider are "working quickly" to be ready for the start of the NBA season, which is scheduled to tip off Dec. 22. Additional features will be rolled out in the coming months.
"It's really a complete technology partnership," Groetzinger said.
Ticketing providers in the last five to 10 years "have really transitioned into being technology companies that ticket events and venues," Barlage said.
"There's best-in-class technology that's out there, and for us it was ultimately finding the right partner that we felt aligned with us from a cultural perspective and kind of matched our entrepreneurial spirit," the Cavs' president of business operations said. "And we feel like we've been able to find that with SeatGeek."
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Cavs strike deal with SeatGeek that makes New York company its official ticketing provider - Crain's Cleveland Business
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