Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Redskins get a GM: Bruce Allen
While NinjaTickets.com is still recovering from malicious attacks on our servers, we are excited to hear that our home team, the Redskins, have hired a GM for the first time under the tenure of owner Dan Snyder. Bruce Allen, formerly with the Tampa Bay Bucs and son of George Allen former Redskins coach, is the Redskins new GM and EVP of football operations. Allen worked with Gruden in Tampa (but not on the super bowl winning team). Allen is a top negotiator and cap analyst, but not considered a top recruiter unlike Vinny Cerrato who officially stepped down on 12/17/09. Cerrato will not retain a position with the Redskins. Rock Cartwright said of Cerrato: "I wish him the best and hopefully I don’t see him down the road."
It will be interesting to see what this hire forebodes for the Redskins. Will Allen have complete control over football operations? Is this a part of a push to get Gruden on the sidelines? What happens if Zorn wins out (It is long been rumored that Zorn is gone after this year if unable to pull off a huge turn around.)
As a Redskins fan this is an early Christmas present. It is definitely a step forward for the Redskins and a great move by Dan Snyder; the question remains though, is this the end of fantasy football in Washington?
Thursday, October 29, 2009
NinjaTickets.com Under DDoS Attack!
We will be back up ASAP. In the mean time, I've had to face how out of date Ninja Ticket's blog is and I'm going to start keeping this up again.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Re Cutler: NFL Offseason Overshadowing Final Four
Bus Cook has orchestrated yet another off season circus. Getting his clients more media attention in the off season of the NFL than perhaps the MLB entering into opening weekend and the final four. Let's break down how this happened:
1. (RUMOR) Josh McDaniels didn't want Cutler because he has diabeties and he drinks.
2. Everyone wanted Cutler because he was young and showed promise.
3. Snyder plus a lot of teams that actually had a QB need, wanted a potential franchise QB.
4. Denver knows how to work other teams trading high profile players.
5. Cook is a jump-ship media "whore".
First off the fact that the NFL offseason could overshadow the MLB AND the Final Four is quite amazing. It took every one of the above list to make it happen.
The Outcome:
The Bears needed a QB, perhaps more than anyone in the league. They have a defense and a solid basis for a team. This move makes sense, I would expect them to make a playoff run
Their ticket prices will also increase, look for a price north of today's $229 average in the future.
The Redskins have dodge a bullet. Campbell has had an opportunity to exude his quiet leadership and I believe it will be a break out year for him. (Check out this Washington Times article.)
The Bucs and Lions were either unable or unwilling to follow the Bears into their Snyder-like-offer for Cutler.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Reznor Predicts Ticket Auctions on the Primary Market
NIN's Reznor has predicted that a TicketMaster LiveNation merger may imply more than just hanging on to ticketing rights to approximately 30% of the venues on TicketMaster. According to Reznor: "My guess as to what will eventually happen if/when Live Nation and TicketMaster merges is that they'll move to an auction or market-based pricing scheme -- which will simply mean it will cost a lot more to get a good seat for a hot show," he wrote. "They will simply become the scalper." (Reuters)
This is an interesting observation and a "silent auction" ticketing method has been used for the major reunion of Led Zeppelin. There are still some hurdles to overcome though including on site ticketing, PSL's, and Season Ticket waiting lists. However, it does appear that such a merger would allow certain major acts to choose how their tickets are sold for tours in multiple venues.
I'm not really sure if this is a boon for consumers. Setting aside a certain number of tickets for such a silent auction while upholding traditional ticketing methods such as direct box office sales and online cues may actually be better for the average user. However, a complete silent auction based system would seemingly limit a consumers ability to buy tickets offline.
It also establishes true market value fairly quickly, albeit for a limited snapshot time. Auctions could easily drive down the price of tickes for unpopular concerts as well as put some tickets at a premium students and young people, who may be willing to sit in line, are unable to afford, potentially aleinating core fans. A silent auction system will likely cut the price differential between primary and secondary tickets.
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