21-02-2025
Hawaii lawmakers look to stop ticket resellers
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Ticket resellers have been making huge profits off events in Hawaii, sometimes leaving locals having to pay extreme prices. One bill could put a stop to that.
Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news
No matter who's performing, there's always been an issue here with resellers raising ticket prices.
'In the early 80s, when tickets were $16.50, they were selling them for $200,' said Rick Bartalini, concert promoter. 'So now that tickets, the face value of tickets are $200, they're going for like $3000 on Stubhub for hot shows.'
Preschool Open Doors priority application period now open
Senate Bill 1160 looks to stop that by making it illegal for anyone to sell tickets more than the original price charged by the provider.
'What it does is prevent scalpers and bots and other folks from the mainland and swooping in and buying up tickets just to use them and hold them hostage until someone's willing to pay some exhoborent price,' said Sen. Chris Lee, (D) Transportation, and Culture and the Arts Committee Chair.
Promoters said it happens all the time in Hawaii from large venues like the Blaisdell Arena to the intimate like Manoa Valley Theater.
The director there said a patron recently bought tickets off a spoofed website.
'So they're paying two, three times more than they should be to come to our performances, and that's not what we do,' said Kathleen Young, Manoa Valley Theater. 'We work really hard to keep the arts accessible for everyone in Hawaii, and we wanna make sure they're coming in and paying a fair price.'
There's a three-year study done on National Hockey League resale tickets. It found that there was very little difference in resale prices between markets with price caps and those without.
Opponents of the bill said price caps just don't work. However, supporters said Hawaii is the exception to that rule. They added our venues are much smaller, and our events are much fewer, so our tickets are in much demand, which makes us more vulnerable to ticket scalpers.
Opponents also said the bill is too broad and takes away the consumer's choice.'I think it's better to work in cooperation with the already regulated marketplaces for these for these items than it is to kind of create an arbitrary standard or to create a price cap which again we've seen in other studies isn't as effective at achieving the legislative aim,' Robert Singleton, Chamber of Progress.
'It just makes sense to take proactive steps to make sure local residents can access local events and local tickets without being scammed by people overseas,' said Lee.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
