Major League Baseball franchise the New York Yankees has signed a sponsorship deal with StubHub in an agreement that ends a long-running dispute with the ticketing company.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but multiple reports said it will run for six and a half years and will be worth around $100m (€88.7m) to the Yankees.
The deal designates StubHub as the official fan-to-fan ticket resale marketplace of the Yankees. The new product will allow StubHub to be completely integrated into the Yankees ticket system, replacing the Yankees Ticket Exchange, which has been operated by StubHub’s rival, Ticketmaster.
The Yankees had previously opted out of StubHub’s existing league-wide deal with MLB, with the two parties having been at odds over ticket pricing. The new system will be fully integrated and operational by July 7. The first ticket availability will be for the July 15 game against the Boston Red Sox, and extend through the remainder of the 2016 schedule.
As part of the sponsorship agreement with the Yankees, StubHub will receive full marketing and sponsorship benefits, including signage at Yankee Stadium, suite access, and use of official team marks.
Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees, said: “This new product was the result of many productive discussions with StubHub, which will allow them to fully integrate into our ticket system. We are confident this collaboration will best protect our fans in the resale ticket marketplace.”
Scott Cutler, president of StubHub, added: “StubHub's goal is to ensure that fans have access to games that they love to attend, and I'd like to thank both the Yankees and MLB Advanced Media for their willingness to come to the table and reach a positive solution for all parties.”
While other secondary resale platforms will continue to remain an option for fans to buy and resell Yankees tickets, only StubHub will be fully integrated with the New York Yankees.