The University’s recent sponsorship of the Highlanders has highlighted the enduring issue that nowhere on campus sells tickets to the team’s games. While the sale of tickets by OUSA ceased about two years ago, the issue again resurfaced when tickets to O-week’s Blues v Highlanders match were the only event tickets that OUSA could not sell, other than those included in the Super Pass.
OUSA President Ruby Sycamore-Smith said that OUSA ceased to sell tickets to games about two years ago when “the Highlanders wanted OUSA to take on all the financial risk.” She said the Highlanders were not willing to support a sale and return agreement which would see OUSA pay for only the tickets that they were able to sell, with the surplus returned to the Highlanders and presumably sold at alternative venues. The alternative required OUSA to buy an allotment with the potential to wind up with a number of unsold tickets and thus a loss of revenue. Sycamore-Smith added that taking on the loss of any unsold tickets would “not be an appropriate risk” for OUSA to take.
Critic spoke with Highlanders Marketing Manager Amanda Gould who said that sale and return options “create exposure to situations where tickets are returned too close to kick-off to be able to be re-sold.” She said that an area such as the Zoo, where numbers are limited, meant that closely tracking the number of tickets sold was necessary to “maximise sales.”
She said that given the proximity of Forsyth Barr Stadium to campus, and with the option to purchase tickets online through Ticket Direct, “[Highlanders] tickets are readily available.”
When asked whether implementing ticket sales on campus might be considered in the future, Gould didn’t express any plans for the Highlanders to do so but said that alternative measures may be an option. “Our ticket partner, Ticket Direct, may well be interested in an agreement with the University of Otago to set up a ticket outlet onsite in future.”
Sycamore-Smith said she “absolutely” supported the sale of tickets on campus. “OUSA would also be keen to sell tickets but not at the cost of increased financial risk.” Critic speculated that the new Visitors Centre at St David’s Lecture theatre on Cumberland St would be a prime location to sell tickets to matches; however, the University has not confirmed any intention to do so.
Highlanders miss conversion
