Bill seeks to end Bristol race ticket scalping

Selling speedway tickets for more than face value anywhere in the state would become illegal July 1 and carry a fine of up to $5,000 under legislation pending before the General Assembly.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Williams, R-Maynardville, and Rep. Jere Hargrove, D-Cookeville, is aimed primarily at ticket scalping on eBay, an online auction service.

The Food City 500 race on Sunday at the 160,000-seat Bristol track is one of the hottest tickets in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series. The race officially is sold out. Tickets sold for $88 apiece.

But on Monday, eBay had more than 130 listings for “Food City 500” tickets, sometimes at three or four times face value.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said Wayne Estes, BMS spokesman. “Some time ago, we approached eBay and asked them what it would take for them to quit putting (BMS) tickets on their site.”

Estes said a Bristol, Tenn., city ordinance banning ticket scalping was not enough to halt online sales, so a state law banning scalping for facilities with an “excess of 140,000 permanent seats” was sought. The Bristol raceway is the only such facility in the state.

Violators would be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000. The city ordinance enacted five years ago bans all ticket scalping inside the city, carries a fine of up to $50 and allows tickets to be confiscated.

Bristol, Va., and the state of Virginia do not have anti-scalping laws, although both Bristols prohibit the buying, selling, trading or exchanging of tickets on public rights of way.

“There’s some people that just don’t have the access or time to go to Bristol and get the tickets when they’re first available,” Williams said. “I’m not against someone making money, but it’s gone overboard.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to recommend the bill for full Senate passage.

Meanwhile, race track officials say they will continue revoking ticket-buying privileges of any scalpers they catch.

“We’re doing this because the fans have asked us to do this over and over and over again,” Estes said. “We have made it clear we’re opposed to scalping on general principle. We’re just trying to cut out middlemen so the real race fans can get their tickets at the same price everybody else pays for their tickets.”
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Bristol Motor Speedway: http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/