Paciolan to acquire TicketsWest, WestCoast Entertainment
US ticketing platform Paciolan, itself acquired by sports marketing agency Learfield in June, has announced it is to buy TicketsWest and Broadway show producer WestCoast Entertainment from hotel operator RLH Corporation.
The acquisition, says Paciolan, will enable “TicketsWest to continue to leverage its client-centric, full-service philosophy with a true powerhouse in ticketing, marketing, fundraising and analytics”, while Denver-based RLH (Red Lion Hotels) Corporation, which established TicketsWest as G&B Select-a-Seat in 1987, will refocus on its “core business”.
Dusty Kurtz, who took over as president of TicketsWest in April, will continue to lead the company under Paciolan/Learfield ownership, while Jack Lucas remains president of WestCoast Entertainment.
Paciolan is the second-largest primary ticketing provider in North America, offering white-label ticketing and marketing services to more than 500 live entertainment organisations, 75 performing-arts venues and 100+ professional sports teams and arenas.
“This is an excellent deal for both TicketsWest and RLH Corporation”
“This is an excellent deal for both TicketsWest and RLH Corporation,” comments RLH Corporation president and CEO Greg Mount. “It will provide alignment and synergies to TicketsWest clients and the industry, as well as opportunities to continue growing, while allowing RLH Corporation to focus solely on its family of hotel brands, which has expanded to 13 brands and over 1,100 properties.”
“We are thrilled to add TicketsWest and WestCoast Entertainment as members of the Paciolan family,” adds Paciolan president and COO Kim Damron (pictured).
“As a longtime partner with TicketsWest, we have great respect for their fantastic leadership team and staff who have earned an incredible reputation for delivering excellence in ticketing and marketing services to their clients.”
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White-label ticketer Paciolan sold again
Learfield Communications, a leading US college-sports marketing agency, has acquired white-label ticketing platform Paciolan from Comcast Spectacor.
The company was sold to Comcast Spectacor in 2010 by Ticketmaster as a condition of its merger with Live Nation, and later rebranded as the Ticketing & Fan Engagement Division of its subsidiary Spectra. Under Learfield ownership, it once again reverts to the Paciolan name.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The platform’s clients include more than 120 college athletics teams, 75 music and performing arts venues and 100 arenas and professional sports teams, including the 26,700-capacity Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota; Iowa Events Center (16,980-cap.) in Des Moines; Adams Center (7,500-cap.) in Missoula, Montana; and Budweiser Gardens (9,000-cap.) in London, Ontario.
“We couldn’t be happier, and look forward to having Paciolan as part of the Learfield family”
According to Learfield, Paciolan-developed ticketing systems sold more than 120 million tickets last year.
“We have long admired Paciolan,” comments Learfield’s president and CEO, Greg Brown. “Not only is it a great service with a number of segment-leading products, the reputation of its people, beginning with its founders and current management, is without peer.
“We couldn’t be happier, and look forward to having Paciolan as part of the Learfield family.”
Texas-based Learfield manages advertising and marketing for more than 100 US arenas and colleges. Since October 2016 it has been controlled by private-equity firm Atairos – itself backed by Comcast Spectacor parent Comcast-NBCUniversal.
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