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Ticketmaster buys
Hawaii’s Ticket Plus

The former local CEO will
stay on as head of Hawaii
operations for the ticketing giant


By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

All the ticketing assets of Ticket Plus Inc., founded in Georgia but headquartered in Honolulu, have been acquired by Ticketmaster, the worldwide ticketing agency.

Manuel Sanchez, former president and chief executive officer of Ticket Plus, will stay on as general manager of the company's Hawaii operations, Ticketmaster said today. The purchase, for undisclosed terms, included the assets of Hawaii subsidiary Ticket Plus-Hawaii Inc.

In an announcement from Ticketmaster's headquarters in Los Angeles, the company said the same booking number, 526-4400 will be maintained, as will the same level of service in the islands, which includes telephone and Internet bookings for some of Hawaii's leading sports and entertainment venues.

The former Ticket Plus Web site now carries a referral to www.ticketmaster.com and the Hawaii phone is answered in Ticketmaster's name.

That site has tickets available for Honolulu Symphony concerts at the Neal Blaisdell Center, a number of men's and women's volleyball games and baseball tournament at University of Hawaii facilities, amateur sports events at the Waikiki Shell, and radio station-backed entertainment events at the Shell and at Blaisdell. The company also sells tickets for the Blaisdell Arena, Aloha Stadium, Kennedy Theatre and the Windward Community College.

Getting the ticketing business for those state and city facilities was a major coup for Ticket Plus when Sanchez moved the corporate headquarters to Honolulu from Atlanta in 1998. He scored another victory in 2000 by getting Ticket Plus vending machines into all the Foodland and Sack N Save stores.

The Hawaii business also makes bookings for private facilities such as the Hawaii Theatre Center and Diamond Head Theatre, several golf courses and the Pipeline Cafe in Kakaako, and it sells tickets for events on the Brigham Young University Hawaii campus.

"Ticket Plus Inc. has built a solid foundation as the industry leader and will be a key part of Ticketmaster's West Region operations," said Cathy Felling, regional executive vice president at Ticketmaster, in the announcement.

Sanchez said in the statement that joining "the world's leading ticketing company" will add stability and reliability to its operations in Hawaii and bring Hawaii customers a "more comprehensive and convenient access to live entertainment tickets."

Kandus Simpson, a Ticketmaster corporate spokes-woman, said no jobs will be lost in the Hawaii operations, which have four employees and one vacant position. She said the Hawaii business is likely to grow because of Ticketmaster's broader scope.

Ticketmaster, which says it sold 95 million tickets worth more than $4 billion last year, has 3,500 retail ticket centers and 19 telephone call centers.



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