The Indians keep knocking it out of the park and are now playoff bound. That means tickets are a pretty penny. But what does it mean for season ticket holders who want to sell? It means you better be careful how you unload them. There is a strict new policy in place that the Indians say is designed to protect fans
Baseball fans would probably do just about anything for a ticket to the tribe these days.
Which means those with 'em...are sitting on a gold mine if they want to sell them.
Or are they?
“There is an opportunity and chance that we will revoke that barcode so people will come and not be able to get in the game,” said Indians Communications Director Curtis Danburg.
You see, the team instituted a strict policy last year which prohibits season ticket holders from reselling tickets on any site except Stub Hub.
It came after the World Series, where the stands were filled with Cubs fans, leaving Indians fans shut out.
Season ticket holders also can't sell more than 50% of their tickets.
“We'’re trying to limit the people buying tickets solely to make money,” Danburg said.
But the other reason for the policy is to stop counterfeit tickets. Danburg showed us a box full of them. Hundreds were confiscated during last year's series, where fans paid thousands, only to be turned away at the gates because they were fakes.
“With our deal with StubHub and MLB's deal with StubHub it really is the only place that we can guarantee a secure ticket to come inside Progressive Field,” Danburg said.
Joe Borkey and his family have been season ticket holders since the seventies. Last year during the series they went to see the Indians in Chicago with tickets they bought on StubHub.
He says he's never sold his own seats, and supports the teams policy.
"The brokers got their hands all over those tickets to begin with and they were selling them in multiples of anything, making outrageous kinds of money on people, and exploiting many of the people who just wanted to attend a Tribe game," said Borkey.
For other fans, this policy's a foul ball.
A long time season ticket holder told me by email, that they’ve paid their dues and supported the team financially for years. He believes they should be able to recoup some of their costs.
The Indians say, if you're selling more than half your season tickets, then you are recouping your costs.
According to Danburg, they just want to level the playing field.
"Our number one goal is to get our tickets in the hands of Indians fans at face value. Simple as that.”
In another attempt to prevent counterfeit tickets from being sold, the Barcodes don't become active until 48 hours before the game. So if you see a ticket being sold online days before a game, it's likely fake.