Seahawks move to limit season-ticket sales by brokers

The Seahawks moved this week to pull thousands of season tickets held by resale brokers and redistribute them amongst what they say will mostly be their fans.

But industry and team sources have indicated the club is also negotiating with several longtime brokers to allow them additional season tickets they can purchase through so-called “sponsorship’’ arrangements. Four of the brokers have been confirmed as Anthony Beyrouti of Venue Kings, Roger Jones of Alliance Tickets, James Kimmel of Seattle-based Epic Seats, and local broker Mike Cummings. More could be added to the list.

A Seahawks spokesman confirmed brokers began receiving e-mails Monday informing them of planned ticket reductions. Meetings with the handful of brokers chosen for sponsorship deals began Wednesday and are to continue through the week.

The reason for the change, the spokesman said, is “so we can sell more tickets to the Blue Pride wait list and make single-game tickets available to Seahawks fans.”

The tickets the team is now limiting access to do not include those held through charter seat licenses — contracts that are required for seats in premier sections of CenturyLink Field.

Some brokers say they were told their accounts would be limited to four tickets each. But the team says that numbers vary and that more than 3,000 season tickets could be redistributed once the moves are finalized.

The spokesman could not provide details on any sponsorship talks, but did say the move had nothing to do with Super Bowl “short selling” problems that arose last month. Resale brokers nationwide canceled hundreds — possibly thousands — of ticket orders at the last minute, claiming suppliers failed to deliver on promised seats. One broker has been sued by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and by lawyers seeking class-action status for a private lawsuit.

Restricting ticket access for brokers and then selling them “sponsorships” has become increasingly popular for NFL teams. The Seahawks appear to be the latest joining that trend, which removes face-value seats from brokers and then charges them far more for sponsorship deals that include some seats.

Brokers say such “sponsorships” have become their industry’s codeword for NFL teams “scalping” their own tickets — ones that would otherwise fetch just face-value money. None of the brokers negotiating such deals with the Seahawks responded to requests for comment.

One online broker, who declined to be named because he owns some Seahawks season tickets, predicted the coming limitation will only make seats more costly for average fans interested in attending single games. There will be fewer tickets in the hands of resale brokers, he said, which lessens the available supply and drives prices higher.

“If you don’t have season tickets, where are you going to get a seat to the game?’’ he said. “You can’t get them at the ticket office. You have to buy them on the resale market. This gives you fewer chances to do that.’’

But the Seahawks contend that more seats will be funneled to fans through increased single-game sales. The spokesman said it could take a few weeks before the team compiles data on the exact distribution breakdown.