Blackpool FC’s Sarah Nibloe has been the Ticket Office and Retail Manager for over twenty years. When Blackpool were promoted to the Premier League, Sarah was involved and oversaw the integration of Ticketmaster in 2010.
As Sarah explains “up until then it was literally just one person working from home with no online facility at all. So, when we got promoted, we knew we had to improve our ticketing system. We did look at a few different companies, but Ticketmaster was the obvious choice.”
Getting the right ticketing system is a critical part of Sarah’s job. In her words, ticketing is “massively important” as it’s one of the “highest revenue earners for any club.”
This year Blackpool have renewed their commitment to Ticketmaster in another multi-year contract. Sarah explains that Blackpool “wanted to stay with Ticketmaster as we feel that they are the best ticketing provider on the market. We wanted the familiarity of a system that both the supporters and our staff are confident in using. It also integrates perfectly with our access control and turnstiles.”
“Over the years Ticketmaster’s support has always been hugely beneficial. All clubs are appointed an account manager for any help. There is also a helpdesk number including an emergency number for any matchday issues.”
In the journey to instituting digital ticketing for their fans, Blackpool launched digital season tickets for the 2023/2024 season, with a view to extending this to digital match tickets too.
An extra benefit Blackpool utilise when a game is close to selling out is ticket exchange which enables fans to resell their tickets and allow others to attend. As Sarah explains, they’ve also “launched ticket transfer so that a season ticket holder that can’t attend a home match can pass on their ticket to a friend or family member.”
Blackpool have been with Ticketmaster for fourteen years and counting. In Sarah’s words “the support and help we receive from Ticketmaster is invaluable. They are on another level.”
For more information on how Ticketmaster Sport can help you get in touch here.
