Leeds United follow Liverpool's lead with ticket deal to help 'eradicate' third-party resale

The Whites have announced a multi-year deal with the US firm to access what the club say is a 'market-leading enterprise ticketing platform' to improve the experience of supporters during the new season ticket campaign and beyond.

Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester City and Rangers all use the platform of the New York-founded company, which also has offices in the UK and experience of working with huge sporting organisations stateside.

Leeds say fans will benefit from SeatGeek's track record and, at a time when supporters are complaining about the appearance of match tickets on third-party websites, the partnership will make further in-roads towards tackling that problem.

A club statement said: "Key to Leeds' decision to appoint SeatGeek was the power and flexibility of the SeatGeek platform and the proven track record SeatGeek has established in implementing immediate benefits in the ticket purchasing experience across a range of Premier League clubs for fans and staff alike. The new ticketing platform will provide supporters a more streamlined mobile-focused buying experience and focus on delivering improvements to the queuing system for large sales, the security of ticket purchases, as well as eradicating third-party resale which is an area the club has worked tirelessly towards. In the future Leeds will also have the capability to introduce a ballot process for fairer allocation of tickets which the club will be reviewing closely."

In response to the announcement Leeds United Supporters Trust have welcomed the club's decision to act upon supporter feedback.

"We know the current ticketing system continues to be frustrating for many," Tweeted a spokesperson.

"It’s good to know the club are listening and acting on feedback. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. We’re looking forward to getting more detail at the newly formed SAB [Supporters Advisory Board] meeting this week."

Katie Holmes, head of ticketing at Leeds says fan engagement formed part of the decision-making process before inking a deal with SeatGeek.

“We have been reviewing our ticketing platform and processes over a significant period and have engaged closely with our supporter groups in identifying a range of key initiatives that we believe will introduce significant efficiencies and improve the overall supporter experience," she said.

"With such high volumes of our ticket sales processed online via the website, it was a key area of our review and we are delighted with the improved look and feel and functionality that will be rolled out over the coming months. Our queue management platform for major sales has been updated and will provide supporters with more clarity around queue numbers, expected wait times and enables live updates to enhance communication to supporters.

"As well as improving the purchasing of tickets using your mobile phone, the new ticketing system will support, from the start of the 2022/23 season, the delivery of mobile tickets to supporters which can be loaded to your Apple or Google wallet on your mobile handset and be used for access at the turnstiles upon your arrival. This is another key initiative to drive our digital transformation, improve speed of entry on matchdays, streamline efficient processing and reduce postage costs, ticket collection queues on a matchday and the overall paper-based processes in use across the club. Enhancements to our ticket exchange platform which will enable supporters to exchange tickets closer to kick-off and will also greatly assist in our bid to overcome issues with regards ticket reselling and touting, which we know is an emotive and passionate topic amongst our fans. The club continues to work extremely hard against third-party resale of tickets and we will be in a much better position to drive on with our efforts within our partnership with SeatGeek.”

SeatGeek's managing director on this side of the Atlantic added that they were delighted to secure a partnership with the Elland Road club.

"Leeds United is a club with a rich history and a fantastic fanbase and we are delighted to be working closely with the club to drive a range of exciting initiatives that will benefit supporters and club staff," he said.

"Technology is evolving rapidly, and it is important that the ticketing operation at a leading sports club can embrace innovative technology for the benefit of its supporter base. The entire management team at Leeds have a clear drive to deliver meaningful improvements and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership."