How do you share a couple of season tickets with a group of people?

October 20, 2008 1:44 PM

Help me devise the best way for four people to split and manage a couple of NBA (Hornets) season tickets.

It seems like there would be several online tools to manage this type of thing, but I can't find them. There are approximately 40 games to split among 4 people. Even if we are able to handle the initial distribution of games, experience tells me that plans change, etc. I want a good way to manage this. It seems like baseball and hockey would have similar problems. What's out there?

Any pointers to suggestions for group rules (e.g., right of first refusal to other group members, etc.), spreadsheets, etc. will be greatly appreciated.

posted by ajr to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

I'd just hold a draft for them, and in the event that you cannot go, its your choice what to do with those tickets - sell them, trade them for another date (if someone else is willing), or simply skip out and let it be.

Seems to be the simplest solution at least.
posted by yarrr at 1:54 PM on October 20, 2008

two tickets per game? Four people. You could do the old slice of cake trick; Each person picks the games they want to see. Match as many as possible. Games more than 2 want to see...first eliminate doubles (If Joe already has a Celtics game then Bill gets his dibs etc.) Once all the tickets are gone then the four of you can trade amongst yourselves.

I do this every year. It is always a PIA and it is always a season-long moving target.
posted by Gungho at 1:55 PM on October 20, 2008

We have season tickets for the SF Giants stop laughing, which we share out with a bunch of folks. We put numbers in a hat, and then people draw the numbers, and then pick the games in that order. Once you have your tickets, if your plans change - well, you can offer them up to the group (swap or sell, depending), or just sell them.
posted by rtha at 2:04 PM on October 20, 2008

First, decide if you would rather have all 4 tickets to one game or 2 tickets to double the amount of games. Then, do a draft. As soon as the draft is over, distribute the paper tickets. If someone wants to sell or trade later, it's up to them. Really, it's the easiest and fairest way to split tickets. I split Celtics tickets with a friend and that's the way we always do it- we alternate who gets first pick every year, but you could just draw numbers for that.

As for playoff tickets, well, that's when things get hairy.
posted by emd3737 at 2:08 PM on October 20, 2008

speaking from very bitter experience, put your playoff system in writing before it's actually an issue and do not rely on the word of otherwise trustworthy and decent people.

when the hell are the warriors even going to be in the playoffs again, let alone the second round!?
posted by jewishbuddha at 4:03 PM on October 20, 2008

I've used the draft system in the past. We drew straws to establish order and took turns until all the tickets were gone. We used the same method for play-off tickets too.
posted by reidfleming at 9:54 PM on October 20, 2008

Since you've asked for some on-line tools in particular, might I suggest www.myticketgroups.com.
(shameless plug alert: This is a website my company has developed.) I hope that since this is a direct
answer to your question, I'm not breaking any MetaFilter rules by providing the link. I developed the site
to help keep track of the Red Sox and Celtics season tickets that I share with my friends; we've used the
site over the past two years. It doesn't help with the "rules" part of the draft, but it does help with the
bookkeeping of the tickets once divvied up. There are other features like a "game reminder" email and
a "Member Standings" table to keep track of who's seeing the most wins (our group will be buying the
guy who sees the most Celtics wins dinner at the end of the year).

Good luck to you and the Hornets.
posted by jeanCollagra at 10:50 AM on November 14, 2008