History of StubHub in Timeline

StubHub is a major American ticket exchange and resale company, facilitating the buying and selling of tickets for sports, concerts, theater, and other live events. Operating under the StubHub and Viagogo brands, it stands as the largest ticket reseller globally, having brokered 450 million tickets. Accessible via websites and mobile apps, StubHub is also expanding into primary ticket sales, advertising, sports merchandising, sports betting, and leisure experiences.

March 2000: StubHub Incorporated

In March 2000, Eric Baker and Jeff Fluhr incorporated StubHub in San Francisco to serve as an online secondhand event ticket marketplace.

August 2000: Seed Funding Raised

In August 2000, StubHub successfully raised US$600,000 in seed funding.

June 2006: Bill Passed in Florida Amending Anti-Scalping Laws

In June 2006, a bill amending Florida's 61-year-old anti-scalping laws passed, supported by StubHub's campaign donations to members of the state legislature.

January 2007: eBay Acquires StubHub

In January 2007, eBay acquired StubHub for $310 million.

October 19, 2007: Court Upholds Order for StubHub to Provide Season Ticket Holder List

On October 19, 2007, a court upheld an order forcing StubHub to turn over a list of New England Patriots season ticket holders since 2002 who had used the site. The Patriots stated they may strip the season ticket holders of their seats.

2007: Agreement with MLB and Lawsuit filed by Ticketmaster

In 2007, StubHub reached an exclusive agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB), which gets part of the commissions StubHub earns on either end of a season ticket buy and sell transaction. Additionally, Ticketmaster filed a lawsuit against StubHub and eBay alleging "intentional interference" with Ticketmaster's contractual rights.

April 2009: Decline in Masters Badges Price

In April 2009, StubHub reported that the price of second round Masters badges had declined by 43%, from $1,073 in 2008 to $612 in 2009.

May 2011: Official Partnerships

By May 2011, StubHub had secured 62 official partners, including the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the Boston Red Sox, and Ultimate Fighting Championship.

July 2011: Mobile App Launch for Windows Phone

In July 2011, StubHub launched a mobile app specifically designed for Microsoft Windows Phone.

March 2012: UK Site Launch

In March 2012, StubHub launched its full site in the UK, following a beta site launch in December 2011. The company also announced plans to open stores in London and near major venues for last-minute ticket sales.

December 2012: Renewal of deals with MLB Advanced Media

By December 2012, StubHub renewed deals with Major League Baseball Advanced Media. About half of the 30 MLB teams had separate partnership agreements with StubHub as well, with several teams such as the Los Angeles Angels not renewing.

January 2013: The Rising Stars Program Launch

In January 2013, StubHub launched "The Rising Stars program", which offers grants of $25,000 - $100,000 for locally based, grassroots organizations to aid youth in sporting and artistic development.

January 2013: eBay Started Merging Process of Listings with StubHub

In January 2013, eBay began merging process of listings on StubHub with the eBay UK's tickets category.

April 2013: New StubHub Pricing Structure Established

In April 2013, StubHub established a new pricing structure where the fee will be displayed upfront without going through an auction.

May 2013: Sponsorship deal with Jockey Club Racecourses

In May 2013, StubHub signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Jockey Club Racecourses to trade tickets on Sandown Park, Epsom Downs and Kempton Park Racecourse.

May 2013: Retirement of Ticket Categories on eBay UK and Increase in Ticket Searches

In May 2013, eBay announced that it will retire some of its ticket categories on its UK website and will redirect users to the StubHub website to purchase them. Also in May 2013, cancellation of the Spice Girls' musical Viva Forever! saw a 220% increase in online ticket searches on StubHub UK.

2013: Naming rights to Los Angeles Galaxy's home pitch

From 2013, StubHub owned the naming rights to the home pitch of the Los Angeles Galaxy, which was renamed "StubHub Center".

November 4, 2014: Scott Cutler Appointed as President

On November 4, 2014, Scott Cutler replaced Tsakalakis as president of StubHub.

September 2015: Change in Ticket Price Display

In September 2015, StubHub announced that it would no longer present inclusive ticket prices with fees and other charges included, switching to the practice where a user has the choice to have a lower price displayed at first and fees added at checkout, or fees displayed upfront.

May 16, 2016: Jersey sponsorship deal with Philadelphia 76ers

On May 16, 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA announced that it had reached a three-year jersey sponsorship deal with StubHub, marking the first time that a team belonging to any of the four major North American sports leagues has ever sold a jersey sponsorship.

June 2016: Compliance Review Launched by CMA

In June 2016, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a compliance review of the four main secondary ticketing platform websites in the UK, including Viagogo, StubHub, GetMeIn, and Seatwave.

December 2016: BOTS Act Signed Into Law

In December 2016, the United States' Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which makes using bots to purchase tickets under certain circumstances illegal, was signed into law by President Obama. StubHub expressed support for the legislation.

August 2017: CMA Raided StubHub's London Office

In August 2017, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raided StubHub's London office, confiscating records related to touts selling mass quantities of tickets, after StubHub refused the request for information on sellers.

October 2017: Lavallée Used Company on British Isle of Man to Post on StubHub in the U.K.

Prior to October 2017, Lavallée used his company, I Want Ticket Inc, which was "registered on the British Isle of Man, to post on StubHub in the U.K."

November 9, 2017: Article Published About Top Seller

According to a November 9, 2017 article published in The Toronto Star, Julien Lavallée, one of StubHub's top sellers, was able to expand his business using "exploitative tactics" that "gam[e] the ticket marketplace and put entertainment beyond the reach of millions of fans who can’t compete with large-scale scalping operations."

November 2017: No Charges Laid Against StubHub

By November 2017, no charges had been laid against StubHub.

2017: Jersey sponsorship takes effect

In 2017, the three-year jersey sponsorship deal between the Philadelphia 76ers and StubHub takes effect, where the NBA will begin piloting jersey sponsorship.

2017: Incentivizing bot operators

In late 2017, the Canadian press reported that StubHub was potentially incentivizing bot operators by openly incentivizing touts for high sales volumes.

2019: End of naming rights to Los Angeles Galaxy's home pitch

In 2019, StubHub's ownership of the naming rights to the home pitch of the Los Angeles Galaxy ended; the stadium was formerly known as "StubHub Center".

February 2020: Merger with Viagogo

In February 2020, StubHub merged with Viagogo, also founded by Eric Baker, in a $4.05 billion transaction, becoming owned by StubHub Holdings.

July 2022: Nayaab Islam Appointed President

In July 2022, Nayaab Islam was appointed president of StubHub.

May 2023: Partnership with The Athletic

In May 2023, StubHub partnered with The Athletic to offer tickets for sale on its website.

July 2024: Lawsuit filed against StubHub for drip pricing

In July 2024, the D.C. Attorney General filed a lawsuit against StubHub for drip pricing tactics, where the final price for tickets significantly exceeds the original quoted price due to additional fees.