History of StubHub in Timeline

StubHub is a major online ticket resale marketplace, facilitating the buying and selling of tickets for sports, concerts, theater, and other live entertainment events. It operates as a secondary market, connecting fans who wish to buy or sell tickets they can no longer use. StubHub is a subsidiary of StubHub Holdings, sharing ownership with Viagogo. The company makes money by charging fees to both buyers and sellers on each transaction. It aims to provide a secure and convenient platform for ticket exchange, though it has faced scrutiny regarding pricing and policies.

March 2000: StubHub Incorporated

In March 2000, Eric Baker and Jeff Fluhr incorporated StubHub in San Francisco.

August 2000: Seed Funding Received

By August 2000, StubHub had raised US$600,000 in seed funding.

2000: StubHub Founded

In 2000, StubHub was founded by Eric Baker and Jeff Fluhr in San Francisco.

2001: First Sports Team Deal

In 2001, StubHub signed its first deal with a professional sports team, partnering with the Seattle Mariners.

2002: Acquisition Talks with eBay

In 2002, eBay was in talks to acquire StubHub for US$20 million, but the agreement fell apart over price.

December 17, 2004: Company Incorporated as Pugnacious Endeavors

On December 17, 2004, StubHub was incorporated as Pugnacious Endeavors.

2004: Baker Leaves StubHub

In 2004, Eric Baker left StubHub due to differences in company direction with Jeff Fluhr but retained a 10 percent ownership stake.

2005: Positive Cash Flow

In 2005, StubHub had a positive cash flow with sales of approximately US$200 million and revenues of approximately US$50 million.

November 2006: New England Patriots Lawsuit

In November 2006, the New England Patriots sued StubHub for allegedly encouraging customers to break Massachusetts law by selling tickets for more than US$2 above their face value.

2006: Yankees Restrict Season Ticket Holders

In 2006, more than 100 New York Yankees season-ticket holders suspected of reselling their seats on StubHub received letters denying them the right to buy playoff tickets and barring them from buying season tickets for the 2007 season. This led to the Yankees revoking the season tickets of those who resold them on StubHub, saying that doing so violated its licensing policy.

2006: Ticket Sales and Revenue

In 2006, the value of tickets sold on the StubHub platform was approximately US$400 million, generating approximately US$100 million in revenue.

2007: Fluhr Sells StubHub to eBay

In 2007, Jeff Fluhr sold StubHub to eBay for US$310 million and left the company. Chris Tsakalakis became company president.

2007: Partnership with MLB

In 2007, Major League Baseball partnered with StubHub to become the league's official online ticket reseller.

2007: StubHub Acquired by eBay

In 2007, StubHub was sold to eBay for US$310 million.

2007: Ticketmaster Lawsuit

In 2007, Ticketmaster sued StubHub for offering "official premium tickets" to events for which Ticketmaster had exclusivity deals, claiming StubHub intentionally interfered with Ticketmaster's venue contracts.

2007: Season Ticket Policy

In 2007, the New York Yankees barred season tickets for those who sold on StubHub

2008: Annual Ticket Sales

By 2008, StubHub was selling approximately US$5 billion in tickets annually and had partnerships with 30 college and professional sports teams.

2009: Lawsuit Settlement

In 2009, the lawsuit between StubHub and the New England Patriots was settled under undisclosed terms.

May 2011: Partnerships Across Entertainment

By May 2011, StubHub had 62 partners across entertainment fields, including with the Fiesta Bowl, Boston Red Sox, and Ultimate Fighting Championship.

December 2011: UK Pilot Program Launch

In December 2011, StubHub launched a pilot program in the United Kingdom.

March 2012: Full Operations in the UK

In March 2012, StubHub began full operations in the United Kingdom.

December 2012: Criticism for Ticket Scalping

In December 2012, StubHub was criticized by organizers of 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief for allowing scalpers to resell tickets to the event for significant markups. In response, the company donated its fees for the ticket sales, totaling approximately US$500,000, to the Robin Hood Foundation.

2012: MLB Partnership Renewal

In 2012, the agreement between Major League Baseball and StubHub was renewed with modifications, including a minimum price of US$6 for tickets and inclusion of all fees at the time of selecting seats.

March 2013: Yankees Lawsuit and Sponsorship Deal

In March 2013, the Yankees sued StubHub for opening an office near Yankee Stadium. StubHub also signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Jockey Club Racecourses and purchased the naming rights for the Home Depot Center.

2013: College Sports Partnerships

As of 2013, StubHub had partnerships with 35 college sports teams, including the universities of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

2013: "All-In" Pricing Standard

In 2013, StubHub made "all-in" pricing standard across all ticket sales.

November 2014: Tsakalakis Resigns

In November 2014, Chris Tsakalakis resigned as company president. Scott Cutler succeeded him. By that time, company revenue had grown to approximately US$2 billion.

November 2015: Antitrust Lawsuit Dismissed

In November 2015, StubHub's antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and the Golden State Warriors was dismissed.

2015: All-In Pricing Reversal

In 2015, StubHub reversed its all-in pricing due to declining sales.

2015: UK Regulations and Information Improvement

In 2015, the United Kingdom revised rules for secondary ticket sellers, requiring that sellers include row and seat numbers. StubHub pledged to improve the information provided to customers.

2016: StubHub Revenue

In 2016, StubHub had revenues of approximately US$940 million.

November 9, 2017: Toronto Star Article on Ticket Reselling

According to a November 9, 2017 article published in The Toronto Star, Julien Lavallée 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."

2017: Jersey Advertisement Patch Deal

In 2017, StubHub signed a 3-year, US$15 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers to put a patch on players' jerseys, the first company to do so with one of the big four American sports leagues.

2017: CMA Raids StubHub Offices

In 2017, the CMA raided StubHub's offices to acquire information for an investigation into secondary ticket marketplaces.

April 2018: "Formal Commitment" to Improve Information

In April 2018, StubHub made a "formal commitment" to improve information provided to consumers.

2018: Revenue and Leadership Change

In 2018, StubHub sold US$4.75 billion worth of tickets in 44 countries. Sukhinder Singh Cassidy was named company president of StubHub, replacing Scott Cutler.

November 2019: Viagogo to Purchase StubHub

In November 2019, it was announced that Viagogo would purchase StubHub for US$4.05 billion. A week prior, the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce announced it would be investigating ticket sales and sellers and requested information from Live Nation Entertainment and StubHub on their practices.

February 2020: Sale Completion and COVID-19 Impact

In February 2020, Eric Baker completed the sale of StubHub to Viagogo, approximately 5 weeks before the COVID-19 lockdowns, which led to the company losing approximately 90% of its revenue.

2020: Congressional Testimony on Pricing

In 2020, StubHub argued in favor of mandating "all-in" pricing in the United States during Congressional testimony.

2020: Viagogo Repurchases StubHub

In 2020, Viagogo, led by Eric Baker, repurchased StubHub for approximately US$4 billion.

2020: CMA Concerns and StubHub Response

In 2020, the CMA said StubHub was not providing adequate information to customers about venues that may not accept resold tickets, was engaging in high-pressure sales tactics, and was not providing exact locations of seats and addresses of vendors. StubHub said it was working to resolve "valid concerns" raised by the CMA.

September 2021: Purchase by Viagogo Finalized

In September 2021, the purchase of StubHub by Viagogo was finalized. Both were placed under the management of StubHub Holdings, and StubHub was required to sell its operations outside North America.

2022: Delayed IPO

In 2022, StubHub Holdings experienced delays in its initial public offering.

2022: Office Closures and New President

In 2022, StubHub closed its offices in Hong Kong and San Francisco. Nayaab Islam was named company president that year.

2024: Lawsuit Filed by DC Attorney General

In 2024, Attorney General for the District of Columbia Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit against StubHub alleging the company was using drip pricing and a countdown clock to create a false sense of urgency.

2024: StubHub Holdings Revenue

In 2024, StubHub Holdings had revenues of US$1.77 billion.

2024: Delayed IPO

In early 2024, StubHub Holdings experienced delays in its initial public offering.

September 2025: StubHub Holdings Goes Public

In September 2025, StubHub Holdings became a public company via an initial public offering. This IPO came after previous delays in 2022 and early 2024.