La Crosse approves five-year Ticketmaster amendment; city and customers to see fee and rebate changes

The Finance and Personnel Commission unanimously approved a five-year amendment to the city's ticketing agreement with Ticketmaster LLC, which staff said will change how customer fees are calculated, lower certain processing costs and increase the center’s ticket rebate.

A city director who presented the deal said the amendment replaces an $8 flat ticket fee in many cases with a percentage fee (15%), reduces the credit card processing rate to 2.46% and increases the venue's rebate percentage from 30% to 37%. The director described additional financial benefits including higher sponsorship payments and hardware support for scanners and ticketing equipment; using recent years’ figures, staff estimated the change should yield roughly a $75,000 increase in rebate revenue.

"Sometimes when you play chicken, you win, sometimes you lose, and I think here we won," the director said, summarizing negotiations and adding that many promoters require Ticketmaster’s platform, which influenced the city’s decision to maintain that relationship. The presenter emphasized the contract is a five‑year term with opportunities to re-evaluate and shop the contract again in the future.

The resolution was moved and seconded and approved unanimously. Staff noted customers can still buy at the ticket booth to avoid online fees; IT has reviewed hardware compatibility for updated scanners and point-of-sale equipment.

The amendment moves into effect under the terms of the contract and staff will implement the changes with venue operations and IT; the council did not vote on specific future event pricing or promoter agreements at this session.