Blue Bulls win ruling against B4 over Test tickets

The Blue Bulls Company has taken urgent legal steps to stop a corporate events and entertainment company from directly buying and reselling tickets for the upcoming rugby match between South Africa and France at the Loftus Versveld stadium in Pretoria.

The Blue Bulls turned to the court after B4 Hospitality started advertising a hospitality package for the match at a cost of just under R22 000.

The package would include not only a ticket, but also a pre-game braai, rugby guest speaker, transport, reserved seating and full-day attendance by B4 staff.

Blue Bulls CEO Barend van Graan said in court papers B4’s hospitality package contravened the terms and conditions of ticket sales at Loftus, which stated that no person could, for commercial purposes and without prior written consent, use a ticket for advertising, sales or promotion purposes or as part of a hospitality package.

He said it was also in breach of the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act, which stipulated that no person could for commercial purposes obtain an event ticket with the intention to resell or use it for advertising, sales, promotional purposes or as part of a hospitality or travel package.

In addition, he added, B4’s plans would result in the Blue Bulls being in breach of the provisions of its exclusive hospitality agreement with the company Sale Rights Commercialisation.

Sale Rights bought several suites and also has the right to use vacant suites and to sell hospitality packages as part of a profit-sharing agreement with the Blue Bulls.

Van Graan said it was clear from B4’s advertisements that it intended reselling Blue Bulls tickets and to incorporate attendance of the rugby game in their hospitality package.

He said B4 had been warned not to continue with a hospitality package after last year’s match between South Africa and Australia.

In terms of an agreement between B4 and Blue Bulls, which was confirmed as an order of the High Court in Pretoria, it was recorded that B4 had not yet sold any of the packages and would buy tickets for the Test match from Sale’s Rights Commercialisation.

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