Written by Bret McCormick, originally appearing on sportsbusinessjournal.com
LOS ANGELES, CA — AXS and FanRally have taken their dealings to another level with FanRally now a designated AXS Anywhere distribution partner available to all AXS team and venue partners in the U.S. AXS, the primary ticketing company owned by AEG, and FanRally, Chris Giles’ ticketing startup that offers flexible ticket memberships as opposed to traditional season tickets, have worked together since 2021 when FanRally became an AXS distribution partner. The new arrangement — commercial terms weren’t disclosed — means that AXS can include FanRally when answering RFPs and bidding for new business accounts, “another way AXS offers clients a powerful discovery and distribution network,” said Marc Ruxin, AXS Chief Strategy Officer.
FanRally’s progression with AXS mirrors its growth in the sports ticketing world. Fans whose teams use FanRally can switch their seats in the same way they would on an airplane, offering like-for-like swaps or upgrades. The quantity and location of tickets can be changed in one transaction. Teams are using FanRally for either next generation season ticket models or on the b-to-b side by offering corporate partners the option to buy, for example, $100,000 worth of premium credit for a season, then utilize FanRally to pick games and seats throughout the year.
The 4-year-old FanRally had its first full-venue deployment this past season at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., home of the AHL Ontario Reign. FanRally is also handling quarter season tickets for the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, and counts the Brewers, Rays, Madison Square Garden, Rockets, Clippers, and L.A. Kings as clients.