Written by Bret McCormick, originally appearing on sportsbusinessjournal.com
LOS ANGELES, CA — As a SoCal kid, Mason Donley first became interested in hockey when the Kings signed Wayne Gretzky. He later worked 24 years for AEG in ticketing roles with the NHL club and Crypto.com Arena before joining AXS a few months ago in a new role for the company as its head of sports and subscriptions.
The job is focused on creating novel ticketing membership programs for the company’s sports team clients and, more broadly, helping AXS clients adapt to modern buyers. Donley’s role will feature ongoing consultation for clients, and he’ll be involved in AXS’ new business pursuits. He’s working closely with AXS partner FanRally, for example, which is nudging the industry from rigid season tickets into flexible memberships.
“The current state is the need for more flexibility,” Donley told me. “That’s exchange, it’s buyback [and] the ability to upgrade and customize your experience on a game-to-game basis.”
AXS and FanRally teamed to help Frontwave Arena launch with a ticketing bank offer in which fans can redeem dollars they put into their bank for access to a variety of premium spaces in the arena for a variety of its events, whether it’s MASL’s San Diego Sockers, the NBA G League’s San Diego Clippers or other events.
It’s getting harder for sports teams, events, and venues to sell rigid, 40-home-game season tickets. But “if the value met what you’re looking for, it’s an easier sell,” said Donley, and “that’s what the industry is looking for.”