StubHub Major League Baseball Preview: MLB Global Expansion Continues with London Series Claiming Most In-Demand Series with 50% Lead Over #2 Game

Yankees remain best-selling team and offseason player moves put Phillies and Padres in high demand; StubHub offers 10% discount with MLB ticket purchase

San Francisco, CA – March 14, 2019 (PRNewswire) StubHub, the world’s largest event marketplace and Official Partner of Major League Baseball (MLB), today released its third annual MLB season preview that includes the top-selling teams and most in-demand games of the season heading into Opening Day 2019.

Top highlights include:

  • MLB’s global expansion continues with the London Series, featuring the Red Sox and the Yankees and ranking as the #1 most in-demand series
  • Yankees take #1 most in-demand team for second year in a row
  • Dodgers take the #1 most in-demand opening day game
  • Moves by Harper and Machado places the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres into StubHub’s teams on the rise

MLB GLOBAL EXPANSION CONTINUES

The MLB matchup in London between reigning World Series Champions, the Boston Red Sox, and this season’s best-selling team, the New York Yankees, is already the top-selling series heading into the season. The June 29 game is the #1 single event and is outpacing the next best-selling game, the Red Sox home opener against the Blue Jays, by nearly 50%.

“The appeal of MLB to a global audience continues to grow, and the overwhelming response for the rivalry matchup between the Yankees and Red Sox in London certainly proves that the sport has fans worldwide,” said Jill Krimmel, StubHub’s General Manager of MLB. “So far, fans from 44 different states in the U.S. and 27 different countries have already purchased tickets for the MLB London series, demonstrating that baseball has tremendous potential overseas much like the NFL and NBA have seen.”

2019 TEAMS ON THE RISE

For the first time in a decade, the Philadelphia Phillies earn a spot on StubHub’s top ten most in-demand teams after signing Bryce Harper. Sales are up 93% from this time last year, the highest growth of all teams since last season
Manny Machado signing to the Padres lifted ticket sales on StubHub by nearly 300% compared to the day prior, and overall, the team saw a 44% jump in ticket sales from last year
The Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros also earn spots on this list

TOP TEN MOST IN DEMAND MLB TEAMS ON STUBHUB:

1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Chicago Cubs
5. St. Louis Cardinals
6. Los Angeles Dodgers
7. Philadelphia Phillies
8. Texas Rangers
9. New York Mets
10. Houston Astros

TOP 5 MOST IN DEMAND OPENING DAY GAMES

1. Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
3. Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies
4. Chicago Cubs at Texas Rangers
5. Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds

StubHub is marking its 12th season as the Official Fan-to-Fan Ticket Marketplace of MLB and its 30 Major League Clubs. StubHub is also helping fans see their favorite MLB teams by offering a promotion for regular season games. When fans buy a ticket now, they’ll receive 10% off their next MLB purchase. 2019 MLB regular season tickets are available to purchase on StubHub and will be listed up until game time for all 30 MLB teams. As always, StubHub backs all listings with its market- leading FanProtect™ Guarantee and MLB fans can use StubHub’s 360-degree Virtual View feature and price alerts technology to find the perfect seats for any game.

About StubHub

At StubHub, our mission is to bring the joy of live to fans globally. As the world’s largest ticket marketplace spanning 44 countries, we enable fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of events, whenever and wherever fans want to be. Backed by award-winning customer care, StubHub’s FanProtect™ Guarantee means every ticket is 100 percent guaranteed valid or you’ll receive your money back or a replacement ticket of equal or better value. Our business partners include more than 150 properties globally across the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, WWE, NCAA, Matchroom Boxing, plus Paciolan and Tessitura. StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience throughout the world. StubHub is an eBay company (EBAY). For more information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com or follow @StubHub on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

StubHub Partners With The NFL Players Association For Second Year To Support Career Growth

StubHub gives current and former NFL players exposure to hands-on business experience through the NFLPA’s Externship and Fellowship programs

San Francisco, CA – Feb. 13, 2019 (PRNewswire) StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, has partnered with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) for the second year in a row to empower current and former players in realizing their career goals after life on the field.

The 2019 NFLPA Externship program pairs 63 athletes with 24 organizations, including StubHub, that best fit participants’ interests and career development goals.

Josiah Price of the Minnesota Vikings, Thomas Hennessy of the New York Jets, Ryan Malleck, a free agent who most recently played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kapron Lewis-Moore, one of the newest players to sign with the San Francisco 49ers will participate in a three-week immersive business experience program at StubHub’s headquarters in San Francisco. This year marks an expansion of the program as StubHub will now host four externs rather than three.

StubHub’s NFLPA Externship program kicks off Tuesday, February 19, at StubHub headquarters in San Francisco and will conclude on March 8. Players will also travel to StubHub’s global customer service center in Salt Lake City and work with StubHub customers at a Lakers vs. Clippers game in Los Angeles.

Scott Jablonski, StubHub’s General Manager of NFL, NBA & NHL said, “We are excited to continue our partnership with the NFLPA for a second year. We were so impressed with our Externs and Fellow from the first year that we jumped at the chance to participate again. These players are driven individuals and we’re lucky to have them at StubHub. We always love new perspectives and appreciate the opportunity to learn from some of the best and brightest in the NFL.”

“The experience provided by StubHub in the first year of our partnership served as a great fit for our externs and fellows in learning more about the ticketing industry,” said NFLPA Player Affairs Manager, Connor Ford, who helps direct the Externship program. “We are thrilled that this year’s externs will once again have the opportunity to work with StubHub in gaining valuable, hands-on experience.”

Players will learn what it’s like to work in a fast-paced Silicon Valley business environment. Each player will have a mentor, sit within a department and complete a project tailored to their skills and interests, while learning every aspect of StubHub’s business. They will also experience the customer facing part of StubHub by participating in customer service calls and in-person ticket sales in Los Angeles.

“I chose StubHub for my NFLPA Externship because I wanted to work with an awesome company and challenge myself off the field in a real-world corporate environment,” said Kapron Lewis-Moore. “I am excited to bring some of my skills from the football field to the office while starting to explore career opportunities beyond football.”

In addition, last year StubHub piloted a year long paid Fellowship through NFLPA and will continue the program in 2019. The program is designed to help transition retired NFL players evaluating their next career moves. In October 2018, StubHub added another Fellow, former New York Giants’ Offensive Tackle, Selvish Capers Jr.

About StubHub
At StubHub, our mission is to bring the joy of live to fans globally. As the world’s largest ticket marketplace spanning 44 countries, we enable fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of events, whenever and wherever fans want to be. Backed by award-winning customer care, StubHub’s FanProtect™ Guarantee means every ticket is 100 percent guaranteed valid or you’ll receive your money back or a replacement ticket of equal or better value. Our business partners include more than 150 properties globally across the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, WWE, NCAA, Matchroom Boxing, plus Paciolan and Tessitura. StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience throughout the world. StubHub is an eBay company (EBAY). For more information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com or follow @StubHub on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

About the NFL Players Association
The National Football League Players Association is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players, and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through 2020. Learn more at www.nflpa.com.