The Carolina Hurricanes and other pro sports franchises are supporting a bill that would let fans buy scalped tickets over the Internet for North Carolina games and shows.

The General Assembly bill would require vendors to refund tickets if they are counterfeit or not delivered on time, and would tax the Internet sale of tickets at prices above face value.

Supporters say they want to protect fans from buying fake tickets. Opponents argue that legalized scalping in any form allows resellers to hoard tickets and price ordinary fans -- taxpayers -- out of the best seats at the most popular events.

"North Carolinians shouldn't have to pay a scalping premium for entertainment that in many cases they're already subsidizing via tax revenue or public buildings," said Shana Becker, attorney for the N.C. Public Interest Research Group.

Selling tickets for more than $3 above face value is now illegal in North Carolina -- though many online vendors already violate that law. The bill would allow popular sites such as StubHub and TicketsNow to profit legally in North Carolina.

A provision in the bill prohibiting "ticket purchasing software" aims to prevent brokers from using sophisticated computer programs to gobble up huge quantities of tickets to be scalped online.

"The movement of this bill is an extremely positive development for fans in the state of North Carolina," said Sean Pate, a StubHub spokesman. "The previous statute ... has handcuffed those who wished to sell their tickets at a market price in very much the same way they would sell their homes or their cars or their old baseball cards."

The N.C. Senate has approved Bill 1407. The House Committee on Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship approved it 15-6 Thursday, forwarding it to the House Finance Committee.

Legislators would like to end the current session by July 18, so there is time for the bill to pass the full House within the next week. But disagreement over the 3 percent tax on the difference between the resale price and face value could derail it.

Change for the Canes

The Hurricanes, Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Bobcats and Lowe's Motor Speedway support the bill. The legislation lets event organizers opt out and prohibit sales above face value for their events if they choose.

In past years, the Hurricanes vigorously resisted the secondary ticket market. They supported Attorney General Roy Cooper in 2002, when he sued brokers who were scalping tickets for the Stanley Cup finals.

William Traurig, general counsel for the Hurricanes and the RBC Center, said law enforcement doesn't have the resources to enforce the existing scalping laws. Many Internet resellers scalp tickets for North Carolina events and haven't been prosecuted. Traurig said the new proposal isn't perfect but protects against bogus tickets.

"It gives people who do want to make a buck an opportunity which we're not that thrilled about," Traurig said. "but the people who want to go (to the game) will know their tickets are going to be good."

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, a Republican from Concord, said the Internet is so amorphous that it prevents enforcement.

Duke University distributes the most coveted college ticket in the state when rival North Carolina visits cozy Cameron Indoor Stadium for basketball. Duke spokesman Jon Jackson said only that school officials believe scalping has no place in college athletics and that individual schools are best left in charge of allocating tickets.

Crying over Hannah

Last fall, Lyn Peraldo was horrified after she waited in line at the Greensboro Coliseum for $56 tickets to a Hannah Montana concert to celebrate her daughter's seventh birthday.

Next page >