Crocmedia boss Craig Hutchison responds to ticketing snafu

Crocmedia boss Craig Hutchison could be in hot water with the Victorian Government over the sale of AFL finals tickets by BallPark Entertainment.

As reported by the Herald-Sun, the sports ticketing business, owned by Crocmedia and chaired by Hutchison, is under investigation for the sale of overpriced tickets.

While it’s an authorised AFL onseller, it’s being probed for overcharging fans for level two tickets to the Geelong-West Coast semi-final at the MCG.

They were being sold for $170 with a promise of “access to premium beverage and food outlets”.

Under Victoria’s scalping laws, footy finals tickets must not be sold for more than 1% above face value.

The Andrews Government has ordered tickets sold by BallPark to be withdrawn from sale.

In a statement to the Herald-Sun, Hutchison has blamed a third party for the ticketing saga.

“Upon investigation, a third party has mistakenly listed BallPark Entertainment’s Medallion Club ticket inventory as ticket only with access to premium bar facilities.

“Once alerted, we immediately asked the third party to remove them from its website.

“We take responsibility regardless for how this has occurred.”

Newly introduced legislation sets down penalties of between $826 to $495,660 for finals ticket price gouging, depending on the nature of the offences.