Ticketmaster Ireland is one of the leading ticket sales and distribution companies in Ireland. Headquartered in Dublin, Ticketmaster Ireland sells tickets to various live entertainment events like concerts, plays, sports games and more. The company operates ticketing websites and call centers for major clients across Ireland. But who originally founded this successful ticketing giant in the Irish marketplace?
The History of Ticketmaster
To understand who founded Ticketmaster Ireland, we first need to look at the history of Ticketmaster itself. Ticketmaster is an American ticket sales and distribution company that was founded in 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona by two computer programmers named Albert Leffler and Gordon Gunn.
Leffler and Gunn recognized that the ticket sales industry was very fragmented at the time, with each venue handling their own ticketing operations. They saw an opportunity to create a centralized ticketing service that could handle ticket sales for multiple venues and events. Their goal was to improve efficiency and expand options for both venues and customers.
So Leffler and Gunn launched Ticketmaster in 1976 as a system to sell tickets through computerized box offices. In its early days, Ticketmaster mainly focused on signing contracts with sports teams and venues in the United States. Within a few years, the company began expanding rapidly by acquiring several regional ticketing companies.
This expansion strategy allowed Ticketmaster to quickly gain a strong foothold in ticketing markets across the US. By 1982, Ticketmaster was selling tickets for over 100 clients including major sport teams, venues and promoters. With its growing dominance, Ticketmaster became the primary ticketing service for many major concert tours and live events in America.
Ticketmaster Expands Globally
In the late 1980s and 1990s, Ticketmaster turned its focus towards global expansion. The company aimed to replicate its ticketing model in markets across Europe, Australia and Asia.
One of the key markets identified early on for expansion was Ireland. Ireland had a thriving arts and entertainment scene, especially in Dublin, that presented a major ticketing opportunity. Additionally, Ireland’s proximity to the large UK market made it an ideal base for Ticketmaster to expand into the broader European region.
So in 1988, Ticketmaster acquired Dublin-based ticketing company Ticketron to establish its footprint in the Irish market. Ticketron, founded in 1978 by Norman Perceval Graves, was one of the first computerized ticketing companies in Ireland. Taking over Ticketron allowed Ticketmaster to quickly build an existing ticketing operation in Ireland rather than having to start from scratch.
Shortly after the Ticketron acquisition, in 1991, the company was rebranded as Ticketmaster Ireland to align with the global Ticketmaster name. This marked the official establishment of Ticketmaster Ireland as a key part of the company’s international expansion plans.
The Early Days of Ticketmaster Ireland
In those early years after the rebranding, Ticketmaster Ireland focused on signing key venues and entertainment clients within Ireland. Some of their earliest clients included the Gaiety Theatre, Olympia Theatre and the RDS Arena in Dublin. They also became the authorized ticket seller for prominent Irish music festivals like Feile Classical.
The founding management team of the newly formed Ticketmaster Ireland included:
- John Patrickson – Managing Director
- Peter Aiken – Client Relations Manager
- Albert Leffler – President of Ticketmaster International
This leadership team worked to establish Ticketmaster as the dominant player in the Irish ticketing industry during the 1990s. They expanded Ticketmaster’s roster of venue and promoter clients across Ireland.
In 1994, Ticketmaster Ireland opened its first dedicated call center in Dublin to handle ticket sales for its growing client base. The company continued investing in technology and infrastructure to improve the ticket buying process for Irish customers.
By the late 90s, Ticketmaster Ireland had become the market leader and primary source of tickets for concerts, sports and theater events across Ireland. From its early roots with Ticketron, the company had successfully carved out a strong position under the Ticketmaster global brand.
Ticketmaster Ireland Grows in the 2000s
Ticketmaster Ireland solidified its leadership in the online era by launching ticketmaster.ie in 2002. This allowed the company to sell tickets directly to consumers online, complementing phone and in-person sales.
The 2000s saw rising demand for live entertainment and sports in Ireland, especially after the country’s period of rapid economic growth. With its dominant market position, Ticketmaster Ireland was uniquely positioned to capitalize on this growing ticket demand.
Some key developments during Ticketmaster Ireland’s expansion in the 2000s included:
- Becoming the exclusive ticket seller for concerts at major venues like Croke Park in Dublin
- Providing ticketing services for the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Ireland
- Expanding ticket sales and distribution for Gaelic games like hurling and Gaelic football
- Launching smartphone apps and self-serve ticketing kiosks to improve customer experience
- Opening additional call centers in Ireland to support increasing ticket volumes
By 2010, Ticketmaster Ireland had over 150 employees and was selling around 10 million tickets annually for events across Ireland. Continued technology improvements and service expansion cemented Ticketmaster as the go-to source for event tickets in the Irish market.
Merger With Live Nation
A major milestone came in 2009 when Ticketmaster Ireland’s parent company Ticketmaster merged with the world’s largest concert promoter Live Nation. The merger created Live Nation Entertainment, a global live events giant responsible for ticketing, promotions and venue operations.
As part of this merger, Ticketmaster Ireland became part of Live Nation’s international ticketing division. The Irish business continues to operate under the Ticketmaster brand today as a fully owned subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment.
The Live Nation merger opened up new synergies between Ticketmaster Ireland and Live Nation’s owned and operated venues and festivals in Ireland. It led to even tighter integration of ticketing services across Live Nation’s Irish concerts and live events.
While the Ticketmaster Ireland leadership team has changed over the years, the company’s commitment to innovation has remained consistent. By leveraging the resources of its parent Live Nation, Ticketmaster Ireland continues to find new ways to improve the ticket buying process through technology.
Ticketmaster Ireland Today
Now over 40 years after the founding of Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster Ireland maintains its position as the primary ticket seller in Ireland. It has contracts in place with over 250 clients spanning venues, promoter, sports teams and festivals across the country.
Some facts about Ticketmaster Ireland’s operations today:
- Sells close to 11 million tickets annually for events in Ireland
- Runs two primary contact centers in Dublin and Limerick along with satellite offices across Ireland
- Employs approximately 250 people in Ireland
- Provides ticketing services for high-profile festivals like Longitude, Electric Picnic and Life
- Official ticketing partner for major venues such as 3Arena in Dublin and SSE Arena in Belfast
- Ticket sales channels include online, phone, mobile app, outlets and onsite box offices
- Parent company Live Nation Entertainment has over 30,000 employees globally
While Ticketmaster Ireland has evolved dramatically from its early computerized ticketing roots, its core mission remains the same – to provide efficient ticketing services and access to live event tickets across Ireland. The company is now looking ahead to a future driven by digital ticketing and continued innovation in the live entertainment industry.
Conclusion
In summary, Ticketmaster Ireland originated from the acquisition of Dublin’s Ticketron company by the American-founded Ticketmaster corporation in 1988. After rebranding to Ticketmaster Ireland in 1991, the company solidified its leadership under founders like John Patrickson and Albert Leffler through key venue deals and technology improvements. Rapid growth followed over the 1990s and 2000s as live entertainment boomed. The 2009 merger with Live Nation opened up new opportunities under an expanded global ticketing company. While the ticketing landscape continues to evolve in the digital age, Ticketmaster Ireland maintains its foundational role in providing ticket access and services across Irish live events for over 30 years and counting.