Comcast-Spectacor buys Live Nation's ticketing business

Comcast-Spectacor, which is jointly owned by Comcast Corp. and businessman Ed Snider, completed its purchase of ticketing-software business Paciolan, the companies said yesterday.

The deal was part of an agreement with the Justice Department announced in late January that allowed Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to merge with concert promoter Live Nation. As part of the agreement, Live Nation had to sell Paciolan. Terms of the deal with Comcast-Spectacor were not disclosed.

"From Day One we will be a big competitor" in the ticket business, Comcast-Spectacor chief executive Peter Luukko said yesterday. "I see us as working closely with everyone" in sports and entertainment.

Paciolan, which is based in Irvine, Calif., and employs 150, sells software that runs ticketing operations for college sports programs, professional sports teams, and performing arts events. The Phillies, for instance, use Paciolan software to run their box office, an official said. Paciolan provides ticketing software for the athletic programs at the University of Oklahoma, Boston College, and the University of Southern California, among other schools.

With Paciolan, Comcast-Spectacor's ticket business will soar to more than 100 million tickets a year from about 10 million to 15 million tickets a year and put it in the top three nationally, Luukko said.

Comcast-Spectacor's existing ticket business is called New Era Tickets and is located in Exton. Ticketing businesses are usually paid a per-ticket fee of $1 to $3.50, according to sources.

The Paciolan deal is part of a broader diversification at Comcast-Spectacor, which employs about 1,000 people and is based at the Wachovia Center in South Philadelphia.

In addition to ticketing, Comcast-Spectacor manages 85 stadiums and arenas and operates a food-service division with 105 accounts. It also owns the Philadelphia Flyers and the 76ers. "As we expanded our business," Luukko said, "we decided it had to be outside Philadelphia."