Warriors Unveil First-Ever Resale Marketplace For Luxury Suites
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The Golden State Warriors officially have unveiled a new online platform that gives more fans the opportunity to watch the game from luxury suites and owners more flexibility.
The official and authenticated marketplace where owners can rent out their entire suite for games or concerts is called SuiteXchange.
Chase Center is the first pro sports venue in the US to offer such a service.
"Everyone's really familiar and comfortable with ticket resale, which is kind of the analog of these," said Executive VP Ticket Sales & Services of the Warriors John Beaven. "But suite resale isn't something that's really existed as a thriving marketplace. We feel that's changing based on expectations of consumers."
Fans can now choose from courtside lounges, club suites and four-person theater boxes on the website. For example, for an upcoming Warriors versus Clippers game in March, four theater box seats are going for $8,000, while another is up for $3,500.
The Warriors also introduced a one-of-a-kind option where fans can make their own offer. Owners can accept the bid or make a counteroffer.
"It was very easy. The interested party, in this case Splunk, puts a suite out to bid and we make an offer and they within minutes can accept it," said Ian Wetherall, who used SuiteXchange. "And then from there we know if we've got the suite and can invite our friends and clients."
Wetherell, who works at a financial services firm, rented the software company Splunk's suite Wednesday evening. He said he got a deal when he bid on the16-person space. Wetherall hadn't seen a game from a suite before using the platform.
"I think it's cool. I think if you have enough people, friends together actually booking it out for your group - would be really dope," said fan Carolina Llerena of San Mateo.
She had previously watched a game from a suite through a corporate invitation.
"The decentralization of it makes a lot of sense, allowing like real fans to come in and see maybe a Cleveland Cavaliers game that's not sold out from corporates, let them come in..." said fan Ronnie Harris II of Redwood City. "Or if you're a Beyonce fan and she happens to come out to the Bay."
The Warriors say the new platform allows owners to maximize their investment.
"Our plan is to partner with other venues, we want to make sure we have that partnership in place, so everything is authentic and guaranteed," said Beaven. "That's the long-term vision."