Despite their beatdown at the hands of the New England Patriots, fans of the Indianapolis Colts have a lot to be excited about with their football team.
Nobody knows that better than Renny Harrison, owner of Fanfare Tickets, located in Carmel at 890 E. 116th St., Suite 110.
Harrison started his company six years after spending years as partner at Circle City Tickets. He talked to Current in Carmel about his expectations for his local ticket reseller.
How do you separate yourself from other ticket companies locally and online?
“I think we set ourselves apart by having a local presence and always having a real person for the client to talk to. We’ve got a storefront and fully-staffed regular so if someone has a question or wants the experience of getting to talk to someone face-to-face, we can provide that better than online companies.”
Is it better having an office in Carmel as opposed to downtown Indianapolis closer to many venues?
“It’s really nice being up here because many of our customers are on the Northside anyway and it’s a convenient spot for many of the people we do business with every day.”
How was this year’s Colts season for your company?
“It was better than I had expected. At first glance, you look at the schedule and we didn’t have one of those blockbuster games at home. We didn’t play the Packers or the Steelers or the Broncos at home. And overall with the NFC teams we had played, I would have certainly loved to play the Cowboys here rather than away. But how it ended up was really well because we started winning some games and had a good run and made some of those games, particularly the Cincinnati game and the Houston game pretty strong. Was it as good as last year? Probably not because we didn’t play the Broncos with Peyton Manning at home, but it was better than we expected.”
What was the best Colts game this year?
“The Cincinnati regular season game. The Bengals were doing well at the time and it was just the right time.”
Besides the opponent, what are the other factors that can go into making a game good or bad for sales?
“Timing. It seems that the games that are later in the year are better for us. You have four or five months to build up to that game. More time to sell lets you fine tune the pricing and buy and sell more. What day of the week and what time of the day also matters. It seems that with more and more primetime games, it kind of loses some of its appeal. Then it becomes, ‘Do we want to have our kids out until 1 a.m.?’ or ‘Do we want to drive all the way from Lafayette?’ So really the Sunday games at 1 p.m. are the best for us.”
So I take it you aren’t a fan of Thursday night games?
“No, those are the worst.”
I can imagine with Paul George’s injury, the Indiana Pacers games are down this year?
“Yes. It’s been a struggle, but a little better than expected. We had strong sales during Christmas times and lots of weekend games that help. The Bulls game sold well. Overall, this year is tough though.”
How have sales been for Indiana University basketball games?
“Surprisingly good. I think the team’s better than we thought. The schedule after Christmas is pretty decent. We have hung in there against a tough schedule and now we have a lot of weekend games and some games that really fit into everyone’s schedules. I think there are only like three weeknight games and the rest are on the weekends, which is really good.
Besides sporting events, what other events have been a big draw?
“Neil Diamond is touring again and while that might not be everyone’s favorite performer, it appeals to people with money. Maroon 5 is coming and that’s very good. Taylor Swift is coming and that’s very good. The shows that aren’t here every year are great for business. Unlike the bands that come every single year, where there isn’t really a sense of urgency to see them. There are some other events that are pretty interesting such as Monster Jam.”
I expect a lot of parents might have been willing to shell out a little extra for Taylor Swift tickets to make their daughters happy.
“Oh yeah. Over Christmas, we saw a lot of holiday presents bought from us. Taylor Swift is nine months away, but sales were really good.”
Do you have a favorite venue for ticket resale?
“Banker’s Life Fieldhouse is always the best. They seem to draw the big names like Maroon 5 or Taylor Swift. Plus, I think some people aren’t as willing to drive out to the Klipsch Music Center as much anymore. It’s great venue and people have a great time but for a lot of people it can be challenging.”
