CLEVELAND — If you’re coming down the the MLB All-Star Game, there’s some confusion about tickets and what will get you through the gates.
5 On Your Side Investigators went undercover and met up with some ticket sellers on the street.
When we talked with the MLB and StubHub about tickets earlier in the week, they told us there are ceremonial hard tickets but to get into the game, it’s all digital. One guy, though, was pretty persistent.
Right around East 4th Street and Euclid Avenue, we heard a group of guys yelling tickets.
“Are you selling for the All-Star Game?” we asked.
“I’m going to have some,” said one man. “I’m waiting for a guy to get with me. He said in 45 minutes he’s going to have four for me.”
Just like that, we were in line for some tickets with a man we had just met. He said he would call.
“How much are they running?” we asked.
“A little bit over. The face value is $320,” said the seller.
We continued to walk around and, sure enough, about 40 minutes later the phone rings.
“Are you on Prospect and East 9th," we asked. He said he was on his way.
Two minutes later, the guy was there with some tickets in hand. We asked if they’re real. To convince us, he pulled out his wallet, showed us an ID from Pennsylvania, and pulled out a credit card with his supposed name on it.
We told him we thought the tickets were digital only. He said not true and he asked a random person walking by.
“Hey, sir. Do you have actual tickets or are they digital?” the seller asked. “Is they actual tickets or are they digital?”
“They’re actual tickets,” said the man as he continued walking.
We eventually told the seller who we were. “I’m Jonathan Walsh with News Channel 5. We’re trying to figure out if people are being legit or not.”
That didn’t stop him and he still tried to sell us the tickets. “It’s not all digital,” the seller said.
“So, you’re saying these are legit?” we asked again.
“These are legit…I promise you. I promise you, buddy.
“So, how much are you selling them for?” we asked.
“These are $550 a piece,” he replied.
We talked with the Indians Ticket Booth at Progressive Field, the man told us there are hard tickets out there than can get you in but most people transfer them to digital format to enter. He warned that some scalpers will sell the hard tickets, but use the digital tickets on their phone to get into games leaving those who bought the street tickets out of luck.
Your best bet is to get your tickets online through Indians.com or StubHub.com which is the official secondary seller.
