EDIT: Cajuns fans can avoid these fees by simply not purchasing through Ticketmaster and instead buying tickets at the gate upon arrival at Russo Park. Credit to @TheCajunsLogo on Twitter for the info.

As the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun baseball season prepares to open on Feb. 18, controversy has arisen over the UL Lafayette Athletics Department’s continued use of Ticketmaster’s online service. Admission to single games is listed at $8.50, but when purchasing through Ticketmaster, fees and service costs raise the price to $21.20 per ticket. These charges may persist until Ticketmaster as a service is dropped by UL Lafayette. The fees in question include a service fee for each ticket, a facility fee for each ticket, and an order processing fee. 

St. Martinville youth team director, Coach Chris Ransonet, tweeted a screenshot on Feb. 4 detailing the costs, “I know it’s being discussed but it’s past time to kick @Ticketmaster to the curb! @RaginCajuns need to do better for #CajunNation! 4 baseball tickets cost $34 but there’s $54.35 in fees! Are we really charging a ‘facility fee’ for a university owned stadium?” He declined further comment.

UL Athletics’ Director of Ticket Operations Kali Judice declined to comment on the details of this contract or concerns raised by students and fans.

After merging with Live Nation Entertainment back in Nov. 2018, Ticketmaster has become a mainstay as one of the largest online ticket distributors in the world. Both companies have been the center of several scandals over the years. Most recently, Live Nation has been sued for several billion dollars after a Travis Scott festival in Houston killed 10 people, some being minors. The concert left almost 300 injured and 25 hospitalized, according to The Guardian. Most of this tragedy’s outcome was attributed to poor planning, overbooking of the venue and understaffing of security and emergency personnel.

On Jan. 18, Live Nation announced the When We Were Young Festival for the week of Oct. 22, featuring a massive lineup of 2000’s rock and punk bands, all to perform sets over one-day shows. This event, coupled with the recent increase in ticket prices, is seen by many as an attempt to offset the aforementioned legal and civil costs coming Live Nation’s way.

UL Lafayette communications freshman Logan Staton wrote in a statement to The Vermilion that he does not care about Ticketmaster’s fees since, as a student, he gets into games for free.

Communications junior Kade Parker wrote in a statement to the Vermilion, “Ticketmaster in general overcharges people in ‘service fees.’ We saw Jim Gaffigan at the Cajundome last weekend. Tickets were listed at $30 but we ended up paying more in service fees than the actual tickets.”