I stand corrected on the responsibility issue.
I know about the Pats reselling of ST tix as you describe.
However, my point was to let the tix be sold at market value as I stated.
After all, the Pats knowingly let Ticketmaster and other re-sellers sell tickets at market value. Why not the ST holders?
My turn to apologize, in retrospect my tone was far too harsh and you have a good point about letting the ticketholder reap some of the benefits.
OTOH, I think the Pats have the better point. They are selling tickets at well below market value in order to (1) sell out the stadium so the local broadcast isn't blacked out and (2) allow folks to go to the games who don't have lots of money but got in line before the Superbowl years.
The question is this: who owns the unrealized gain on those tickets, originally sold at below market prices and now being resold at scalpers prices?
To me, the season ticket holder gets the lower prices as a benefit of promising to go to the game. If he does not, all he deserves is to get his original money back. The Patriots, who are producing the entertainment, have first rights to any additional money.
In suing StubHub, the Pats are helping may be helping themselves, but they're also preserving access to the games for ordinary fans, by cutting off an easy market for STH's to sell tickets at very high prices. Remember, the same number of tickets will still be sold. Keeping the prices down makes it more likely that ordinary folks will be at the games. And less likely that STH's will succumb to temptation and sell their tickets for the money.
It's December 17th and 20 degrees out and you could go to the game or you could sell your two tickets to StubHub for $1000 to a Texans fan. The Pats cut off that market and its more likely either you'll be there, or you'll have sold your ticket to another Pats fan through TicketExchange.
That seems right to me. What the Dolphins do is their business.