Are people allowed to enter a pro sports event barefoot and shirtless?

Why are concert and most event tickets non-refundable? (ticket touts related)

• I would like to know this because I believe this is among the reasons why ticket touts profit in the first place. If people  would be allowed to return tickets, for example, depending on the period left until the start of an event (let's say you can get less money back as the event approaches), this would allow others to buy the new available tickets and those who can't go can some money back. Of course the tickets should be ID checked when people enter the event etc..

• Answer:

  Simple answer, to accommodate an extremely small minority of ticket buyers who might be interested in "Partial Refund/Partial Pay" tickets, there would be huge delays in the system. Still, it simply isn't legal. Tickets may only be sold for the printed ticket price. That's why scalping tickets is illegal. Taxes are not collected on a scalper's sale of a ticket so they made a law to make scalping illegal. But, imagine going to Xfinity and telling them you only watched one movie on Cinemax this month and you would like a partial refund. That's what you would hear from the promoters of shows. The bottom line is that once a ticket is sold, it's sold, period. It would cost the promoter money he or she has already collected to afford you, the ticket buyer, this kind of flexibility. Even if you were to get 10% returned, it's still money out. Then, suppose someone bought that ticket again. Well, the printed ticket price says the ticket is $30, you collected $3, so the promoter has retained $27. If the ticket could be resold it has to be for the printed ticket price of $30. And there is NO guarantee that the ticket will be resold. But, for the sake of argument, IF the ticket were resold, for the printed price, the only price for which the promoter or ticket agent may legally sell that ticket, the promoter has now collected $57 on a single ticket. You follow?   It's a bookkeeping nightmare for which there is no incentive. Bottom line, you CAN NOT resell a ticket; once it's sold, it's sold. A ticket is a contract between the original purchaser and the promoter of the event. The ticket guarantees admission, that the headline act will appear as scheduled, and that there will be adequate lights and sound reinforcement to meet reasonable expectations. IF, the promoter fails to make good on any of those guarantees then he or she must refund the purchase price which is printed on the ticket. So, if the band doesn't show up or the electricity fails and the show can not go on, you get a full refund of the price printed on the ticket (don't get me started on service fees, that's a whole 'nother answer). What you're suggesting adds a layer of difficulty to closing the box office and reconciling the show. As soon as the headline act goes on stage, the box office is closed. No more tickets may be sold at that point. If the show was sold out before the Day of Show then the box office need not even open except for Will Call Tickets and to offer information, mostly, "We're sold out." After the box office closes (well before the time you get bored and want a partial refund) all the unsold tickets are counted. The number of unsold tickets is subtracted from the manifested number of tickets printed and the result is the number sold. The number sold at each individual price (the house may be scaled, some seats sell for less than some others) is calculated and those products, when added together, tells you how much money there is to disperse. Before the Headline act is in their 4th number on stage, checks are already being written for the Stage Hands Union (IATSE), Rent on the venue, Formal Security, The Ticket Handling Fee (usually a single digit percentage of the net gross), carpenters, electricians, the Plumber (for cooling lasers), the piano tuner, the lighting company, the sound company, the caterers, Informal Security, ancillary staffing (ticket takers and ushers-another Union), and, of course, the taxes. Finally, (about the time the headliner is on song 6 or 7) the Road Manager, the Tax man, and the Promoter show up for their money. The band was already paid half the money up front when they agreed to play. On the night of the show there is another guaranteed payment coming, in cash usually, plus a percentage of everything over an agreed upon point in the gross net (sometimes).  Lights and Sound both want cash payments on the night of the show as well. Lastly, the promoter goes over the books and collects a check for all the money that is left over. The band is still less than half way through their show by this time. The box office receipts have been reconciled against the bills and the show is "settled". The show is fiscally ended, all the money has been handled. No one has any money to pay back at this point and we're only 35-40 minutes into the performance. So, as stated earlier, to accommodate an extremely small minority of ticket buyers who might be interested in "Partial Refund/Partial Pay" tickets, there would be huge delays in the system. The band wouldn't tolerate it, the unions wouldn't tolerate the delays in getting paid, the taxman who shows up to collect his check on the Day of Show would have serious problems with it, and the promoter would have a new set of headaches that go along with those of any Day of Show. In the end, there's just no incentive to do that. Sorry. Does that help?