Paciolan Announces Partnership With Michigan State University's Wharton Center for Performing Arts and Breslin Student Events Center

Venues Will Implement Solutions to Consolidate Ticketing Systems and Enhance Services


IRVINE, CA and EAST LANSING, MI--(Marketwired - Jun 5, 2013) - Paciolan, a leading provider of ticketing, marketing, fundraising and sales automation solutions in college athletics and performing arts, today announced that Michigan State University's Wharton Center for Performing Arts (Wharton Center), a non-profit arts center and Michigan's largest performing arts venue, and Breslin Student Events Center (Breslin Center), Michigan State's multi-purpose events center and home to the university's men's and women's basketball teams, have partnered with the company. Wharton Center and Breslin Center will begin leveraging Paciolan's industry-leading ticketing, fundraising and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions.

Wharton Center is the leading presenting venue among Big 10 institutions and presents the largest programming schedule of any independent performing arts center affiliated with a university in the country. The non-profit performing arts center consists of four unique stages, including the Cobb Great Hall, Pasant Theatre, MSU Concert Auditorium and Fairchild Theatre, hosting more than 250 Broadway shows, classical musicians, dance companies events and 250,000 guests annually. Breslin Center is Michigan State's all-events facility that hosts a wide variety of university athletics events, student commencement, concerts, family shows and various university and community functions. Additionally, both venues host the university's live entertainment series, Live at State.

"Partnering with Paciolan provides us with progressive patron relations solutions and enables us to leverage a single ticketing system campus-wide," said Mike Brand, Executive Director at Wharton Center for Performing Arts. "With a 360 degree view of every interaction with our customers, we are able to tailor services and unique offers to each of our patrons to enhance our relationships and meet each customer's needs."

To leverage a single ticketing system campus-wide, both Wharton Center and Breslin Center will leverage Paciolan's integrated ticketing, marketing and fundraising solution. With this holistic system, each venue will offer its customers a fully branded ecommerce experience with online box office with the ability to purchase tickets to multiple shows and events at each venue.

Wharton Center and Breslin Center will utilize Paciolan's Access scanning system to efficiently scan tickets at all events and allow their patrons to bypass will call and quickly enter each venue. For the many diverse events held at each venue, delivering digital ticketing and print-at-home capability eliminates the cost and distribution of tickets and makes it convenient for their customers to instantly receive tickets via e-mail. Additionally, each venue will offer customers the ability to transfer ticket ownership to ensure tickets are used for each event.

"We are looking to offer everything we can to our customers and are excited about implementing the Access scanning system to provide them with print-at-home tickets, and avail additional digital ticketing and electronic transfer services," said Jarrod Bradford, Director of Ticketing, Sales and Digital Services at Wharton Center for Performing Arts. 

Leveraging Paciolan's fundraising technology, Wharton Center will, for the first time, overlap with the University's athletics program. Donors will be able to manage accounts for all ticketing events on campus, and the consolidated system will enable Wharton Center to efficiently cultivate and maximize donor relationships and communications while providing important opportunities for online fundraising that integrates seamlessly with their ticketing system.

"We're extremely proud to partner with two of Michigan's first-class venues in Wharton Center and Breslin Center, and we're honored to continue our successful relationship with Michigan State University," said Dave Butler, chief executive officer of Paciolan. "We are excited to assist each facility expand their community reach with our industry-leading solutions, and provide exceptional ticketing, marketing, fundraising and sales services."

About Wharton Center
Wharton Center is Michigan's largest performing arts center and the leading presenting venue among Big 10 institutions and presents the largest programming schedule of any independent performing arts center affiliated with a university in the country. The 501(c)(3) non-profit performing arts center utilizes the arts to engage individuals and attract over 250,000 guests per year to its 250 annual events, with these audiences acting as the catalyst for economic growth and vitality within the state and region. Wharton Center consists of four unique stages, including the Cobb Great Hall, Pasant Theatre, MSU Concert Auditorium and Fairchild Theatre.

For additional information, visit www.whartoncenter.com. Tickets can be purchased at www.whartoncenter.com  or by calling 1-800-WHARTON.

About Breslin Center
Breslin Center is Michigan State's all-events facility and home to the university's men's and women's basketball programs. The 14,579-seat arena hosts the university's student commencement, live family shows and concerts, trade shows, conventions, and banquets. Breslin Center also hosts the Michigan High School Athletic Association boys' and girls' state basketball championships.

For additional information, visit www.breslincenter.com. Tickets can be purchased at www.breslincenter.com  or by calling 1-800-968-BRES.

About Paciolan
Founded in 1980, Paciolan is the leader in venue enablement, powering ticketing, fundraising and marketing technology solutions for leading organizations across North America. Collectively, Paciolan powers over 500 live entertainment organizations that sell over 120 million tickets annually. Primary markets include college athletics, professional sports, performing arts, arenas and museums. Paciolan is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor. 

Visit www.paciolan.com for additional company information.

Contact Information:

Media Contacts:
Craig Ricks
Paciolan
Vice President of Marketing
949.823.1636 (O)

Steve Brown
Paciolan
Corporate Marketing Associate
949.823.4506 (O)

Bob Hoffman
Wharton Center for Performing Arts
Public Relations Manager
517.884.3115 (O)