Ticketing ITT - icc-live.s3.amazonaws.com



Invitation to Tender for ICC Champions Trophy 2017, ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Centralised Ticketing Service

Issued by: Andy Folwell, Head of Strategy & Engagement – ICC Global Events, England & Wales Cricket Board, Lord’s Cricket Ground, London

Date: Wednesday 9th December 2015

1 Introduction

The England and Wales Cricket Board (the “ECB”) has been awarded the outstanding opportunity to stage the International Cricket Council (the “ICC”) Champions Trophy 2017, the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 (the “Tournaments”).

The local organising committee established by the ECB to oversee the operational delivery of the Tournaments (the “LOC”) is seeking an organisation (the “Bidder”) to not only provide a world-class centralised ticketing system with a truly global reach but to also embrace this unique opportunity and play an integral role in helping to create an exceptional and revolutionary spectator experience from point of purchase to attending a match.

Each Bidder is hereby invited to make a submission to the ECB to provide the centralised ticketing system for all three Tournaments (a “Bid”) (including warm-up matches).

This document (the “ITT Document”) is being issued by the ECB to each Bidder, subject to the terms and conditions detailed herein. This ITT Document is provided to each Bidder for the sole purpose of assisting them to apply for and secure the right to provide the centralised ticketing system for the Tournaments. The information set out in this ITT Document is being made available to each Bidder on the condition that it is used by them only in order to apply for selection as the provider of the centralised ticketing system for the Tournaments and to take part in discussions and/or negotiations with the ECB as part of the Invitation to Tender (the “ITT”) and for no other purpose whatsoever.

2 Background

The ICC Champions Trophy is a premium One Day International (ODI) event, played by the top eight teams in the ICC ODI Rankings (England, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka)

The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 (excluding warm-up games, which are to be confirmed (“TBC”)) is scheduled to take place in June 2017. The exact dates are to be confirmed and are subject to alteration on notice at any time.

The 8 team tournament will encompass 15 games split between 12 games in the group stages (2 groups of 4), 2 semi-finals and final.

The matches will be held at three venues (Edgbaston, Oval and Cardiff)

The ICC Women’s World Cup is the pinnacle event in women’s cricket. The Women’s World Cup returns to England for the first time since 1993 and will see the top four teams from the ICC Women’s Championship plus four qualifiers compete for the trophy.

The ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 (excluding warm-up games which are TBC) is scheduled to take place in August 2017 (TBC). The exact dates are to be confirmed and are subject to alteration on notice at any time.

The 8 team tournament is scheduled to encompass 31 games split between 28 games in the group stages (Round Robin format), 2 semi-finals and final (plus a reserve day for the final). The matches will be staged across 6 venues (TBC).

The ICC Cricket World Cup is cricket’s flagship event for the most coveted prize in cricket. The event will consist of the top eight cricketing nations in the ICC ODI Rankings plus two qualifiers from the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Tournament 2019.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 (excluding warm-up games, which are TBC) is scheduled to take place from June to July 2019. The exact dates are to be confirmed and are subject to alteration on notice at any time.

The 10 team tournament is scheduled to encompass 48 games across 11 venues. The games will be split between 45 group stage matches (Round Robin Format), 2 semi-finals and final (plus a reserve day for the final if necessary)

As stipulated for all ICC Global events, the ticketing function for the Tournament is to be centralised and outsourced.

Ticket prices are yet to be finalised but it is anticipated that they will reflect the profile and prestige of each Tournament, while also being accessible to a wide range of customer groups to attract new audiences to the game.

Subject to the appointment of the central ticket provider, it is anticipated that each venue will receive a set allocation of tickets for each match-day in relation to which it will be responsible for administering the ticket sales process (to ensure ticket supplies for local members).

In addition to venue sales, there will be a number of other key customer groups, such as players, sponsor and commercial partner tickets and tour & travel allocations that will need to be managed and fulfilled independently within the central ticketing system.

The design of the ticket stationery will be managed by the LOC in consultation with the central ticket provider for final approval by the ICC. Each ticket will have the Tournament sponsors printed on its face with terms and conditions on the back and the appointed central ticket provider shall be prohibited from displaying its logo on the tickets unless it has been appointed as an official Tournament sponsor by the ICC. Please note that the ticket sales URL that will be advertised will be an ICC page that will have a click through to the ticket sales site and we wouldn’t promote the URL of the service supplier.

The planned ticket on sale date is approximately a year prior to the start date of the relevant Tournament.

3 Key values and ticketing objectives

Positioning

ICC Champions Trophy 2017:

• Premium, prestigious ‘best v best ODI event

• Played exclusively by the top teams from the ODI rankings

• Short, sharp intense event of high quality where every match counts

• No Second chances – teams must perform on the day

ICC Women’s World Cup 2017:

• Pinnacle event in women’s cricket

• Robust format – the best team should win

• A platform to showcase the best of the women’s game

• Great value opportunity to witness elite female cricket competition

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

• The Premier ICC cricket event to crown the world champion ODI team

• Robust format where teams all play each other so the best team should win the event

• A major sporting occasion that only happens once in 4 years – icon event in global sports calendar

• Most coveted prize in cricket

• A celebration of the game that leaves a lasting legacy

With specific reference to ticketing objectives the Tournaments are seeking to:

- Attract new spectators to cricket and appeal to a more diverse audience

- Enhance the customer experience from start to finish

- Provide a positive legacy for international and domestic 50-over cricket

- Offer a customer friendly booking process

- Provide a reliable ticket delivery system

- Create a database of ticket buyers

- Provide an efficient mechanism for the management of commercial partner ticket allocations via a specific portal

- Provide Ticket Security systems to minimise fraudulent activities

- Provide a hand back or ticket exchange mechanism

- Interface with other systems to deliver ‘customer experience’ rewards and upgrades

4 Proposal requirements

The successful Bidder will need to be able to demonstrate that it can do the following

a) Provide a world-class ticketing service with truly global reach including:

• A successful track record of ticketing service provision for global scale events

• The ability to service and fulfill a ticketing service both to UK and global markets

• Fulfillment of application process, ticket allocation, transaction process and ticket distribution.

• Capability to run a ballot process for specific matches if necessary

• Capability of a ticket exchange portal

• The ability to reach new audiences

• Utilisation of ticket provider’s website and customer database to promote and sell tickets throughout the on-sale periods of each Tournament

• Provide a customised user-friendly ticket purchase website that is immediately identifiable as one of the aforementioned Tournaments and is devoid of any branding of any third party without the prior approval of ICC

• Industry leading ticket security solutions to deter ticket forgeries (i.e. Holograms)

• Call centre resource

• Help desk support

• Capability for print at home ticketing and electronic access at venues

• Delivery of hard copy tickets

• First-class ticket reporting and accounting system

• Automatic refund system

• A strategy and capability to capture data for all attendees and not solely the ticket purchaser

• Capability for customers to purchase complementary products (e.g. Tournament programmes, merchandise, tour and travel packages ) through the ticketing system

• Provision of customer data post-event detailing opt-in or opt-out status

• Capability to provide an option to reserve semi-final and final tickets should a customer’s preferred team reach this stage of the relevant Tournament

b) Provide world-class support services, including:

• Dedicated account manager, support team and customer service representative

• Central ticketing software at central office and venues, providing ICC & the LOC with real-time ticketing reports, including VAT breakdowns

• Maintenance and operation of a full customer services facility for the resolution of public complaints, comment and concerns relating to Tournament ticketing.

• Call centre ticket sales team

• Capability to handle significant on-sale demand for Global Events

• Capability to send communications to all ticket purchasers

• Capability to raise ticket sales invoices via the central ticketing software

• Software enabling customised reports on:

o Sales levels (inclusive and exclusive of VAT)

o Ticket type

o By venue

o By stand at each venue

o Warm-up vs. Tournament matches

o Bespoke reports

• Ability to add ‘events’ to software

• Ability to return unused stakeholder tickets into the ticket system without interruption

• Ability to sell tickets at the venues prior to and on match-day

• Ability to alter ticket prices on a short term basis

• Ability to block areas and seats for sponsors and VIP’s

• Ability to provide a separate online portal to enable ICC and commercial partners to manage their ticket allocations directly, provide reports and handbacks

• Ability to load stadium configuration daily, due to the use of different pitches on different match-days.

• Fulfilment of ticket purchase (credit or debit card) through website both within UK and internationally

• Ability to sell ticket packages as may be desirable according to the sales policy

• Ability for each customer to track the stage of their ticket fulfilment (i.e. ticket reserved and paid for but not sent / tickets in the post) or the possibility of issuing a receipt well in advance of ticket issue.

• Ability to provide mobile sales in non-ticket office locations

• Ability to work with ICC travel and tour partner and their requirements:

o Group bookings

o Exclusive window selling period

• Ability to provide a ‘mobile-friendly’ ticketing site

c) Provide an adaptable and easy-to-use system, including:

• Provision of training for all staff using ticketing system

• Helpline and support for central and venue staff

• Support to assist users of the website (e.g. FAQ webpage/Live Chat function)

• Different language versions available for the website to service anticipated global demand for the Tournaments.

• Ensuring all venue access control systems are compatible

d) Work professionally and collaboratively with the LOC and the venues, including:

• Work with LOC team to assist in the goal of maximising attendance

• Work with venues’ ticketing staff to maximise ticket sales and enhance customer experience

• Display experience of team-working with a central organiser and venues to deliver a world-class ticketing system.

• Provide match-day support at the venues to assist with any ticketing problems

• Supply fully trained staff to venues where necessary

• Deliver a database of ticket purchasers which has captured data bespoke to the needs of the LOC and which can be exported onto ECB systems. The data collected will become the intellectual property of the ECB and ICC

• Provide End of Event ticket sales reports by match day, customer group and venue

• Provide analysis of ticket purchasing data with ability to share information with a third party

5. Bid submission document:

Each Bidder must submit is Bid submission document by no later than Friday 29 January 2016 in the format detailed at section 5.4 below.

The Bid submission document should include the following

5.1 Bidder details

• Full corporate details of the Bidder and (if different) its proposed contracting entity (and any proposed parent company financial or other guarantees);

• Brief description of the history and structure of the Bidder’s organisation;

• Details of specialist service units/ service providers associated to the Bidder which are relevant to the requirements;

• Details of Bidder’s experience in global sports in general and cricket in particular;

• Organisation’s profile and credentials; including copies of its last three years of audited accounts and the proposed names and working experience of the personnel who will be responsible for each of the Tournament accounts, including those responsible for strategic planning, logistical planning, and event fulfilment

5.2 Draft proposal for the Tournament’s ticket operations

• Bidder to provide outline summary of its preferred process to achieve the ticket deliverables detailed in section 4 of this ITT.

3. Financials

Bidder to present the following financial information:

• Options and projected levels for fee structuring if the Bidder were to be awarded the role of the central ticket provider for each of the Tournaments and;

• All three Tournaments priced separately and then one price for the award of all three Tournaments.

4. Submission Documents:

• The Bidder is requested to provide their Bid by e-mail

• Bid submission documents must be a maximum of 20 pages (excluding requested enclosures such as copies of audited accounts) and

• If a Bidder fails to deliver all or part of a Bid submission in the format requested, the ECB shall notify it in writing requiring the failure to be remedied within 3 working days, failing which Bidder will be deemed to have withdrawn its Bid and it will no longer be eligible for consideration as the provider of the centralised ticketing system for any of the Tournaments.

6 Terms and Conditions of the ITT

In participating in the ITT and/or submitting a Bid, Bidders agree to be bound by and accept the following terms and conditions:

6.1 Any and all awards in respect of this ITT are at the sole and absolute discretion of the ECB.

6.2 The ECB has the right (in its sole and absolute discretion) to suspend, discontinue, modify and/or terminate the ITT and/or the Bid process at any time.

6.3 This ITT Document does not contain any representation on which any Bidder or other recipient may be entitled to rely at any point in time in order to bring any claim, action or proceedings against the ECB, the ICC or any of its advisors or any of their respective employees, advisors or agents (whether for misrepresentation or otherwise). This ITT Document shall not create any liability for the ECB or the ICC

6.4 Any and all awards arising from this ITT will not necessarily go to the lowest Bidder.

6.5 The ECB has the right (in its sole and absolute discretion) to determine how to progress any discussions and/or negotiations following submission of the Bids.

6.6 The ECB has the right (in its sole and absolute discretion) to reject or require Bidders to re-submit any Bid in the event that such Bid fails to meet the requirements or expectations of the ECB.

6.7 The ECB shall be entitled to appoint such Selection Panel as it considers necessary for the purpose of assessing Bids. The composition of the Selection Panel is at the sole and absolute discretion of the ECB and the ICC. The ECB and the ICC reserve the right to amend the Selection Panel without prior notification.

6.8 The ECB shall require the Bidder to make a presentation in respect of its Bid, attendance at which shall be at the Bidder’s expense. If the Bidder fails to attend its allotted presentation then it will be liable to disqualification from this ITT.

6.9 The ECB reserves the right to request further information and/or documentation from the Bidder, following the presentation.

6.10 The selection of the appropriate Bidder is the sole prerogative of the ECB and they shall not be obliged to give any reasons for making any selection and/or rejection of a Bid.

6.11 Any decision taken by the ECB in relation to this ITT shall be final and binding and no correspondence whatsoever shall be entered into.

6.12 The ECB reserves the right to make any appointment of a Bidder subject to such further terms and conditions as it considers appropriate.

6.13 Any and all costs incurred (directly or indirectly) by or on behalf of a Bidder in preparing and submitting any Bid shall be borne solely by the Bidder.

6.14 The ECB has the right (in its sole and absolute discretion) to amend and/or supplement this ITT Document and any information contained herein at any time prior to the deadline for final submissions of Bids by written notice to each Bidder.

6.15 The ECB shall be entitled to rely on the accuracy and authenticity of any and all representations or information provided in any Bid submission.

6.16 In consideration for the Selection Panel considering the Bidder’s Bid, the Bidder hereby warrants, represents, undertakes, accepts and acknowledges on its own behalf and on behalf of any other party to the Bid that:

a) in participating in this ITT and/or submitting a Bid, it expressly waives, and it will procure that any third party connected with its Bid expressly waives, any right of action it may have against the ECB or the ICC with regard to the ITT, the decision to appoint a Bidder or related matters;

b) the information contained in and/or submitted in connection with its Bid shall not be false or misleading and that, if following submission of the Bid there is any change in the Bidder’s circumstances or other events which may adversely affect and/or impact on such information and/or the manner in which it may be interpreted, the Bidder shall promptly notify the ECB in writing, setting out the relevant details in full;

c) it shall supply such further information and/or documentation requested by the ECB within 10 calendar days after receipt of a written request for that information and/or documentation (or such other period of time stipulated by the ECB);

d) its Bid and all elements thereof will comply in full with all relevant and applicable legal and regulatory requirements, authorisation and/or consent procedures;

e) it, its officers, employees and agents shall at all times conduct themselves in an ethical and professional manner and shall neither engage in any conduct or behaviour which may bring the ITT, the ECB or the ICC into disrepute nor make any comments (either during the ITT or following the ECB’s award of the central ticket provider for the Tournament(s)) of a disparaging or critical nature about the ITT, the ECB, the ICC, the Tournaments or any other Bidder or any of their respective officers, employees or representatives; and

f) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph 6.16(e) above, it shall neither directly nor indirectly canvass or attempt to obtain any information from any ECB representative concerning another Bidder or the ITT in any manner that has not been invited by the ECB, nor attempt to influence the ECB’s selection process in any way whether by collaborating or colluding with any other Bidder or third party with a view to unfairly influencing the outcome of the ITT or seeking information about the content of any other Bidder’s submission(s).

6.17 The Bidder accepts and acknowledges that it shall indemnify and hold harmless the ECB and the ICC with respect to all and any causes of, and liability to, any third party arising out of or in connection with the ITT and/or any breach by the Bidder (or any party or parties for which the Bidder is responsible) of the terms and conditions set out herein and/or any other act or omission.

6.18 The Bidder acknowledges that:

a) all copyright and other intellectual property rights relating to the ITT (the “Rights”) shall belong solely and exclusively to the ECB. This shall include all data, documents and information provided by the ECB, including this ITT Document, and any ideas, designs or concepts relating to the ITT contained in any Bid submitted and/or presentation, clarification or follow up in respect of a Bid (and consequently any of the same that are owned by the Bidder which are hereby irrevocably and unconditionally assigned to the ECB free of charge with full title guarantee by way of present and future assignment of copyright and/or other intellectual property rights in perpetuity);  

b) it shall (and shall ensure that any third parties) waive all moral rights in relation to the Bids, presentation documents, presentations and/or any clarification or supplementary information or documentation; and

 

c) the ECB shall be entitled to exploit the Rights in any way it sees fit without acknowledging or crediting the Bidder and without any payment to the Bidder (or any third party on the Bidder’s behalf) whether of any fees, royalties, equitable remuneration or otherwise.

6.19 “Confidential Information” means any and all information, materials and documentation disclosed by the ECB to a Bidder relating to the ECB, the ICC and/or any of the Tournaments, whether in writing, verbally or by any other means and whether directly or indirectly by the ECB or any of its personnel or representatives relating to the ECB’s business and activities (including but not limited to this ITT Document and information regarding the ITT). No Bidder shall under any circumstances use the Confidential Information for any purpose other than for assisting it with the presentation of its Bid.

a) Each Bidder shall:

i) Keep the Confidential Information confidential and shall not disclose the Confidential Information to any third party except that it may disclose it to its professional advisors (subject to paragraph 6.19(a)(ii) below) to the extent that this is essential for its Bid, or if disclosure is required by law or by a court of competent jurisdiction; and

ii) Ensure that each person to whom any Confidential Information is disclosed, complies fully with these terms and conditions as if that person was a party to these terms and conditions.

b) This paragraph does not apply to any Confidential Information to the extent that it is or becomes publicly known other than by breach of these terms and conditions by a Bidder, its representatives or related parties.

c) The ECB accepts no responsibility for and makes no representation or warranty (whether express or implied with respect to the truth, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of the Confidential Information. The ECB is not liable to any Bidder or to any person in respect of the Confidential Information or its use.

6.20 No formal media announcements or disclosure of any information relating to the Tournaments or the ITT should be made without the ECB’s prior written consent.

6.21 The appointment of the successful Bidder shall be strictly conditional on the successful Bidder executing and returning a copy of the supply of services contract (in a form acceptable to the ECB) by the deadline stipulated by the ECB

6.22 This ITT Document is merely an invitation to submit a bid to provide the centralised ticketing system for the Tournament and does not constitute a contract to provide the centralised ticketing system, or an offer to provide the centralised ticketing system, that is capable of acceptance by the ECB, the ICC or any other person or entity. Once submitted, the Bid shall constitute an irrevocable offer to the ECB to provide the centralised ticketing system for the Tournament(s).

6.23 In consideration of the ECB receiving and reviewing its Bid, the Bidder confirms and warrants that it has read, understood and accepted the terms and conditions set out in this ITT Document, which take precedence over any provisions contained in any other communications between the Bidder and the ECB or the ICC. The Bidder further acknowledges that, except as set out in the Bid and in any subsequent agreement (if any), there is no existing agreement, arrangement or understanding in place (whether in writing or oral) between the ECB and the Bidder in relation to the ITT, its subject matter and/or the provision of the centralised ticketing system.

6.24 The Bidder acknowledges that, save as set out in any subsequent agreement for the provision of a centralised ticketing system (as applicable), all rights and opportunities in and in relation to the Tournaments shall be exclusively reserved by the ECB and the ICC (as applicable).

6.25 No terms seeking to restrict in any way the discretion of the ECB, the ICC or the Selection Panel will be accepted.

6.23 The ECB reserves the right to disqualify, by written notice, any Bidder who in the opinion of the ECB has breached any of these terms and conditions.

6.24 The ITT and any and all related documentation shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with English law and any dispute relating in any way to the Bid shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

7 Contract term

The contract term will cover the planning, fulfilment and after sales service of all centralised ticket sales for the Tournament(s). It is anticipated that this contract term will commence in early 2016 and will expire, on satisfactory completion of all relevant Tournament Ticket audit and reconciliations, which is anticipated to be in September 2019.

The ECB shall also have the unilateral contractual right to terminate the contract immediately by written notice at any time between the completion of the 2017 Tournaments and 31 December 2017 (without any liability to the counterparty).

8 Timelines

The timelines for this ITT is set out below. The ECB however reserves the right to review and amend these timelines, upon written notice to each Bidder, at its sole and absolute discretion.

• The ITT Document will be issued no later than Wednesday 6 January 2016.

• If you intend to bid we ask that you confirm this to us at the address below by no later than close of business on Wednesday 13 January 2016.

• Response Meetings to discuss issues arising from this ITT can be arranged in the period between Monday 18 - Friday 22 January 2016.

• Bids to be submitted to the ECB by no later than close of business on Friday 29 January 2016

• The Selection Panel intends to reach a final decision by no later than Friday 5 February 2016

The ECB contact point for all communications relating to this ITT is:

Andy Folwell

Head of Strategy & Engagement

ICC Global Events

England & Wales Cricket Board

Lord’s Cricket Ground

London NW8 8QZ

Email: andy.folwell@ecb.co.uk

Telephone: +44 207 432 1200

Mobile: +44 (0)20 7432 1244

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