Jonathan Lack: “In the next year we’ll see more mobile-only for special events. … There will be a huge leap forward in the delivery of tickets.” (Nick Monroe / Fiserv Forum)
Jonathan Lack, senior director of ticketing for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, has made a name for himself in the ticketing industry thanks to his ability to innovate and, perhaps more important, implement new technology and big ideas.
These skills combined with Lack’s versatility and flexibility have all been tested while launching the ticketing department and opening Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.
And for his work in the successful venue opening, the 34-year-old Lack was chosen by his peers as a VenuesNow 2019 Ticketing Star.
It’s also why he got one of the first calls from Raj Saha after Saha was hired as general manager of Fiserv Forum for the Bucks. The two men had worked together at the O2 Arena in London.
“What separated (Jonathan) from other candidates was the ability to work under tight deadlines,” Saha said.
“Before he was at O2 he was at Ticketmaster in the U.K. (and) we decided to go with Ticketmaster early in the process before our box office was hired,” Saha said, adding, “Part of it was his knowledge of Ticketmaster but also his ability to know how to build out an event. Within 10 days (of Lack starting the Bucks job) we had a building manifest and an event on sale.”
Saha said the secret to Lack’s success is “the ability to take a project and understand the process to get it across the finish line. The ability to multitask is huge.”
It didn’t take long for Lack to call upon all of his skills and resources as the very first band to put tickets on sale at the venue, Maroon 5, reconfigured its floor seating after tickets were made available. “It was our third show ever at this building,” Lack recalled. “The floor seating changed from a single thrust down the middle to V-shaped.”
The Bucks executive says his team worked with Ticketmaster to sort out which guests had priority, especially those with VIP packages, although Lack conceded that not every guest was pleased.
Still, Lack said, “For the most part it went well.”
Lack’s tech skills from his days at Ticketmaster have proved invaluable as the Bucks have been mobile-only for their games since the doors opened. Fiserv Forum decided to turn off the “print at home” option (they do offer mail options for events other than Bucks’ games) in a bid to offer more convenience as well as stymie counterfeiting and scalping.
Lack said it’s working: “The fake tickets out there (for Fiserv) are so few compared to other places I’ve worked.”
He also said it’s a harbinger of what’s to come at the venue: “In the next year we’ll see more mobile-only for special events. There are innovations coming in tech that will benefit us with Apple Pay and Google Wallet. There will be a huge leap forward in the delivery of tickets.”
Bucks tickets are bought, stored and even shared via the team’s proprietary app, which team execs say will be expanded to include additional in-venue functionality.
Fiserv Forum is also using self-scanning Falcon pods to help speed guests into the venue. Lack noted there are employees on hand to help them with any questions or issues but he’s looking forward to the next iteration where near field communication devices will replace the bar code scanners. “The hands-free nature (of those devices) is great for guest services to greet guests,” he said. “It’s quite welcoming.”
The Killers performed as the arena’s first ticketed event Sept. 4, but Lack points to a Justin Timberlake performance later that month as crucial to the building’s launch.
“That was a really big show for us,” he said. “We worked on it for eight months. It was one of the first shows we put on sale, we had a sellout of over 17,000 people in the building.”
The ticketing executive says he is happiest when the seats are packed. “I get a sense of fulfillment on show day, with music especially, when there’s a full house.”
And he’s already anticipating another full arena for a household name in February: “I’m really excited about Elton John’s show here. It’s going to be a really great show. He’s a legendary act.”
Lackman is passionate about not only music but also the ticketing business. His mantra: “A ticket is much more than just a ticket. It is an experience and a life-changing moment to somebody somewhere, anywhere.”
After all, it happened to him when he met his wife, Kristen, on a setup at a Dave Matthews Band concert at the O2 Arena in 2010. They’ve been married for five years and have two children.
The resurgent Bucks, who haven’t gotten past the first round of the NBA playoffs since the 2000-01 season but were in second place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference as of mid-December, are helping score business for the nascent arena, Lack said.
“Hopefully we’re going to go further in the playoffs. The further we go and better we perform, it draws interest,” he said. “It’s not just the team. Sales will improve and we’re seeing that, and we’ll see more interest in our special events and in activations outside the building.”
Success may also breed imitators off the court. Lack said other venue ticketing executives are taking notice of the Bucks’ processes: “We’ve had some attention since we opened, I’ve had a few venues reach out to ask about it. Since my (Ticketing Star) nomination I’ve already had three people call and ask to come see it.”
Jonathan Lack
Senior director of ticketing
Milwaukee Bucks
College: University of Southampton in England.
First job ever: At age 16 worked in gift shop at a museum, then called the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum (now Amberley Museum & Heritage Center).
First ticketing job: Goodwood Revival in West Sussex, selling tickets to vintage car races.
Mentor: Alison Jeeves of AXS Europe, who was head of ticketing at the O2 Arena when Lack worked there.
Thing you love to do at work: Event night. “It’s the culmination of a lot of work from a lot of people.”
Pet peeve at work: Huge, colossal production changes that come up the night before your first presale, and fish being cooked in the microwave at lunchtime on an event day (you know who you are). Running out of ticket stubs, changing ticket printer.
What’s the next event that you have bought tickets to? I’m thinking about buying tickets to see the Rolling Stones next year in Chicago. I’ve seen them a couple of times and they are fantastic.