NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt officials have announced efforts to work with Nashville’s Metropolitan government agencies and its own Vanderbilt Police Department to eliminate street vendors and ticket scalpers that have become commonplace over the years.
Vendors selling merchandise, tickets and food will no longer be allowed to conduct business in and around the footprint of Vanderbilt’s athletic venues. The only way vendors will be allowed to set up a table, booth or cart on game days will be through ISP, Vanderbilt’s media rights provider, which oversees activities on game day, including “Vandyville.”
“Vanderbilt’s new game day enforcement policy is similar to what universities and professional leagues are doing in Nashville and across the country,” said Maggie Huckaba, Vanderbilt’s director of trademark licensing. “It is also important that we adhere to the university’s no-solicitation policy.”
Huckaba also noted the enforcement policy is in response to the negative experience some fans have had with counterfeit tickets and unlicensed vendors.
“We want to protect our fans and enhance their experience,” Huckaba said.
Vanderbilt will exercise its new game day enforcement policy by asking street vendors and ticket scalpers to vacate the areas surrounding Dudley Field and Memorial Gym, with special emphasis on Natchez Trace, 25th Avenue South and Jess Neely Drive.
Offenses will include fans selling unused tickets outside the entry gates. Ticket holders interested in selling extra tickets are encouraged to visit the “Seat Exchange” program on the Athletics Web site at http://vanderbilt-commodores-tickets.seatexchange.com. Fans interested in purchasing tickets on game day can visit the ticket office at the McGugin Center.
City regulations allow vendors on specific streets in downtown Nashville to obtain a sidewalk encroachment permit to vend. The County Clerk’s office is the only Metro Nashville government agency authorized to issue permits in the designated zone identified as CC & CF. Selling anything on a city street or sidewalk beyond this area in Nashville is prohibited. A map of the approved locations is available at the County Clerk’s office.
The Vanderbilt campus falls outside of the permitted zone and therefore no vending is allowed.
For more information contact Jeff Miller, general manager of ISP, at (615) 322-4468, or Maggie Huckaba in Vanderbilt’s licensing department at (615) 343-7292.
