Comcast Spectacor, part of Comcast Corp., sold Irvine-based division Spectra’s Ticketing & Fan Engagement to college sports marketer Learfield Communications LLC in Plano, Texas, on undisclosed terms.
Spectra’s Paciolan ticketing software processes the sale of more than 120 million tickets per year. Its clients include about 120 collegiate athletic departments, 75 performing arts venues and more than 100 professional sports and arenas clients, according to the company. It also handles customer relationship management, fundraising, marketing data analytics and corporate partnerships.
Jane Kleinberger founded what was then Paciolan in 1980. Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers and its home venue, the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn., acquired an equity stake in Paciolan in 2004. Along with other investors, it sold the company to Ticketmaster in 2007 and bought it back in 2010. The deal was one of the U.S. Department of Justice’s conditions to approve the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment in Los Angeles.
Comcast Spectacor renamed Paciolan to Spectra’s Ticketing & Fan Engagement in 2015.
Learfield oversees the athletic multimedia rights and sponsorships for nearly 125 universities and leagues, including the University of California-Irvine Anteaters. It plans to revive the Paciolan name and keep its management in place.
“We are incredibly excited to join the Learfield family,” President Kim Damron said in a statement. “Learfield is an exceptional company, with incredible leadership and an extensive client footprint in college athletics and live entertainment. It is the perfect strategic fit to help Paciolan deliver [industry-leading] solutions for our entire client community.”
