LA JOLLA, Calif. - June 5, 2002 - Ticketmaster President and Chief Executive Officer John Pleasants has joined the board of directors for The Active Network, the online transaction leader for participatory sports and recreation. The addition of Pleasants completes a new board for the parent of Active.com and comes at a time of explosive growth, according to results announced by the company today.
The Active Network has already increased its registration transaction volume by 60% over last year and doubled registration numbers for several second and third year running and cycling events. Highlights include:
- New events such as Bike DC and Ride Across America.
- A second-year Active.com event, Bike New York, doubled online registrants from 5,000 to 10,000 participants. The event takes cyclists through all five New York City boroughs and represents the country's largest mass participation ride.
- An Active.com partner for four years, San Francisco Bay to Breakers - the nation's largest road race - broke an online registration record in 2002.
- Ironman New Zealand joined an Active.com Ironman portfolio that includes Ironman Florida, Ralphs California Half Ironman, HSBC Ironman USA Lake Placid, Ironman Utah Provo, Ironman Wisconsin Madison, Ironman Canada and Ironman Malaysia.
- Nearly 20,000 sports camp participants at 35 universities are now using Active.com's online registration services. This includes first and second year contracts with Duke University, Stanford University, Harvard University, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Virginia, University of Arizona, Baylor University and The College of William & Mary. Active.com also provides registration services for IMG Academies, which represents the world's largest network of multi-sport training facilities.
The Active Network has also ramped sales of its RecWare recreation management software to large metro park and recreation districts. This is in addition to its existing installed base of more than 1,000 park and recreation agencies throughout North America. A RecWare Safari software installation was completed and recently accepted for the City of Oakland, California's 8th largest city with a population of more than 400,000. Another RecWare Safari installation is in progress for The City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, the 11th largest municipality in the U.S. Through the company's ProActive Internet registration product, spring and summer online registrations were processed for more than 60 park and recreation agencies and community colleges. Several customers processed as much as 25 percent of their total registrations online for their first season.
On the team and league side, eteamz PLUS proved the company could take a free Web service and produce a popular fee-based service and a new revenue stream. Since its launch less than five months ago, PLUS has generated close to $220,000 in revenue with over 3,500 subscribers signed on. PLUS offers a feature-enhanced Web site service for the 915,000 team Web sites on www.eteamz.com, a core Web property of The Active Network.
As Pleasants explained, "More and more people are turning to online resources for everything from buying concert tickets to finding a good restaurant so it's not hard to see the value proposition in Active's business for the sports and recreation market. There are millions of busy, active people looking for an easy way to sign up and participate in their sport, whether it's a 10k race, a soccer league, or a class offered by a local park district. Active makes the process simple and also enables sports administrators to manage their business effectively. This is a service that makes sense and a business that will continue to lead the market."
Ticketmaster, the world's leading ticketing and access company, was an early strategic partner and has continued to be a key investor for The Active Network. Pleasants has held senior management positions with Ticketmaster since 1996, overseeing the launch of multiple e-commerce initiatives as well as the rapid growth of the online ticketing business. Pleasants now has responsibilities over the company's main operating businesses: Ticketmaster, Citysearch and Match.com. Pleasants fills a board seat previously held for two years by Dan Marriott, now senior vice president of strategic planning for USA Interactive.
"Dan was a terrific board member and remains a personal friend," added Dave Alberga, chief executive officer, The Active Network. "His support was key in formulating our early strategies. He'll be missed, but we're very excited to have John's support."
Other new Active Network board members include Steve Green, general partner at investment firm Canaan Partners; Brian Maxwell, PowerBar founder and world-class marathoner; and Elliot Katzman, co-founder and former chief executive officer of Myteam.com, a company that merged with The Active Network in December. In conjunction with this merger, the company closed a new $11 million funding round with investments from Ticketmaster, Canaan Partners, DB Capital Venture Partners, Austin Ventures, Charles River Ventures, Dominion Ventures and North Bridge Venture Partners. Other board members include Ron Taylor, partner of Enterprise Partners; and Chief Executive Officer Dave Alberga and Vice President Jim Woodman of The Active Network.
The Active Network
The Active Network, Inc. is a leading provider of technology and marketing solutions for the participatory sports and recreation industry. The company's network of online and offline properties, which includes Active.com (www.active.com), eteamz.com (www.eteamz.com), RecWare (www.recware.com) and Active Sports Marketing Group, provide registration and data management tools, enterprise software systems, Web site development, advertising and sponsorship opportunities, and commerce and membership benefits. Located in La Jolla, California, The Active Network and its properties generate an estimated 60 million monthly page views, provide registration for more than 20,000 events and leagues worldwide, and deliver offline recreation management solutions to more than 1,000 park and recreation agencies in North America. For more information, visit www.theactivenetwork.com or call 1-888-543-7223.