StubHub Spent $2.6 Million in One Quarter Fighting a California Ticket Resale Cap

Filings reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter make the resale platform California's second-biggest lobbying spender for the quarter, behind only Pacific Gas & Electric, as AB 1720 would cap resale prices at 10 percent above face value.

StubHub reported nearly $2.6 million in California lobbying expenses for the April-to-June quarter, according to filings reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter. It is the most the ticket resale platform has ever spent on lobbying in any single quarter in California, per publicly available documents. The company has spent $3.4 million in the state so far in the 2026 calendar year.

The spending is aimed at Assembly Bill 1720, a measure that would limit concert ticket resale prices in California to no more than 10 percent above a ticket's original price.

Citing the Capitol Morning Report, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the quarterly figure makes StubHub the second-largest lobbying spender in California for the quarter, behind only Pacific Gas & Electric. That places the company's spending ahead of Chevron, Verizon, AT&T and OpenAI, among others.

What AB 1720 would do

AB 1720 was introduced in February 2026 by California state assembly member Matt Haney. Since its introduction, the bill has been amended to apply only to venues with capacity of 3,000 or lower, which removes most of the major amphitheater, arena and stadium dates that draw much of the activity on secondary ticketing sites.

Haney said at a press conference reported by The Hollywood Reporter on August 12, 2026 that "right now, fans are getting ripped off."

"Today, professional scalpers have turned it into a massive multi-billion-dollar business. They buy up tickets as soon as they go on sale, not because they want to go to the show, but because they know you want to go to the show."

The bill has drawn support from the National Independent Venue Association, the Future of Music Coalition and the Music Artist Coalition, as well as from Live Nation Entertainment, owner of Ticketmaster.

Where the money went

Much of StubHub's quarterly spending went to the Ticket Policy Forum, a coalition representing StubHub alongside resale platforms SeatGeek, Vivid Seats and TickPick, The Hollywood Reporter reported. StubHub paid the Ticket Policy Forum more than $1 million in the quarter. The coalition's work has included mail advertising urging voters to tell their representatives to vote no on AB 1720, describing the bill as a Live Nation-Ticketmaster initiative.

Other resale platforms have spent far less in California. SeatGeek has reported about $40,000 in lobbying expenses this year and Vivid Seats reported $500. Live Nation Entertainment has reported about $91,000 in California lobbying in 2026.

StubHub told The Hollywood Reporter that the platform "exists to give fans access to live events on their own terms through a secure, verified marketplace," including fans who could not get tickets in the original on-sale. Ticket Policy Forum executive director Brian Berry said in an email that capping only resale "does nothing to address this source of rising ticket prices," arguing the bill leaves primary seller Ticketmaster untouched.

Stephen Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association, called the spending an act of "desperation." "California is one of the biggest concert markets in the country," Parker told the outlet. "If California goes in terms of consumer protections around ticketing, we think the rest of the nation will soon follow."

Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C. passed price cap laws in recent months. Massachusetts governor Maura Healey announced in July 2026 that she was placing a price cap law for review in that state's supplemental spending bill.

The Hollywood Reporter's account does not name the individual lobbying firms retained, and this desk has not independently reviewed the underlying Cal-Access disclosures.