Resale of tickets may be eased By Meg Vaillancourt and Larry Whiteside, Globe Staff, 04/15/99 Sports fans who find their plans have changed may soon be able to resell their tickets without risking arrest. Governor Paul Cellucci's Consumer Affairs Office is weighing a plan that would eliminate penalties for reselling tickets within a specified "zone'' near the ticket office of the event. The proposal would ease the current prohibition against reselling tickets not only for sporting events, but for all entertainment ticket sales, sources told the Globe yesterday. Under Massachusetts law, only licensed ticket brokers can resell tickets, and they are prohibited from selling them for more than $2 above face value, plus a "reasonable'' service charge. Individuals cannot resell tickets -- even for less than face value. Entertainment and sports promoters generally oppose ticket resales because it threatens their ability to sell out an event. But, as any concert or sports fans knows, scalpers frequently offer tickets through printed ads, the Internet, or at the entrance to the event an hour or two before it's scheduled to begin. On Tuesday, for example, scalpers were quietly offering "great seats'' for the Red Sox' standing-room-only Opening Day game just outside Fenway Park, though they were careful to avoid drawing the attention of police stationed around the ballpark. And scalpers are already pressing season ticket-holders to resell tickets for the All-Star Game at Fenway in July. Asked about the proposal yesterday, the Red Sox were noncommittal. "We would be interested in working with anyone who wants to make life easier for our fans,'' said Sox spokesman Dick Bresciani. "But we don't know the details of how this plan would work and would be interested in learning more.'' Sources said some sports and entertainment providers, including attorneys for the Sox, have privately expressed concerns about the proposed change. In 1994, following a sting by the Attorney General's office against ticket brokers charging exorbitant rates, a bill was proposed that would have allowed the resale of tickets with a limited markup, but rejected. According to sources, some facilities, including Camden Yards in Baltimore, allow ticket resales as a service to their fans.