Charlotte Roller Derby sues ticket companies, alleging $15K in unpaid proceeds
A Charlotte-based sports organization filed a lawsuit against its former ticket company.
Charlotte Roller Derby, the women’s league founded in 2006 hosted at Grady Cole Center, alleges Brown Paper Tickets and Events.com failed to pay it more than $15,000 from home ticket sales and fees over more than two years.
“When you’re a small business and volunteer-run, not getting paid could put you out of business,” Charlotte Roller Derby board president Lisa Long said. “We love playing at Grady Cole, we love our fans and love the experience. The amazing thing about roller derby is it doesn’t matter what level of talent you have, or if you’ve never played a sport your whole life. Everyone fits. If you look around, roller derby is in every single state and many countries, it’s a very big sport. And we have a company at risk of going out of business.”
Neither Brown Paper Tickets nor Events.com immediately responded to a request for comment.
The suit, filed Oct. 20 in Mecklenburg County Superior Court, says Charlotte Roller Derby began selling tickets online through Brown Paper Tickets in 2023 for its home games. The ticket company, based in Seattle, was supposed to handle all money and fees and mail a check within 10 business days following each event. The terms and conditions also indicated Brown Paper Tickets could withhold payments for up to 90 days after an event for any reason.
Since their bouts on Feb. 18, 2023, and March 11, 2023, neither Brown Paper Tickets nor Events.com has paid Charlotte Roller Derby any portion of those months’ proceeds.
Charlotte Roller Derby, which hosts Atlanta in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. Saturday, is an organization made up entirely of volunteers. It only generates revenue from tickets. The league turned to filing the lawsuit after years of correspondence — and the company is now at risk, Long said.
“It’s make or break money,” Long said. “The only money made is from ticket sales, and we’re fighting hard for them. We’ve sent enough emails, enough time has passed, and now we’re going forward with an actual suit. We’re in the black because of it, looking to have a good final home game.”
The lawsuit alleges that Brown Paper Tickets — whose assets Events.com acquired in 2022 — hasn’t paid Charlotte Roller Derby a total of $15,019.98, plus 8% interest.
Charlotte Roller Derby demands a trial by jury.
This is far from the first lawsuit against Brown Paper Tickets, which has faced legal scrutiny since failing to pay event organizers and refund ticket buyers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several lawsuits have been filed against the company and have been handled by the Washington state attorney general.
