Ticketing can do a lot more than sell seats. Massy Essonne Handball (MEHB) proved it with Tickie, turning its ticketing into a growth engine for the club and its fans. Here's their story.

The club

• Club: Massy Essonne Handball (MEHB)

• Sport: handball

• Level: ProLigue (French 2nd division)

• Location: Massy, Essonne (France)

• Tickie solutions: online and on-site ticketing, reserved seating, VIP packages, upsells, CRM

The season's results

• +45% in ticketing revenue

• +43% more contacts in the fan database

• 60% loyal fans: more than one in two attendees came to several matches during the season

The challenge: growing without losing its crowd

In Massy, handball has been a family affair for more than sixty years. But MEHB has no intention of standing still: the club wants to grow, carry more weight in the life of the Essonne region and invest in its young people, all while giving its fans an experience that lives up to their loyalty. On match nights, its arena is already 80% full.

To support that momentum, the club was using a ticketing solution recommended by the league, but it was hard to get to grips with and poorly connected to the rest of its operations. Ticketing, player registrations, concessions, fan data: every need relied on a different tool, and the energy it took to make them work together weighed on a team that was already stretched thin.

So MEHB was looking for a single, integrated platform that could help it better organize its offering across the general public, VIPs and partners, and above all get to know its attendees better so they keep coming back season after season. The goal was clear: increase revenue without ever betraying its fans, as Thomas Lefebvre, CEO of MEHB, points out:

We're in the Paris suburbs, so our prices have to stay affordable. We don't want to lose our fans.

Once its contract with its previous provider came to an end, the club decided to make the move to Tickie.

Ticketing the club runs on its own

At a ProLigue club, match nights rest on a small team that has to handle everything at once: welcoming the crowd, looking after partners, running the concession stand, keeping the arena buzzing. In that setting, ticketing needs to fade into the background. It has to run without a hitch, without tying up someone full-time and without requiring any special technical skills.

That's exactly what MEHB found with Tickie. Creating matches, selling online, selling at the box office on match nights: everything now runs through a single platform. The club puts its games on sale in no time, manages its reserved seating and offers upsells right at checkout, without juggling multiple tools.

Every ticket sold also enriches the club's fan database. Data is centralized in one place, which helps MEHB get to know its audience better and plan its next loyalty initiatives, where information used to be scattered. Thomas Lefebvre, the club's CEO, sums up the newfound simplicity:

Managing matches is simple and everything moves fast. We have everything we need to run our ticketing.

Support that keeps pace with the season

A sports season never stops changing: a match gets rescheduled, a crowd turns out bigger than expected, a new package needs to launch for a partner. For a club, the responsiveness of the people behind the tool matters as much as the tool itself. MEHB needed a partner that could keep up with its pace, not just a vendor.

Throughout the year, the Tickie team stayed attentive to the club's needs. Every request was taken on board and rolled out from one match to the next, so that ticketing adapted to the reality on the ground rather than the other way around. The contact stays direct, by chat or in meetings, and doesn't stop between seasons: summer preparation is also done hand in hand with the club. As Thomas Lefebvre, CEO of MEHB, puts it:

Whenever we needed an adjustment mid-season, the Tickie team was there and it got done.

Revenue levers switched on

Revenue levers switched on without changing the club's spirit

The jump in ticketing revenue doesn't come from a single lever. Thanks to Tickie's features, MEHB was able to activate several revenue streams that, taken together, turned every match night into an opportunity.

First, reserved seating, managed directly from the platform, gave the club better control over its capacity while offering attendees a level of comfort they didn't have before. VIP nights, now more frequent, gave rise to a genuine premium offering for those who want to experience the match differently.

With Tickie, upsells also played a key role. Drinks, food and merchandise are offered right in the checkout flow: fans book everything in one go, and the club generates extra revenue as soon as the ticket is sold.

Finally, the club adjusted its prices with restraint. True to its commitment to its fans, MEHB managed to grow its revenue while keeping prices affordable for the families and supporters who bring the arena to life.

Data to sell at the right time

With Tickie, MEHB's ticketing has become much more than a sales tool: it's now a real marketing lever. Every purchase feeds detailed insight into fans' habits, which the club can use to communicate more effectively.

The club now knows that its fans mostly buy on Fridays between 6 and 8 p.m., with a second peak around noon. It has also identified WhatsApp as the channel that best mobilizes its community. These are valuable insights that let it send campaigns when its audience is most receptive, on the channel they actually use.

The result: more effective communications, less scattered effort, and ticket sales that pick up more naturally in the run-up to each match.

Next season: building loyalty with every audience

After a season of growth, MEHB is moving on to the next step: turning its new fans into regulars. With Tickie, the club is building an offering designed for each of its audiences, from loyal season ticket holders to its youngest registered players, and getting ready for the season right now.

Season ticket holders will be first in line. Thanks to private shops, a presale is reserved for them at a preferential price, to reward those who supported the club last season.

All fans will also be able to sign up for per-match ticket alerts through a form connected to the CRM. They'll be notified before sales open, and the club will be able to anticipate the turnout for each game.

Young people, who have always been at the heart of the club's project, will have their place too. MEHB is launching the "jeunes lionceaux" (young lion cubs) season ticket, with a pre-match welcome and a lively section of the stands just for them. True to its motto, "the club that helps you grow," MEHB is preparing its next generation of fans.

Partners and VIPs will get dedicated packages, with hospitality dining, clearly separate from the general public offering. Thomas Lefebvre, CEO of MEHB, sees this as an essential step:

We want a clear distinction between the general public and VIP, with packages tailored to our partners.

Finally, the club is developing a mobile app connected to its ticketing through the Tickie API. With a points and rewards system tied to match attendance, it will give fans a new reason to come back, season after season.

Your turn to grow your ticketing

What MEHB built in one season, your club can do too. Whatever the size of your arena or stadium, the same levers are within reach: ticketing that's easy to manage on match nights, well-structured VIP and partner packages, upsells built into the checkout flow, and data that tells you when and how to talk to your fans.

And you're not on your own. The Tickie team supports you throughout the season, from setting up your ticketing to running your loyalty campaigns.

Want to see what Tickie can do for your club? Book a demo.