Box Office Policy
General Terms
The following box office policy is provided by the Tacoma City Theaters Manager for events presented in the Tacoma City Theaters.
This policy applies to events scheduled during the standard TCT season (July 1–June 30). Ticketing requirements for RAOs and NPOs, including CRM consignment provisions, are detailed in their respective policies and incorporated herein by reference.
TCT Box Office operator will be the sole agent for the sale of tickets to any event taking place in the Tacoma City Theaters, and no event presenter may directly sell any tickets without prior written agreement of TCT Manager. Unless otherwise stated herein, all events (including free events) must be ticketed through the TCT Box Office operator.
TCT Box Office operator may not issue a larger number of tickets than the respective venue’s available capacity.
All tickets are subject to facility and service charge fees as detailed below.
The Box Office will open two (2) hours prior to ticketed events and will remain open through intermission unless a different closing time is mutually agreed between TCT Manager and event presenter.
TCT Box Office operator will make reasonable efforts to provide access for event presenter to obtain Ticket Sales Reports for presenter’s events only.
Resident Arts Organizations have the additional benefits as spelled out in the City of Tacoma Resident Arts Organization Policy.
Effective 07/01/2026
Definitions
Self-produced events or in-house events are defined as those events with artistic content under the direction of the RAO and comprised primarily of performers from within the Puget Sound Region where the RAO contracts directly with the performer(s) for the Event(s) and not through a third-party booking agency, artist-manager, or promoter. Self-produced events are limited in performance scope to the City of Tacoma venues and no more than 2 other venues within the Puget Sound Region.
Externally-produced events are defined as those with content under the artistic direction of outside agencies and presented to the Tacoma audience. They are comprised primarily of performers from outside the Puget Sound Region where the RAO contracts for the presentation of the performance through a third-party booking agency, artist-manager, or promoter. Any Event(s) or performance with additional shows conducted at venues outside the Puget Sound Region will be considered an externally produced Event(s). 2
Educational Events are defined as those in which at least 75% of tickets are delivered directly to educational institutions for use only by students, faculty, or staff at no charge. Special circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis for Educational Event designation, including, but not limited to, a majority of tickets provided to educational institutions at significant discount, free tickets provided directly to youth/families, and events that provide unticketed blocks of seating to educational institutions.
Fee Structure
The following fee structure applies for ticket sales at the Tacoma City Theaters. Such structure may be updated annually by the TCT Manager. Any update shall be provided for in the facility usage agreement.
1. RAO events sold through TCT Box Office Operator
Ticket service charges and facility fees will be pursuant to the facility usage agreement in place at the time of the event onsale and will be added to the price of the ticket and paid by the patron at the point of purchase. The ticket price advertised on the TCT, Box Office Operator, and RAO’s websites will include all fees per Washington State HB1648.
2. RAO events sold through RAO CRM System
The RAO will be responsible for paying to TCT the ticket facility fee, pursuant to the facility usage agreement in place at the time of the event onsale, for each ticket sold on consignment by the RAO through the RAO’s CRM system. The RAO will have the right to set all ticket fees and service charges for tickets sold through the RAO’s CRM system. The ticket price advertised by the RAO will include all fees, inclusive of RAO set fees.
3. Non-RAO events sold through TCT Box Office Operator
Ticket service charges and facility fees will be pursuant to the Tacoma City Theater ticket fee structure in place at the time of the event onsale and will be added to the price of the ticket and paid by the patron at the point of purchase. The ticket price advertised on the TCT, Box Office Operator, and Event Presenter’s websites will include all fees.
4. Additional fees for all events
Any additional fees associated with the sale of tickets at the Tacoma City Theaters will be pursuant to the Tacoma City Theater ticket fee structure in place at the time of the event onsale and will be added to the price of the ticket and paid by the patron at the point of purchase. Such fees to include but not be limited to: ticket reprinting fee, ticket delivery fee, and premium/vip/platinum fee.
5. Consignment Ticket Policy
All tickets sold to RAO events, whether through the TCT Box Office or on consignment through the RAO CRM system are subject to the fees specified above.
Non-RAO event presenters may retain up to 10% of the available capacity (approximate maximum total: 125 tickets for Pantages, 75 tickets for Rialto, and 30 tickets for TOTS) for consignment sales for each event without paying the ticketing company service charge fee. Such consignment sales shall be subject to the facility fee, which the event presenter shall be responsible for collecting and remitting to the TCT Manager. Any consignment sales above the allocated capacity may be subject to ticketing company service charge fees in addition to the facility fee, which the event presenter shall be responsible for collecting and remitting to the TCT Manager.
The total number of tickets may vary by event based on production requirements. The TCT Box Office audit will determine the actual number of consignment tickets not subject to the ticketing fees.
Upon settlement of the event, the non-RAO event presenter will remit to Tacoma City Theaters the applicable facility fee and service charge fee for all consignment tickets.
6. Complimentary Ticket Policy
Event presenters, whether RAO or non-RAO, may retain up to 5% of the available per-show capacity (approximate maximum total: 60 tickets for Pantages, 36 tickets for Rialto, and 15 tickets for TOTS) for complimentary ticket distribution for each event without paying the facility fee or service charge fee.
The TCT Manager may retain up to 1% of the available per-show capacity, rounded up to the nearest even number (approximate maximum total: 12 tickets for Pantages, 8 tickets for Rialto, and 4 tickets for TOTS), for complimentary ticket distribution for each event. Tickets shall be located in the top 30% of available ticket prices for the event. Such ticket distribution may be used in fulfillment of sponsor commitments, marketing and promotion for the venue or event, customer service recovery, or the provision to local non-profits to support fundraising or providing access to underserved communities.
Complimentary tickets, whether utilized by the event presenter or TCT Manager, may in no way be sold by the event presenter or TCT Manager.
The total number of tickets may vary by event based on production requirements. The TCT Box Office will determine the actual number of complimentary tickets not subject to the ticketing fees.
7. Education Tickets Policy
For events qualified as Educational Events, tickets provided at no charge directly to educational institutions for use only by students, faculty, or staff are not subject to the facility fee or service charge fee described above. Such tickets may be subject to a small ticket printing fee.
Any show in which some tickets are provided at no charge directly to educational institutions for use only by students, faculty, or staff and some tickets are either sold to public or paid for through a subsidy, sponsorship, or governmental grant, all tickets sold to the public or paid for through a subsidy, sponsorship, or governmental grant may be subject to the facility fee and service charge fee based on the proper category as specified above.
Additional Terms
Tickets sold for Pantages Box Seats may incur a premium per seat fee payable to TCT. Such fee will be pursuant to the facility usage agreement in place at the time of the event onsale and may be added to the ticket price for tickets sold through the TCT Box Office. The ticket price advertised on the TCT, Box Office Operator, and event producer’s websites will include all fees.
The TCT Box Office requires one (1) business day advance notice of any special discounts, promotions, or free ticket offers before publishing and one (1) business day to process any other ticket requests including consignment ticket printing, report generation, and scaling changes, unless otherwise specified in the City of Tacoma RAO policy.
Dynamic pricing and advanced ticketing features may be available subject to system capabilities and venue approval. Marketing support options, including ticketing provider promotional tools, may be available subject to system capabilities and venue approval.
Any ticket printing or change requests must be made in writing and sent by email to the TCT Box Office by the event presenter’s designated authorized ticket agent.
Sales reports and ticket audits will be provided as agreed in the license agreement.
Reference Documents
This Booking Policy may be referenced in conjunction with the following Tacoma City Theater policies:
Resident Arts Organization Policy
Community Non-Profit Organization Policy