Tickets, Please

Fred Meyer (Portland, Ore.) has announced that it will install 15 new Ticketmaster retail ticket centeroutlets within its stores in Oregon and southwest Washington. Los Angeles-based Ticketmaster is believed to be the world's largest ticket retailer, selling an estimated 83 million event and sports tickets a year from some 3800 retail centers worldwide, plus 20 telephone centers and the Internet. Fred Meyer, a division of The Kroger Co. (Cincinnati), operates about 1300 stores, mostly in the West, under the Fred Meyer, Ralphs, Smith's Food & Drug Centers, QFC and Fry's banners. It also sells jewelry in more than 400 standalone and in-store outlets and runs several warehouse chains (including Food 4 Less).