The ticketing platform, called BayArea StubHub, is co-branded with the look and feel of BayArea.com. It integrates the buy and sell ticket functions into the site's "Find it Fast" navigation bar and delivers prominent placement within each sports and entertainment category on BayArea.com.

BayArea.com users have the benefit of connecting with the LiquidSeats Network, which has several access points to numerous event enthusiasts who are looking to buy and sell tickets through various Web sites. The LiquidSeats Engine provides transparent access to a common ticket pool that enables tickets to be posted for sale and purchased across other partner sites including radio station and newspaper Web sites, additional media companies, venues and corporations. The LiquidSeats Engine is unique in that it handles the entire transaction process from customer service to delivery and payment processing.

"Our relationship with BayArea.com and KnightRidder.com is the continuation of a series of media company partnerships for us," said Jeff Fluhr, CEO of LiquidSeats, Inc. "More and more, we are seeing how media and content companies understand the value proposition that the LiquidSeats Engine brings them as a means to generate additional revenue and provide their audiences with a truly wanted value-added service."

"Our partnership with LiquidSeats -- to deliver to our users ticket functionality -- represents an innovative and logical step forward in our ongoing development of BayArea.com," said Bruce Koon, Regional VP of Site Operations for KnightRidder.com. "This functionality perfectly complements our strong commitment to providing industry-leading content, tailored to our users' lifestyles available when and where they want it. With this partnership, our users can find information about events, as well as buy or sell tickets, all within BayArea.com."

How It Works

Buyers and sellers of live event tickets access the co-branded BayArea.com StubHub where visitors can buy or post tickets for sale. Users enter a secure area that allows them to complete the transaction in a discreet and easy-to-use format. There are no fees for buyers. Sellers pay a service charge for each completed transaction.

The LiquidSeats Engine makes the transactions seamless for the buyers and sellers of tickets, with LiquidSeats acting as the financial intermediary and taking responsibility for the physical transfer of the tickets. LiquidSeats monitors each transaction and leverages its relationships with leading technology partners FedEx, PayPal, CyberCash, Wells Fargo, and VeriSign to ensure a superior quality experience for the consumer.

After a purchase has been consummated, the seller specifies the time and location for a FedEx pickup. FedEx then arrives with a pre-printed label containing the buyer and seller's addresses. Both the buyer and seller are then sent automated e-mail notifications with the package tracking information. The tickets are then delivered to the buyer. LiquidSeats monitors the entire logistical transfer and is automatically notified if any step in the process is not completed properly.

About BayArea.com

BayArea.com is a leading local news and information source for San Francisco Bay Area residents. BayArea.com provides its more than 500,000 monthly unique visitors with local breaking news, entertainment information and reviews, an insider's point of view on local professional and college sports, as well as automotive, real estate and employment classifieds and services. BayArea.com is the online home of the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Newspapers, and features content from other Bay Area media partners, including SF Weekly. BayArea.com can be found on the Web, as well as wireless on the Palm and via AT&T; Wireless-enabled phones.

About KnightRidder.com

KnightRidder.com, a leader in local information and services on the Web and founder of the Real Cities network, is headquartered in San Jose, California. KnightRidder.com develops and manages the Internet properties of Knight Ridder (NYSE:KRI), the nation's second largest newspaper publisher. KnightRidder.com is a separate Internet subsidiary.

About LiquidSeats, Inc.

LiquidSeats, the industry's first Ticket Service Provider (TSP), offers a scalable, turnkey secondary ticketing solution to media companies, professional sports teams and corporations. The LiquidSeats Engine plugs into any team, artist or venue Web site, as well as third party sports, media or regional content sites (i.e. BayArea.com, AZCentral.com). Each of these Web sites offers their users ticket trading functionality by deploying the LiquidSeats Engine. The front-end user interface of the ticket trading platform can be customized with the look and feel of each network partners' Web site. The LiquidSeats Engine provides transparent access to a common ticket pool and a back-end transaction processing, delivery, logistics and customer service mechanism that streamlines the entire user experience. LiquidSeats http://www.liquidseats.com is a privately held company with offices in San Francisco, CA.

Press Contacts:

Cynthia Mallen Funnell, KnightRidder.com, 408-938-6076 or cfunnell@knightridder.com

Jill Peterson-Burns, JPM for LiquidSeats, 415-831-4000 or jill@jp-management.com

Bill Maxfield, PRx Inc. for KnightRidder.com, 408-350-0796 or bill_maxfield@prxinc.com

Kathy Jacobson, KJPR for LiquidSeats, 925-736-5333 or kjacobson@aol.com