MLB to bid goodbye to tickets, fans to get biometric access

Article posted by Coliseum, July 23^rd, 2018

Image: MJR Group Ltd.

The world and strategic guidance for our partners. Baseball fans in the US will very soon not need tickets to gain entry at stadiums to watch their favourite teams play. The conventional tickets will become a thing of the past as they get replaced by fingerprints and facial recognition across the country.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and CLEAR are teaming up to launch biometric ticketing, allowing fans to use their fingerprints — and eventually facial recognition — to enter the ballpark, Fox Business reported.

A pilot program will arrive at select venues later this season, according to the report. In 2019, MLB and CLEAR plan to roll out biometric ticketing to ballparks that utilize CLEAR and Tickets.com technology.

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“We’ll be able to immediately link [fans’] CLEAR accounts to their MLB.com account. Your biometrics – your face and fingerprint – become your ticket,” CLEAR co-founder and CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker told FOX Business.

The platform will expand to point-of-sale systems and possibly more teams, according to executives. CLEAR said it plans to offer biometric concessions in the state of Washington. Fans will be able to pay for food and validate their age for alcohol purchases using their fingerprint.

“When experiencing a game, the biggest friction point is getting into the stadium,” said Lauren Stangel, head of sports and events for CLEAR. “We truly believe we have an opportunity to use our technology to drive a safer and better experience for fans.”

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