Technology runs in veins of BMO Stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, May 1^st, 2025

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Christian Lau can talk impromptu – a person brimming with confidence. He sets store by AXESS AG – a global leader in ticketing and access management systems.

Full presentation available exclusively for Coliseum members

Username or Email

Password

Keep me signed in

Lost your password?

Lau, who is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and the BMO Stadium (US), had the opportunity to work with AXESS AG to implement facial authentication for stadium entry and concessions at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California (US).

As the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and the BMO Stadium Christian Lau has shaped the organization’s overarching technical vision and strategy. His primary area of focus is the use of technology to enhance the guest experience, eliminate friction and provide additive experiences for the customers.

In an exchange with ‘Coliseum’, Christian Lau, CTO, LAFC, US, talks about access control systems and ticketing in the BMO Stadium and how they have made it a frictionless affair. He states with a feeling of accomplishment that the “BMO Stadium is the first venue in North America to bring the AXESS AG on board and the entire premise of our relationship was based on getting us the best technology for scanning”. He also stated that “my focus is on biometrics because you start to look towards the future to see the venues hone in on the face identity future”.

LAFC

The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional soccer club based in Los Angeles (US). The club competes in the Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The BMO Stadium serves as their home facility.

BMO Stadium

The 22,000-capacity BMO Stadium (formerly the Banc of California Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California (US). It is the home of the MLS team Los Angeles Football Club.

AXESS AG

Salzburg (Austria)-based AXESS AG provides secure and innovative solutions in ticketing and access control management. The AXESS AG’s solutions are used by the ski resorts, fair and convention centers, the stadia and arenas, leisure parks, museums, sightseeing attractions, and tourist transport.

Christian Lau introduced himself as the CTO of the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Football Club and stated, “Pre-pandemic, we were really focused on the access systems and the future. For us, one of our focal points was biometrics and using face identity for your ticket. We partnered with the AXESS AG on this. We worked with Ticketmaster to get things up and running. The BMO Stadium opened in 2018 and we have never had paper tickets, only digital tickets. And in June 2020 we launched an access control system with the AXESS AG for the LAFC.”

The AXESS AG, in collaboration with other companies like Wicket, has introduced biometric technology, including facial recognition, at the BMO Stadium for enhanced security and fan experience. This technology is being used for both ticket verification and concession purchases with some even offering palm-based authentication.

With AXESS AG one can say goodbye to serpentine queues and help enhance the in-venue experience for the fans.

Technology in warp and weft

Technology runs in the veins of the BMO Stadium and the LAFC information technology (IT) team has become known for its propensity to try new things on the technology front.

Informed Lau, “We have launched a biometric stack integrated into the AXESS AG readers (devices used for ticketing and access control management) and as far as I know nobody else has got to that point. Some companies have an ancillary piece of hardware that allows for face identity but not integrated into the unit. We are also working with the other partners like Ticketmaster, Wicket and CLEAR (an identity company that powers effortless experiences wherever one goes).”

The BMO Stadium uses CLEAR services to offer the fans expedited entry to events and games.

BMO Stadium Express

Recently, the LAFC partnered with Wicket (a facial authentication platform provider) to launch the BMO Stadium Express, a face-based authentication system designed to streamline ticketing and concessions and enhance the fan experience. With the BMO Stadium Express the fans can opt to use their face as both their ticket and payment method thus making it a wallet-free experience and eliminating the need to carry physical tickets, or phones, thus offering a frictionless experience from ingress to egress.

Wind-up

Concluded Christian Lau, “The BMO Stadium is more than a football stadium. We actually do a lot of concerts and boxing events which is why we want to ensure that we have the best possible technology and can redefine the fan experience. With AXESS AG this whole journey has been really good as partners and they have helped us to figure things out.”

Christian Lau and his team are putting their best tech foot forward because they know technology enhances the in-venue experience of the fans through ease of flow and it is also a great way to engage them. They are trying to leverage technology to connect people with each other and are also making check-in to the venue and check-out from the venue a cakewalk for the spectators.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.