INTELLIGENT MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
Mobile tickets soon the
norm at spectator events
Getting the entry ticket in your smartphone will soon be the norm at spectator
controlled events explains Harm Radstaak at HID Global.
T
he rapid growth in smartphone
usage is set to increase with the
advent of electronic ticketing
for sporting and entertainment events.
Mobile ticketing is nothing new,
especially in the transport industry
where users are choosing to travel
with electronic tickets and shunning
traditional paper tickets. This change is
set to be adopted by the sporting industry
where event providers are increasingly
looking to find ways to improve their
attendees ticketing experience and at the
same time increase safety and security.
Mobile access control technology that
supports Bluetooth Smart and NFC is
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the technology behind this evolution. It
allows fans to securely and conveniently
enter football fixtures with their
smartphones, while also enabling smart
devices to be used for a range of other
applications such as purchasing food and
drinks at vending machines.
Several major American football
stadiums and associated sports teams
have already implemented mobile
ticketing with fans entering stadiums via
mobile access provisions and this trend is
set to carry over into Europe. According
to a recent report from Juniper Research,
mobile tickets are expected to account for
more than one in two ticket transactions
on digital platforms by 2019.
With stadium owners looking to
increasingly utilise the latest technology
to improve their grounds and enhance
the user experience, mobile ticketing
looks set to take off. By understanding
some of the key benefits in the adoption
of electronic tickets, stadium and fan
experience managers can begin to
implement technology that brings a host
of advantages to fans as well as security
improvements to stadium operators.
Whilst the first and foremost use of a
ticket is to provide access to and from the
stadium grounds, by using their mobile,
users can have a whole host of additional
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