Author Topic: Your card is your ticket to the game  (Read 22912 times)

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Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #175: January 30, 2013, 06:02:25 PM »
My understanding is that the Nats cards were made of cheaper materials and failed more often. Next time I'll get a regular card.

I bought a few Nats cards at the time and only had to replace it once

Offline Ray D

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #176: January 31, 2013, 04:21:21 PM »
That would be fine and good, but last year, Metro added a surcharge of $1.00 PER TRIP onto paper farecards. 

I reached a point where I thought there was no way I could hate Metro any more than I did.  The first time I learned of this surcharge, I found out I could actually hate them more.  Words cannot describe my anger over it, so I won't try.  I just wish there were some way to blow up that system without killing anyone.

Offline mitlen

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #177: January 31, 2013, 04:22:11 PM »
I reached a point where I thought there was no way I could hate Metro any more than I did.  The first time I learned of this surcharge, I found out I could actually hate them more.  Words cannot describe my anger over it, so I won't try.  I just wish there were some way to blow up that system without killing anyone.

At least you weren't on the Green Line yesterday.  :)

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #178: January 31, 2013, 04:24:06 PM »
I reached a point where I thought there was no way I could hate Metro any more than I did.  The first time I learned of this surcharge, I found out I could actually hate them more.  Words cannot describe my anger over it, so I won't try.  I just wish there were some way to blow up that system without killing anyone.

Sure there is, stop by my office at 935 Pennsylvania Ave, we'll have some coffee and talk it over.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #179: January 31, 2013, 04:29:21 PM »
I reached a point where I thought there was no way I could hate Metro any more than I did.  The first time I learned of this surcharge, I found out I could actually hate them more.  Words cannot describe my anger over it, so I won't try.  I just wish there were some way to blow up that system without killing anyone.

Every time I think that I hate metro I remember taking the Green line in boston. Specifically standing out side at 6am in February waiting to get jammed onto a tram and then the fun return trip where you had to use elbows and shoulders if you had any hope of getting on the return tram 

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #180: January 31, 2013, 08:09:43 PM »
Sure there is, stop by my office at 935 Pennsylvania Ave, we'll have some coffee and talk it over.

 :thumbs: :nts:

Offline Displaced Bucco

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #181: February 05, 2013, 11:01:32 PM »
So how exactly does one print the tickets from the my nationals tickets account.  I remember trying to do that last year and not being able to figure it out....there's no link/pull down/whatever even after you select the tickets.  Am I missing something?

Offline machpost

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #182: February 06, 2013, 11:24:17 AM »
Hopefully all of the various ticket management functions will eventually be integrated into the MLB At The Ballpark app.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #183: February 06, 2013, 11:40:44 AM »
Hopefully all of the various ticket management functions will eventually be integrated into the MLB At The Ballpark app.

What do you use with that app, I uninstalled because it had nothing of interest for me.

Offline machpost

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #184: February 07, 2013, 09:23:16 PM »
What do you use with that app, I uninstalled because it had nothing of interest for me.

It's not particularly useful, but if you go to a lot of games, the check in feature is a nice way to keep track of the games you've attended. It allows you to specify your seat when checking in, which is supposed to interface with the in-game concessions ordering function of the app, but the mobile ordering system the Nats implemented last season uses a Web-based app, and is apparently not supported by the function in this app. The app also has the capability of offering special discounts and offers at the ballpark, but again, the Nats don't seem to support this feature. And there are apparently some exclusive highlight videos available when you check in to the game, but unless you're lucky enough to latch onto the woefully inadequate Wi-Fi network at Nationals Park or have an LTE-capable phone, it's pretty useless. I had pretty good data access after I got my Verizon iPhone 5 at the end of the season, but my old AT&T iPhone 3GS was utterly useless during the game. Personally, I tend to be focused on the actual game and not my phone, anyway.

So yeah, it's pretty useless!

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #185: February 07, 2013, 10:16:28 PM »
Actually it's pretty good if you like to keep score and miss a play or 2.  You can always find out what's going on.  Also, you can get Charlie and Dave on the audio.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #186: February 08, 2013, 06:22:42 AM »
Actually it's pretty good if you like to keep score and miss a play or 2.  You can always find out what's going on.  Also, you can get Charlie and Dave on the audio.

That's a different app. At the Ballpark is the useless one.

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #187: February 09, 2013, 06:15:48 PM »
It's the free one though.  And it connects up with AT BAT

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #188: February 21, 2013, 06:43:03 PM »
Quote
Brouwer Rangers ‏@brouwerrangers
Only took 10 swipes and a second scanner to get the new high-tech STH card to work tonight. No problems here! Right, @TedLeonsis @CapsSTH?

Offline OldChelsea

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #189: February 22, 2013, 08:46:28 AM »


At the Wizards they had a bug or two in the system early on, but since December they've never had to do more than 2 swipes with my card.

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #190: February 28, 2013, 11:19:08 PM »
http://m.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/washington-nationals-to-introduce-smart-card-system-for-ticket-holders/2013/02/28/223ef4d2-81db-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df_story.html

 The Washington Nationals’vision of a new ballpark experience begins at an unmanned turnstile, where a plan holder waves her card over a reader and makes “contact-less” entry in less than a second. Within a few steps, an e-mail or text message arrives, thanking the fan for attending her 10th straight game and offering a free hot dog.

Before arriving at her seat, the fan stops off at a team store, earning a 15 percent discount for being a plan holder, and debiting the cost from that same access card. She then heads for a concession stand,breezing through an “e-Cash” line, where transactions are processed seven times faster than in traditional cash or credit lines.

The Nationals will send details of their new “Ultimate Ballpark Access” card to season ticket holders Friday, laying out what team chief operating officer Andy Feffer calls “a monumental change” in the plan holder-franchise relationship.

GALLERY Nats’ spring training heats up:The reigning NL East champion Washington Nationals are in Florida preparing for the 2013 season.

The new cards —which employ the same radio frequency identification (RFID) technology used in Metro’s SmarTrip cards —will eliminate around 10 seconds from each person-to-person interaction with a ticket-taker, according to the team. The same card will, within a few months, serve as an “e-Cash” debit card at Nationals Park retail and concession stands.

It could also give the team access to the ballpark habits of its supporters: Just how many hot dogs did that family in Row S of Section 138 eat last month, anyhow?

The team ran a pilot program last season before instituting the switch for all 20-game, 41- and 81-game plan holders this season. And other sports executives believe the Nats could be leading the way for American sports franchises.

“We think the Nationals are one of the forerunners in this space, which is why we’ve paid a lot of attention to what they’re doing,” said Tim Zue, the vice president of business development for the Boston Red Sox, who are launching a similar pilot program for approximately 700 season ticket account holders this spring and hope to expand the program in 2014. “At some point in the near future, I think many more sports teams will launch programs like this, and we will look back and realize that the Nationals paved the way.”

Elements of the Nationals’ blueprint already have been used at other U.S. sports venues. The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning put radio chips in team jerseys given to plan holders, which can be used to receive discounts at retail and concession locations. Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays introduced ID debit cards that can be reloaded, bringing automatic cash bonuses.

Field access to the Super Bowl this year was controlled with similar RFID cards. And many teams have replaced paper ticketing with plastic cards, including both the Capitals and Wizards this season. Those franchises use a magnetic-strip card that must be manually swiped, with fans then receiving a print-out listing their seat locations.

But the Nationals have gone further by combining every system in a single card, linking ticketing with concessions with retail with loyalty rewards that can be used for seat upgrades as well as such real-time offers as discounted popcorn and jersey specials.

“Strategically, they’re at the front,” said Richard Pinnick, the head of global business development for London-based Fortress GB, which built the team’s technology platform after installing similar systems for more than half of England’s Premier League soccer teams. “Others have thought this way. Very few clubs have said, ‘I’m not just talking about this, I want to do it, and I want to do it meaningfully.’ Financially, operationally, they’re engineering their entire business around it.”

Disney parks, among others American entertainment sites, are introducing RFID wristbands that will similarly facilitate interactions between consumers and their corporate hosts.

Baseball games, though, have a different history than theme parks, and some Nats fans have already expressed displeasure over losing tangible paper records of their fandom. The Nats will allow fans to buy 3-by 7-inch commemorative tickets on premium stock, both at the stadium and online; the cost hasn’t been announced.

“I’m given 81 keepsakes; that’s important to me,” said Sam Rhem, 51, of Springfield, a season ticket holder since 2005 who has contacted the club with this and other concerns. “There was more to this whole process, this event than just flashing a card.”

Team executives, who have been working on this transformation for three years, are familiar with this and other misgivings. Plan holders who share seats can each register and receive their own cards; tickets can be instantly transferred from one card holder to another on the team’s Web site. Plan holders can also print out tickets at home and use the stadium’s bar code scanners, transfer tickets electronically to friends, or forward tickets to their own mobile devices. And fans with concerns about privacy or excessive interruptions can opt out of receiving special offers and refrain from using other features.

“Like anything else, there’s always going to be some resistance,” said Jerry Casselano, the director of corporate hospitality for ProVentures, an Arlington-based sports and entertainment marketing agency. But while Casselano said his corporate clients are often traditionalists about paper tickets, he said the new system —which he called “above and beyond” any other in baseball —would benefit both the Nationals and their followers.

“This is an investment in your fans,” Feffer said. “How do you engage your fans in a way that provides better value for being a season plan holder?How do you get closer to understanding your customers, what they want and what they value?Tickets were a transactional thing; you pay, and you come into the ballpark. Now, you’re engaging with your fans in a much different way that goes far beyond a transaction. That’s why you do it.”

M

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #191: March 01, 2013, 01:07:21 AM »
So who's going to be the first to step up and deposit money on their Nats debit card?

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #192: March 01, 2013, 07:08:04 AM »
http://m.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/washington-nationals-to-introduce-smart-card-system-for-ticket-holders/2013/02/28/223ef4d2-81db-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df_story.html

 The Washington Nationals’vision of a new ballpark experience begins at an unmanned turnstile, where a plan holder waves her card over a reader and makes “contact-less” entry in less than a second. Within a few steps, an e-mail or text message arrives, thanking the fan for attending her 10th straight game and offering a free hot dog.

Before arriving at her seat, the fan stops off at a team store, earning a 15 percent discount for being a plan holder, and debiting the cost from that same access card. She then heads for a concession stand,breezing through an “e-Cash” line, where transactions are processed seven times faster than in traditional cash or credit lines.

The Nationals will send details of their new “Ultimate Ballpark Access” card to season ticket holders Friday, laying out what team chief operating officer Andy Feffer calls “a monumental change” in the plan holder-franchise relationship.

GALLERY Nats’ spring training heats up:The reigning NL East champion Washington Nationals are in Florida preparing for the 2013 season.

The new cards —which employ the same radio frequency identification (RFID) technology used in Metro’s SmarTrip cards —will eliminate around 10 seconds from each person-to-person interaction with a ticket-taker, according to the team. The same card will, within a few months, serve as an “e-Cash” debit card at Nationals Park retail and concession stands.

It could also give the team access to the ballpark habits of its supporters: Just how many hot dogs did that family in Row S of Section 138 eat last month, anyhow?

The team ran a pilot program last season before instituting the switch for all 20-game, 41- and 81-game plan holders this season. And other sports executives believe the Nats could be leading the way for American sports franchises.

“We think the Nationals are one of the forerunners in this space, which is why we’ve paid a lot of attention to what they’re doing,” said Tim Zue, the vice president of business development for the Boston Red Sox, who are launching a similar pilot program for approximately 700 season ticket account holders this spring and hope to expand the program in 2014. “At some point in the near future, I think many more sports teams will launch programs like this, and we will look back and realize that the Nationals paved the way.”

Elements of the Nationals’ blueprint already have been used at other U.S. sports venues. The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning put radio chips in team jerseys given to plan holders, which can be used to receive discounts at retail and concession locations. Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays introduced ID debit cards that can be reloaded, bringing automatic cash bonuses.

Field access to the Super Bowl this year was controlled with similar RFID cards. And many teams have replaced paper ticketing with plastic cards, including both the Capitals and Wizards this season. Those franchises use a magnetic-strip card that must be manually swiped, with fans then receiving a print-out listing their seat locations.

But the Nationals have gone further by combining every system in a single card, linking ticketing with concessions with retail with loyalty rewards that can be used for seat upgrades as well as such real-time offers as discounted popcorn and jersey specials.

“Strategically, they’re at the front,” said Richard Pinnick, the head of global business development for London-based Fortress GB, which built the team’s technology platform after installing similar systems for more than half of England’s Premier League soccer teams. “Others have thought this way. Very few clubs have said, ‘I’m not just talking about this, I want to do it, and I want to do it meaningfully.’ Financially, operationally, they’re engineering their entire business around it.”

Disney parks, among others American entertainment sites, are introducing RFID wristbands that will similarly facilitate interactions between consumers and their corporate hosts.

Baseball games, though, have a different history than theme parks, and some Nats fans have already expressed displeasure over losing tangible paper records of their fandom. The Nats will allow fans to buy 3-by 7-inch commemorative tickets on premium stock, both at the stadium and online; the cost hasn’t been announced.

“I’m given 81 keepsakes; that’s important to me,” said Sam Rhem, 51, of Springfield, a season ticket holder since 2005 who has contacted the club with this and other concerns. “There was more to this whole process, this event than just flashing a card.”

Team executives, who have been working on this transformation for three years, are familiar with this and other misgivings. Plan holders who share seats can each register and receive their own cards; tickets can be instantly transferred from one card holder to another on the team’s Web site. Plan holders can also print out tickets at home and use the stadium’s bar code scanners, transfer tickets electronically to friends, or forward tickets to their own mobile devices. And fans with concerns about privacy or excessive interruptions can opt out of receiving special offers and refrain from using other features.

“Like anything else, there’s always going to be some resistance,” said Jerry Casselano, the director of corporate hospitality for ProVentures, an Arlington-based sports and entertainment marketing agency. But while Casselano said his corporate clients are often traditionalists about paper tickets, he said the new system —which he called “above and beyond” any other in baseball —would benefit both the Nationals and their followers.

“This is an investment in your fans,” Feffer said. “How do you engage your fans in a way that provides better value for being a season plan holder?How do you get closer to understanding your customers, what they want and what they value?Tickets were a transactional thing; you pay, and you come into the ballpark. Now, you’re engaging with your fans in a much different way that goes far beyond a transaction. That’s why you do it.”

M

There will be the inevitable transition pains but in the long run this will benefit users by getting them through the turnstiles faster. All the other stuff is secondary to me.

Look no further than the Smartcards at Metro. People who use them get through the turnstiles a lot faster than the riders who use paper tickets.

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #193: March 01, 2013, 08:29:36 AM »
Well, I have 20 ticket partners.  Shares range from 24 seats to 4 seats (I have 34 this year) over 2 separate packages in two locations.  I will now have to make them share personal information with the Nats in order to get them each a card, or they will miss the benefits that go with the cards, most especially the opportunity for discounts.  I have been told that it might be easier for me to get cards for the heavier hitters in the group, but then I will have to split the benefits among my partners in an unequal manner, something I've been loathe to do.  I will not be able to take advantage of any of the in game benefits that are emailed out because I do not have a smart phone or even a text plan on my cell phone.  In other words, my group misses out on all of the pluses of this system. 

I go to the trouble of selling Nats tickets for them by holding together a large group.  By holding together, I mean a group that was organized to support Washington's attempt to get a team in the early 90s, that switched from Baltimore to the Nats in 2005, and that had to switch from a full season plan to a half season plan when the team alienated many of its fans by 2009.  Even then, holding half the group was tough.  Even now, I pick up extra tickets to smooth things out among my members who can't get a Sunday game or a game against their favorite visiting team, etc... 

Last year, the season ticket stock had photos of pairs of players.  Don't think it was not in the minds of some of us that the Strasburg - Zimmerman pair might have some value around Cooperstown in a few years.   Now, we are going to have to pay for commemorative tickets?

This is very disappointing.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #194: March 01, 2013, 09:09:58 AM »
I run two full season partnerships. One is for 4 tickets for 10 partners with 8 games each. The other is for two tickets for 8 partners with 10 games each.

My plan right now is to just email them the tickets and not bother with the cards and they are all OK with that. No one in my group really cares about hard tickets or buying at 15% off the high prices at the team store. They just want good tickets at a reduced prices from what the would have to pay buying them individually.

They are more disappointed in the reduction of Red Carpet Rewards benefits.

Offline NookLoganMafia

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #195: March 01, 2013, 09:12:02 AM »

Last year, the season ticket stock had photos of pairs of players.  Don't think it was not in the minds of some of us that the Strasburg - Zimmerman pair might have some value around Cooperstown in a few years.   Now, we are going to have to pay for commemorative tickets?

This is very disappointing.

Who needs memorabilia when you're going to get a free hot dog??????????

Offline eastie

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #196: March 01, 2013, 09:24:09 AM »
Let's not forget one of the real reasons they are doing this: it helps lock down avenues for the resale market to MLB-approved outlets, with the Nats and their partners taking a cut.  It's a lot harder to sell a ticket on craigslist electronically for cash.  But you can post them on StubHub!  With higher fees!

My ticket share this year is going to be a nightmare to manage.  And we really liked getting together in March, laying out all of the tickets on a table and drafting over a few beers.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #197: March 01, 2013, 09:37:51 AM »
Let's not forget one of the real reasons they are doing this: it helps lock down avenues for the resale market to MLB-approved outlets, with the Nats and their partners taking a cut.  It's a lot harder to sell a ticket on craigslist electronically for cash.  But you can post them on StubHub!  With higher fees!


You should be still able to sell tickets electronically or forward them to whoever you want, just like last year. Craigslist and Paypal will work just fine like always, I think.

I found the process of dividing and distributing hard tickets to be a pain and I'm looking forward to shooting them over by email.

Offline Tim Cullen

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #198: March 01, 2013, 09:37:55 AM »
I'll wait until I see the system in progress before I judge it, but the bottom line is this:  The Nats (or any other team) are not putting this system in place to ease any season ticket holder's burden or to make things more convenient for the fans. It is a way to get fans to spend more money.  Either at the team store, the beer line or Ben's Chili Bowl.  Also, the Stubhub/resale factor certainly plays into this.

One other thing, everything I've read about this magic card mentions how much quicker a fan can make it through the turnstile.  That's "great" picking up the extra ten seconds, but will we be wanded with a metal detector going in this year?  I've heard the Caps are doing this and I was wanded at the Military Bowl at RFK this past December.  This process will certainly slow down any extra time saved by the magic card.

Offline eastie

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Re: Your card is your ticket to the game
« Reply #199: March 01, 2013, 09:49:32 AM »
You should be still able to sell tickets electronically or forward them to whoever you want, just like last year. Craigslist and Paypal will work just fine like always, I think.

I found the process of dividing and distributing hard tickets to be a pain and I'm looking forward to shooting them over by email.
Not sure I agree on that.  Many times in the past I've realized at noon that work was going to keep me really late and couldn't find a ticket partner who could go last minute.  Posted them at a reduced price on craigslist and met a buyer out front of my building downtown.  Now it'll be what? "Yeah, sure, Mr. Craigslist Stranger. Give me that cash and I'll run back upstairs and transfer the tickets to you via email".  People are (rightfully) a little leery of buying print outs of tickets as well.  I don't for a minute think that this won't push resale to StubHub (as designed).  And that's not even mentioning the legions of scalpers outside the Half St. Metro entrance.  Those guys are SOL.