(CelebrityAccess News Service) — Tickets.com and the Oakland Athletics have extended their partnership through the 2009 Major League Baseball season as the team opted to renew their ticketing services agreement one year before their contract expired.
As part of the agreement, the Oakland Athletics will be adding the Access Control functionality which directly links to Tickets.com's Internet ticketing engine, all to produce a uniquely identifiable bar coded ticket for entry into the Coliseum. Access Control utilizes hand-held scanning devices which read the bar coded tickets and speed entry into the Coliseum for fans. The product also provides security to decrease the likelihood of fraudulent ticket holders gaining access into the Network Associates Coliseum.
Additionally, fans will have the ability to print their tickets at home utilizing Tickets@Home, which will be directly linked to the Coliseum's Access Control entry system. Tickets.com's fully integrated ticketing platform allows all aspects of ticketing and distribution to work seamlessly with one another to maximize the entire ticketing function and patron experience.
The Oakland Athletics also have the option to offer their fans Replay Ticket Exchange, a fully integrated online season ticket exchange program which places control of ticketing firmly in the hands of the venue for the benefit of individual season ticket-holders. It automatically cancels the original ticket when it is resold, and reissues a new bar coded ticket. Replay Ticket Exchange, which works in concert with the Access Control and Tickets@Home technology, would provide A's season ticket-holders the ability to safely and securely resell and distribute purchased season tickets.
"We are very pleased to expand our successful relationship with the esteemed Oakland Athletics, and to provide A's fans with cutting-edge features to enhance their overall ticketing experience," said executive VP of sales and marketing Thomas. "As evidenced by the A's early renewal, Tickets.com is committed to providing the most comprehensive suite of services possible to our valued Major League Baseball clients."
"We are excited to extend our agreement with Tickets.com and look forward to capitalizing on their continued technological leadership in the ticketing industry," said David Alioto, VP of Sales and Marketing for the Athletics. "Tickets.com continues to demonstrate a level of commitment and flexibility that is required to help us achieve our ticket sales goals."
The expanded Oakland Athletics deal capitalizes on the company's preferred provider agreement renewal with Major League Baseball Advanced Media in January of this year. Currently 20 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams utilize Ticket.com's ticketing services. As of the end of July, Tickets.com has sold over 3.6 Million online ticket sales for the 2003 Major League Baseball season for its 20 MLB teams. — by Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
