The Washington Nationals major league baseball team is striving to make its home games a more interactive experience for its fans, enabling them to employ radio frequency identification technology to manage their tickets, as well as food and beverage purchases, and to receive rewards and special offers. The solution, which replaces traditional paper tickets with a high-frequency (HF) RFID card, also reduces the amount of time that fans spend queuing up to enter Nationals Park. The RFID-based system, provided by British sports and entertainment technology firm Fortress GB, is being piloted this season by approximately 300 season pass holders, with plans to fully deploy the solution for all ticket holders during the 2013 season.
Fans carrying the RFID-enabled card may begin their experience by walking through an automated turnstile in a fraction of the time that it takes traditional ticket holders to enter, after which they can then use the card throughout the stadium and throughout the game, in order to make payments and receive points and rewards. The park’s management has installed RFID readers and bar-code scanners at the front gate, as well as at refreshment stands and merchandise shops, enabling visitors to make purchases using a prepaid balance loaded onto an account linked to the card, as well as maintain an online record of transactions and receive promotions based on their spending habits, if they choose to opt in to the system.
“It’s not about getting fans through turnstiles,” says Andy Feffer, the Nationals’ COO. “It’s about looking at ticketing as a three-dimensional experience.”
The RFID-enabled cards, provided by Fortress GB, contain an NXP Semiconductors Mifare 13.56 MHz RFID chip (compliant with the ISO 14443 standard). Upon arriving at Nationals Park, a participant can utilize one of 24 Fortress GB Tri-Reader devices connected to the park’s turnstiles. These Tri-Readers consist of an RFID interrogator and a bar-code scanner integrated in a single device wired to the back-end system, where Fortress GB software manages read- and scan-related data. The Tri-Reader device was assembled by Fortress GB using a variety of RFID reader components supplied by third-party providers. When a valid RFID card is placed near the reader, the ID number encoded on the chip is captured and then forwarded to the back-end system via a cabled connection, where Fortress GB software authenticates the ID, triggering the turnstile’s release. Simultaneously, the software stores that event and creates reward points, as well as a historical record for team managers. If the individual has earned sufficient points to merit a gift—such as a free hot dog and soda, or a game ticket—he or she can receive a text message or e-mail indicating that fact.
In many cases, a visitor will have a ticket with a printed bar code instead of a card containing a passive RFID inlay. For instance, if that individual prints a ticket at home, the ticket will come with a printed bar code. In the event that the Tri-Reader fails to detect an RFID chip’s presence, it will scan the bar code and trigger the turnstile to open, provided that the ID is valid.
To date, a total of 45 Fortress GB readers have been installed at refreshment stands and shops selling such items as apparel and team-based gifts. In this case, a user can select goods for purchase and, instead of providing a credit or debit card or cash, simply place the card near the reader, and the money will be deducted from that prepaid account. At shops, the card can be used not only to make purchases, but also to redeem price reductions provided to the individual based on prior purchases.All of the RFID transaction data, including park entrance and purchases, is stored in the system, and can be accessed online by the team’s business staff in real time. In that way, Feffer says, he can use an Apple iPad anywhere that has a Wi-Fi connection, to log onto the system and view the number of people who have entered the park, as well as how quickly, and see a breakdown of each turnstile’s efficiency.
In 2013, all ticket holders throughout the 41,500-seat park will be able to purchase an RFID-enabled card though the Nationals’ Web site. The card could be used as a season pass, or for a specified number of games during the season. After receiving the card in the mail, a user will need to log onto the system online, enter the card’s details and create an account. For example, a user could take money from a debit or credit card and load it into an account linked to the card’s RFID number. If that person opts in, he or she could also receive messages containing promotional offers, and collect credit for purchases made, in order to earn free services or products, or additional tickets.
For the Nationals, the system also provides the opportunity to better communicate with ticket holders. Traditionally, Feffer explains, teams lack visibility into those who purchase one or more tickets, as information is only available regarding those who buy a season pass. With the Fortress GB solution in place, however, the team will be able to send promotions specific to an individual’s previous buying behavior.
The company has deliberately been easing fans into using the system, Feffer says, by initially providing the rewards-points program based on online ticket sales, ahead of the wide-scale use of RFID. “The biggest challenge is not going to be the technology,” he states, “but getting the crowd used to it.” Thus far, early indications show that fans are adjusting to using RFID quite easily. “People seemed to immediately figure it out,” he says.
RFID-enabled turnstile systems are not new in Europe, says Richard Pinnick, Fortress GB’s global business development manager. Fortress GB has already provided such systems to 115 stadiums, enabling them to move about 20 to 25 people per minute through a turnstile. “The whole idea is that people are literally letting themselves in,” he says. The use of RFID for purchasing and reward points, Pinnick says, is an additional functionality that is a more recent feature, and is thus less common. In the United States, Fortress GB’s technology is also in use at Red Bull Arena, the home of the New York Red Bulls soccer team.