St. Louis Cardinals Celebrate “Whitey Herzog Day” with Interactive “Cards Cash” Promotions Using UpTix™ Stored Value Technology from Tickets.com

Tickets.com is facilitating the expansion of stored value ticketing throughout Major League Baseball via its versatile UpTix Stored Value service.

The innovative technology, which loads cash value above admission price onto single tickets, can be customized and individually branded for each client. The St. Louis Cardinals promote it under the name “Cards Cash,” and on July 31, it was part of a pre-game celebration—in front of a sold-out crowd at Busch Stadium—honoring the team’s legendary former manager Whitey Herzog. Missouri’s Governor deemed it “Whitey Herzog Day.”

At the end of the ceremony—which saluted his 1,281 wins as a manager and his 2010 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame—Herzog’s No. 24 was retired. Thus, the evening’s interactive Cards Cash promotions were themed around the number. Ticket-holders for every seat number 24 throughout the entire ballpark received $5 in Cards Cash value to spend on food, beverages, or merchandise during the game.

Additionally, each person seated in section 240 received $5 Cards Cash per ticket. An add-on to the section 240 promotion granted every fan a $5 bonus per strike-out in the top of the 3rd inning—there was one, giving each ticket-holder a total of $10 in Cards Cash.

More than 75% of ticket holders that received “24”-themed Cards Cash dollars redeemed all or part of the windfall. The evening proved an overall success for the team with a worthy 11-1 victory over Pittsburgh.

“It was great to see UpTix working in real-time, generating excitement for fans with Cards Cash awards tied to an on-field event,” said John Rizzi, Senior Vice President Product Management and Strategy, Tickets.com. “We know that purchasing stored value tickets is a benefit to both the team and the fans. It was a great way to commemorate Whitey Herzog and connect with the fans. We look forward to more interactive programs of this type.”

UpTix technology works by allowing concessions and merchandise credits to be pre-loaded onto a ticket through its unique bar code, and folded into the initial purchase price of the ticket. The embedded value above the admission price is scannable by vendors throughout the ballpark for the duration of the game—and fans holding such tickets never have to reach for their wallets.