Venues Today: Tickets.com Adds to Canadian Hockey League Portfolio

Having already accomplished the hockey hat trick in Canada by partnering with the Sudbury Wolves, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Erie Otters, Tickets.com added to its portfolio with the latest agreement with the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The long-term ticketing agreement starts with the 2014-15 season and just in time for the IceDogs’ move to the new 5,300-seat Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario, where Tickets.com’s ProVenue platform will be utilized for all ticket sales.

The OHL, along with the Western Hockey League (WHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), are operated under the auspices of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).

“Over the past five years, we studied the relationship between the CHL franchises and their host communities,” said Dan Archabal, VP of business development for Tickets.com. Although the actual size of the typical franchise may be small in terms of employee headcount and annual revenues, the most successful CHL organizations wield significant influence in the business decisions of their cities.

“Entertainment tax policies, multimillion-dollar renovation projects, city traffic patterns and even new facility development are all matters where the franchise has more than just a seat at the table,” he said. “We are seeing very savvy entrepreneurs in leadership roles with these franchises. It’s starting to show in vendor discussions, where franchises increasingly will not just settle to use the facility’s vendor contracts as a component of their tenant agreement. They want to shop themselves.”

Bill Burke, IceDogs owner and governor, is excited about what Tickets.com will be bringing to that table.

“They have such a strong base of operations in the Niagara region,” he said. “They have proven themselves in the OHL and we are excited to move forward with them in our new home at the Meridian Centre.”

Indeed, both parties cite the move to the new venue, which will include 25 suites, as the perfect time for the new deal to take effect.

“First and foremost, I am a big fan of the atmosphere that the IceDogs create at The Jack (Garden City Gatorade Complex),” Archabal said. “It is a complete professional fan experience that the Burke family and the City of St. Catharines have invested in for many years. They pack the place, it’s loud, and the fans have had some fantastic talent like Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Strome to watch.

“Fans in St. Catharines are just like everyone else, though – they demand more from their facilities if they are going to break away from their couch and TV. They need upgraded seating, concourse amenities, concessions, digital display boards, lighting and sound.

“They also needed an upgrade in their ticketing technology, particularly their season ticket base that needs more self-service options.”

Season ticket holders will be renewing online next year for the first time and will be able to manage their season tickets with the MyTickets solution that enables transferring tickets, reprinting tickets and making ticket donations. Fans will also have access to an automated kiosk for purchase and will call pick-up.

Burke is ready for the new technology to kick in next year. “There will certainly be more technology than we have right now because we are in such an old facility,” he said.

Source: Baugus, R.V., www.VenuesToday.com, January 1, 2014

Tickets.com and the Niagara IceDogs Form Ticketing Partnership

The Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Tickets.com have recently announced a long-term ticketing services partnership. Starting with the 2014-15 season, the IceDogs will utilize the ProVenue platform for all ticket sales at the new 5,300 seat Meridian Centre, in St. Catharines, Ontario.

The agreement expands upon Tickets.com’s presence and support of the Canadian Major Junior market, where it already serves the Sudbury Wolves (OHL), Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) and Erie Otters (OHL) as well as their host facilities. ProVenue’s roots in professional sports provide these franchises with a best-in-class feature set to manage complex inventory and fan relationships.

IceDogs Owner and Governor Bill Burke emphasized the importance of the services and marketing relationships that Tickets.com will bring to the partnership. “Tickets.com has such a strong base of operations just like ours in the Niagara Region and we hope to take advantage of the facilities and franchises in this network. They have proven themselves in the OHL and we are excited to move forward with them in our new home at the Meridian Centre.”

For more information about The IceDogs visit http://www.niagaraicedogs.net.

Tickets.com and Los Angeles Dodgers Sign New Ticketing Partnership Agreement

Tickets.com,Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers today announced a new long-term ticketing agreement for use of the ProVenue^® ticketing platform at Dodger Stadium, beginning with the 2014 Major League Baseball season.

“We’re excited about leveraging the ProVenue platform and continuing to improve the ticketing experience for Dodger fans – especially around digital ticketing,” said Lon Rosen, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the Dodgers.

Los Angeles will become the 17^th MLB Club to utilize Tickets.com’s ProVenue platform, a technology solution built on a hosted, open architecture. In 2014, MyTickets Mobile, a new feature launched in September within the award-winning MLB.com At The Ballpark app for iPhone and Android smartphones, also will debut for the Dodgers, giving fans mobile access to any ticket purchased for Dodger Stadium.

“The Dodgers have made a huge commitment to using new technology to improve every facet of the experience for their fans – both inside and outside of Dodger Stadium.  We’re thrilled they’ve chosen Tickets.com to lead that effort around ticket purchasing, digital/mobile delivery and managing season tickets,” said John Walker, President and CEO of Tickets.com.  “We’re very proud to be partners with such an iconic professional sports franchise.”

Introducing The ProVenue Registered Developer Program

Launched in April at the ProVenue Exchange conference, the Registered Developer Program marks the first time an established enterprise ticketing platform provider has enabled 3^rd party API access against the core ticketing system and live event inventory to foster real-time application development.

Real-time access to live inventory and other data is made available to authenticated API calls. They also grant access to the full ticket life cycle - requests for event details and seat availability; locking and purchasing seats; delivering barcodes; reassigning tickets to other customers; and collecting and updating customer information.  Adding a formal environment and process for developers to access and innovate using these APIs puts Tickets.com in a true leadership position in the industry.

“With the rapid move in technology towards open development access via APIs – led by Apple, Google and others – our platform was perfectly suited to leverage this trend” remarks Joe Choti, CTO of Tickets.com.  

As part of the launch, a new ProVenue Partner Portal has been created, facilitating a web-based community where technology partners have access to the latest API documentation, videos and training materials about ProVenue functionality, best practices and frequently asked questions. Partners can also access the portal on-the-go via Mobile Web or a native iOS application.

Read the complete release here. 

Cristine Hurley Joins Tickets.com as CFO

Tickets.com is pleased to announce the addition of Cristine Hurley in the role of Chief Financial Officer.  She will immediately take on responsibility for all aspects of Tickets.com’s financial strategy and management.

“Cristine has the perfect professional pedigree for our company,” explains John Walker, President and CEO of Tickets.com.  “Her experience in the sports and entertainment industry will help us immediately.  She’s extremely talented and will be a strategic partner within all areas of our business, as well as a rock-solid resource for our clients."

Hurley’s CV includes the role of Vice President, Team Finance for the National Basketball Association, where she was a primary league office liaison with all NBA, WNBA and D-League teams.  Prior to the NBA, she was the Chief Financial Officer for the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball franchise.  Most recently Hurley was a Partner at Pro Forma Advisors, where she consulted on financial feasibility and economic/fiscal impact studies, primarily relating to sports. 

Hurley is a Certified Public Accountant, holds a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and completed the Executive Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.  

Read the complete release here. 

Gene Simmons to Give Keynote Address at ProVenue® Exchange

Rock icon and entrepreneur Gene Simmons will be the keynote speaker at ProVenue Exchange on April 30, 2013. 

The Singer and bassist of the famed rock group KISS and star of the 7-season-running Reality TV show “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” has agreed to be a Keynote speaker at the Tickets.com ProVenue Exchange conference being held April 29-May 2 at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego.

The conference is an annual gathering of Tickets.com clients and industry professionals. Focused on education, it also explores key topics and business opportunities for executives of sports teams and live entertainment venues around the world.  Simmons’ extensive experience as a performer as well as his insightful perspectives on how to control a brand and leverage it for profit will be invaluable material for attendees and be the highlight of the conference.

“Gene is an absolute ideal fit for our event,” said Doug Lyons, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Tickets.com.  “ProVenue Exchange is all about the business of live entertainment, and nobody – and I mean NOBODY – can talk to this topic better than Gene.  We are so excited to have him join us.”

In addition to being co-founder of one of the most successful and unique performing acts of all time, Simmons has built a reputation for excellence in a wide array of ventures including movies, television shows, publishing, merchandising, live event promotion - even smartphone applications and financial services.  His reputation for directness, superb business judgment and making money is legendary, and his presentation skills and style are unparalleled.

“The fact that we are using a Rock and Roll theme for this year’s event – and holding it at the ultimate Rock and Roll property, The Hard Rock Hotel - was the clincher,” continued Lyons. “Gene was by far our top choice and we know he will inspire our attendees and raise the overall conference experience tremendously.”

Tickets.com, provider of both the www.tickets.com online “ticket exploration engine” and ProVenue, the leading in-house ticketing platform for sports and live entertainment, has been a pioneer in technology since entering the Internet ticketing space in the late-1990s. 

For more information about the conference, visit www.provenueexchange.com. For more about Gene Simmons, visit www.genesimmons.com.

ProVenue® Is Off to the Races!

Unique New Orleans Racetrack and Casino Chooses to Take Control of Revenue

Tickets.com and the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, a member of the prestigious Churchill Downs family of properties, have announced an agreement to use the ProVenue platform for ticketing operations at the New Orleans, LA venue.

This is the first time the Fair Grounds organization has ventured into the online ticketing arena, having predominately been an onsite admission venue. By entrusting Tickets.com to handle their ticketing needs and services, they will now be able to leverage data and control revenue -- including the ability to keep fees exceptionally low -- to aid their drive to increase advance ticket sales. They will further use their flexibility with the system to aggressively compete for non-racing events and grow their business. 

Mark Connor, who leads the facility's marketing efforts, commented, "We made the decision to use ProVenue for several reasons; affordability, ease of use and access, and ability to tailor fit the platform to the needs of our facility. We look forward to offering online ticket sales to our customers as well as an enhanced customer service experience with expanded ticket purchase and delivery options."

Read the complete release here.   

MLB’s Baltimore Orioles Choose ProVenue® From Tickets.com®

Club desires more flexibility and tighter integration of systems for better fan experience

Tickets.com and Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles have signed a long term contract for the use of the ProVenue ticketing platform for all events at the team’s iconic Oriole Park at Camden Yards ballpark.

The Orioles are eager to be part of the leading-edge technologies that Tickets.com has developed with the ProVenue platform. Tickets.com were pioneers in Mobile Ticketing, being the first ticketing company to allow fans to search for, purchase and have tickets delivered to a mobile device. Recently, Major League Baseball Advanced Media and Tickets.com took mobile options a step further by being first adopters of Apple’s Passbook application for iPhones.

“It is important that the Orioles utilize new and emerging technologies to benefit our customers,” says Greg Bader, Orioles Vice President of Communications and Marketing. “We have very sophisticated fans in our region, and they request that we deliver content to them in the latest manner. This includes access to their game tickets and will extend to other programs we will be launching in the future such as loyalty and stored value programs. ProVenue and Tickets.com are positioned to help us get there quickly.”

Tickets.com now provides ticketing solutions for 16 teams in Major League Baseball, as well as prominent sports and live entertainment organizations around the world.

Read the complete release here.

Tickets.com® Renews Hult Center to Long Term Contract

Today we announced a long-term extension with the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. The 5 year deal - with options for an additional 6 years - includes the Center’s move to the industry leading ProVenue® ticketing platform.

“Tickets.com has been a valuable partner in providing technology services to the Hult Center and we are excited to take advantage of their latest innovations with the ProVenue system,” said Marcia James-Gluz, Ticket Services Manager at of the Center. “We look forward to expanding our capabilities and creating the best ticket purchase experience for our patrons with the use of this great tool.”

Like many other Tickets.com venues, the Hult Center is excited about upgrading to the system’s new fully-integrated, best-in-breed Interactive Seat Maps, that allow customers to select seats online from maps dynamically generated from the ticketing system. This is unlike other systems where such maps need to be built and maintained separately and updated manually when event configurations change – which is often.

The Hult Center opened to national acclaim in 1982 and is home to a number of important Resident Companies including the Eugene Ballet, Concert Choir, Opera and Symphony as well as the Oregon Bach Festival and Oregon Festival of American Music. It holds over 400 events a year in its numerous performance and entertainment spaces, including the popular outdoor Cuthbert Amphitheater. The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is owned by the people of Eugene and operated by the City of Eugene's Cultural Services Division.

Access the complete release here.

Tickets.com® Welcomes Jennifer Zick!

Tickets.com is excited to announce the appointment of Jennifer Zick as Vice President of Business Development. Jennifer’s first official function will be to join members of the Tickets.com team at the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) conference in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, July 21-24, 2012.

Zick spent the past 5 years with New Era Tickets helping to launch a digital marketing platform, and was responsible for securing high-profile clients in auto racing, the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLS.

“We’re thrilled to have Jen join us as we are radically changing the ticketing experience for venues, teams and fans with ProVenue,” states John Walker, President and CEO of Tickets.com. “Jen brings not only a wealth of industry knowledge and strategic relationships, but a solid grasp of technology and digital marketing that we can immediately put to work with our clients to help them reach more fans and sell more tickets."

Access the complete release here.

University at Buffalo Center for the Arts to Use ProVenue®

Western New York becoming a stronghold for the state-of-the-art platform

Tickets.com and the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts announced a new partnership agreement centralized on ProVenue.

“The Center for the Arts remains committed to keeping ticket prices affordable in Western New York, and the fight against rising ticketing service charges is central to that mission,” states Joel Thompson, Director of Ticket Operations for the Center. “This new partnership with Tickets.com allows us to move forward with no fee increases in the foreseeable future, allowing our patrons the best opportunity to see the great entertainment they’ve come to expect from our stages at reasonable prices.”

Tickets.com has served the collegiate and arts markets for many years, however the newer, industry-leading ProVenue platform has been primarily operating in regional ticketing as well as the sports (major and minor league) markets until now. This win celebrates the first foray for the platform in the University Arts segment. It is also one of many conversions to ProVenue in the upstate New York region in recent years, giving Tickets.com a strong presence in the area.

Access the complete release here.

TICKETS.COM® 2013 PROVENUE® EXCHANGE DATES AND LOCATION ANNOUNCED

The 2013 ProVenue Exchange conference will be held in San Diego’s Gaslamp District at the iconic Hard Rock Hotel, April 29-May 2, 2013.

Based on attendee feedback, the new conference dates were moved later into the year to avoid conflicting with other events and to stay clear of key dates such as Major League Baseball’s opening day. The change in location also represents a shift in the company’s attitude and emerging image.

“We’ve had a recent reawakening of what this conference should be about. We are in the Entertainment industry – we should act like it!” states Doug Lyons, Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “Our conferences in the past, while highly rated by our clients, were lacking excitement and a sense of the tremendous fun and joy our industry represents. It’s time to embrace this and play as hard as we work!”

The content of the conference is also going through a radical overhaul. What is returning after many years absence is a strong focus on User Training that will help all Tickets.com clients gain valuable practical skills. It’s also geared to be far more interactive, a shift away from the “talking heads” that seem to dominate ticketing conferences in recent years.

A campaign is already under way for Tickets.com clients, ticketing professionals, industry insiders and service providers to “save the date”, and a highly tactical plan is under way to have a steady release of information over the next 10 months to build excitement and drive record attendance.

“As a company, we continually strive to be better. Just Better – that’s our philosophy” continued Lyons. “This conference will go even further. It will ROCK!”

ProVenue "Knighted" by Medieval Times

Like many organizations in recent years, Medieval Times decided to get out of the software development business when their existing in-house solution required updates for security, compliance and functional needs. During their evaluation of potential vendors, they realized Tickets.com offered a solution with flexibility in both configuration and business terms.

“The staff at Tickets.com was extremely collaborative and forthcoming during our evaluation process, something that has tremendous value to us at Medieval Times. It gave an indication of how a relationship would be through the challenging process of changing software,” said Daniel Kim, Vice President and Secretary of Medieval Times. “We already feel like partners and are very confident in ProVenue’s ability to improve our ticket buying experience for our customers.”

ProVenue is offered as a license model, giving Medieval Times control of consumer fees and costs, while at the same time offering a solution that meets regulatory compliance. It also offers new options to provide additional services to consumers when making reservations for shows, including upgrades and additional purchases.

Further, the system is architected in a way that a single instance of ProVenue will serve the entire organization while still enabling each venue or “Castle” to control and tailor their specific environments to their unique local needs. This “best of both worlds” design means independence for each property, with data stored centrally for consolidated corporate financial reporting and marketing initiatives.

Access the complete release here.

ProVenue Exchange "Out of this World"!

By John Rizzi, SVP Client Services, Tickets.com

After John Walker’s keynote address on day 1 of our ProVenue Exchange conference on March 14, our VP of Marketing, Doug Lyons dove a little deeper into developments over the past year as well as changes to approach and product features in the coming year. This Included the re-commitment of focus on user experience in product design by showcasing examples of fresh, new approaches to ticketing interfaces and “next generation” Interactive Seat Maps. He reiterated the importance of APIs by showing the currently in development “Linebuster” iPad ticket selling application, which allows a mobile user to easily sell tickets from ProVenue with an easy-to-use tablet interface. Great stuff!



I then moderated for a tremendous set of panelists on the state of Loyalty programs that included participation from the Washington Nationals (MLB), The Seattle Sounders (MLS) and the San Diego Padres (MLB). It was very eye-opening to realize that while almost “expected” in many commercial situations, Loyalty in entertainment has yet to find its exact place and value proposition.



Doug then again appeared to host a session on emerging technologies, subtitled “What would Captain Kirk do?” To everyone’s surprise (and laughter) he entered dressed in a full Mr. Spock Star Trek outfit – wig, ears and all. This showed evidence of a new style from Tickets.com where our culture is starting to echo our approach to software: A Great Experience.

Big Ideas, but not Big Brother

By Joe Choti, CTO, Tickets.com & MLB Advanced Media (with help from Dave Brooks)

At Tickets.com, the focus for us right now is to make sure that ProVenue provides scalability, stabilization, reliability and speed. Those are big ones. We spent 2010 making sure we were stable in a myriad of different ways. Coming into our 2011 on-sale season, we have sufficiently rearchitectured the ticketing applications and the infrastructure so it stood on its own. Now we’re working on improving speed.

With ProVenue we’re able to plug into any partner’s API, whether that be StubHub, Qque, Digonex or Givex. It works for everybody. What we’re talking about is a state-of-the-art system that has the full capability to work with whatever anyone’s needs are.

If you take two ticketing clients who use the same platform in the same industry, they still won’t run their business exactly the same. The ticketing solution has to be a product that has a core offering that can manifest itself in different ways and different factions.

Transactional time is more important than ever. One of the things I emphasize to all my engineers is that they can sit there and tell me it only takes three seconds for the screen to ping, but so what. Moving it from a three-second ping to a one-second ping will make a huge difference.

As technologists our jobs are never done. It’s a book and it’s time to move on to the next chapter after you’re done with the current chapter.

Wireless devices give us new and exciting ways to sell tickets to events. I may have spare inventory to an event and I may know an individual is in proximity to that event and I may want to push them a campaign and remind them that Bon Jovi is in concert. Since their phone shows me they are local, I can send a simple one-click link to buy tickets and then they use their wireless device to gain entry.

It’s all about Push Notifications, GPS and CRM. These capabilities allow people to opt in and provide information about what types of fans they are. It’s important not to push too much and allow it to become wallpaper and noise and get ignored.

Technology is not big brother. People think that, but it’s not true. We’re taking advantage of technology that lets us know who the true fans are and make things easier for them. And it’s not done with the ‘Like’ button.


Source: October 2011 Venues Today

PRESS RELEASE: Tickets.com®, Inc. Selected as the Ticketing Technology Provider for the New York Mets®

Tickets.com, Inc. and the New York Mets today announced a long-term ticketing agreement anchored by ProVenue®, the industry’s most advanced ticketing technology.

This infrastructure enables third parties to seamlessly integrate with ProVenue to offer features, applications, and data management programs using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The platform approach gives the Mets the ability to determine which partners belong in their technological ecosystem to best support their season operations and initiatives including dynamic pricing, stored value, digital ticketing, loyalty and CRM programs.

“We had an opportunity to identify the best technology offering that would support our immediate and future business objectives,” said Dave Howard, Executive Vice President, Business Operations, New York Mets. “After an exhaustive search, we determined that partnering with Tickets.com addresses our core ticketing needs and gives us flexibility to grow our business in innovative ways.”

Tickets.com also supports a host of complementary services that accommodates the varying purchase behaviors of sports fans. The Mets will utilize the ProVenueMobile™ m-commerce service to enable fans on the go to search, select, and purchase tickets in a highly-optimized experience on any Smartphone or tablet. When combined with the Tickets@Phone® delivery method, secure bar-coded tickets are delivered instantly via text message.

Upon launch, the Mets will become the first professional sports team in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area on the ProVenue platform. The Mets also will be the seventh MLB Club to use the technology.

Access the complete release.

Your Grandfather’s “White-label” is Old News

By John Walker, President & CEO, Tickets.com

Ticketing, sales and marketing professionals have been faced with making an either/or choice in the past – either selling through brand X (which leaves little room for your brand to extend through the sales flow of an online transaction) or employ a “white label” or “private label” solution that enables venues, teams or organizations to wrap their team colors or logos around a transaction engine.

One relatively new player in the space would have you believe that they are “introducing a white-label offering”, but the reality is that several companies have been offering “white-label” ticketing services for years. We’ve done it for a decade. Hell, come to think of it – EVERYBODY’s done it. And while on the surface this either/or decision (brand X vs. “white-label”) might suggest that all “white-label” offerings should be grouped together, frankly, there couldn’t be anything any further from the truth. The devil is in the details of…you guessed it, the technology.

The question you should be answering when choosing a platform for your business’s ticketing function is – what system will allow me to EXTEND MY BRAND versus just simply allowing me to affix my logo to a position on a banner? A subtle, but powerful distinction. Additionally, which of the “white-label” offerings best EXTENDS TECHNOLOGY in a way that meets or exceeds the vision I have for my organization? After all, selling tickets isn’t about how many bad email addresses you can ping – it’s about taking full advantage of CRM, dynamic pricing, wider distribution, stored value, online seat maps, mobility, social media, etc. And taking full advantage of these on your terms, I might add – not the terms dictated to you by your ticketing provider or it’s closed-system architecture.

Slapping your label on something that isn’t best of breed technology doesn’t cut it. You, and your organization, need and deserve more. Smart organizations are looking to power the EXTENSION of their brand, and their technological vision and we’re enabling our clients to do just that by opening the ProVenue platform with a series of APIs (Application Programming Interface)that allow true ticketing integrations. The first of these APIs will be available in early October and applications taking advantage of these early APIs will show up soon after.

A traditional nightly CRM data-feed and a “white-label” website used to be the best you could do. Now it’s old news.

INTRUST Bank Arena and Mercer University Both Convert to ProVenue®

INTRUST Bank Arena, an SMG managed facility, and all other regional Select-A-Seat venues have recently converted to the ProVenue Platform. INTRUST Bank Arena is one of the Midwest's premier arenas with a 15,000-seat capacity and host to several of the industry's top sporting events and live entertainment shows.

Select-A-Seat also provides ticketing services for several Wichita area clients; including the Wingnuts, Orpheum Theatre and the Grand Opera. The move enables the organization to recruit additional venues that would also benefit from a shared system (single database) to promote and increase ticket sales.

Mercer Ticket Sales (MTS), a regional ticketing distribution company based in Macon, Georgia, also joined the ranks of Tickets.com clients operating on ProVenue. The decision to move from the ProVenueMax system and invest in the ProVenue platform, along with Access Control for the Macon Grand Opera House, allows them to extend their regional ticketing service more readily in Central Georgia and beyond.

Residents of the Opera House, The Macon Symphony, will join MTS for their 2011-2012 season as well as Mercer University Athletics, which plans to add NCAA Division 1 Football in the coming seasons to complement its strong Division 1 Basketball program.

Record Setting MLB Franchises

By John Walker, President & CEO, Tickets.com

Recently I read where the 2011 Red Sox set a club record by reaching the “3 million tickets sold” mark earlier in a season (August 5th) than ever before in the franchise’s history. And in 2010, the Twins set a franchise record for attendance in their new ballpark. What’s the connection? Winning, of course. But not lost on me is that both teams were in their inaugural seasons of using ProVenue. That says an awful lot about the folks working in the sales and ticket offices for these Clubs – being able to manage unprecedented demand on a new system. It also says a lot about ProVenue and Tickets.com. We’re enjoying the push to these limits.

Minnesota Twins Choose Digonex to Provide Dynamic Pricing for Tickets

Partnership includes integration with Tickets.com and Major League Baseball Advanced Media

Leading dynamic pricing provider, Digonex Technologies, Inc., announced that the Minnesota Twins will be utilizing their dynamic pricing services via a partnership with Tickets.com and Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) to price single games tickets in select sections this season. The Twins will utilize the Digonex Sports and Entertainment Analytical Ticketing System (SEATS™), a robust and proven dynamic pricing system for event ticketing that scientifically changes prices based upon econometric and behavioral principles.

The SEATS integration with Tickets.com and MLBAM allows MLB teams, as well as other Tickets.com clients, to quickly analyze pertinent information and adjust ticket prices. With SEATS, the Twins now have a demand-based pricing system in place enabling them to deliver the same great fan experience at just the right price.

“We are confident that SEATS will help us identify the best price for our tickets allowing us to give Twins fans the best value for their dollar at Target Field,” said Steve Smith, VP of Ticket Sales and Service for the Twins. “Fielding a solid team and pricing appropriately are key components to ensuring that our fans get the most out of every ticket.”

“Digonex is excited to team up with Tickets.com and MLBAM to provide the extensive capabilities of SEATS to the Twins and other MLB teams,” said Jan Eglen, Ph.D., CEO of Digonex Technologies. “Our patented dynamic pricing services are proven to increase revenues for our clients in excess of 20%. Along with our expanding analytic offerings, Tickets.com can now offer their clients our patented and proven SEATS service as a method for delivering the best value to their fans.”

The integration of SEATS, along with the advanced features of Tickets.com’s ProVenue platform, will allow the Twins to automate the acceptance of price recommendations from Digonex and eliminate the need for time-consuming manual price updates.

“We are happy to work with Digonex to provide our clients with true fan-driven dynamic pricing capability,” said John Rizzi, SVP of Product Management and Strategy for Tickets.com. “The SEATS platform has provided us with another time-saving, technologically advanced solution for our clients.”