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An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

entrepreneur.com

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Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#11

Post by sharkweek »

bluetidepro wrote: post #2

> " A fan logs into the app, which determines through geolocation the user's exact position within the venue... " In terms of the indoor venues/stadiums/etc. I have ever been to ( honestly, quite a few ), I ALWAYS have absolutely HORRIBLE reception on my iPhone ( AT&T ). I feel like this could be a massive issue for this sort of app. How can I use it, if it can't even figure out where I am or display the data inside…

Most modern stadiums are moving that direction -- http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/03/the-49...

Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#12

Post by bluetidepro »

sharkweek wrote: post #11
bluetidepro wrote: post #2

> " A fan logs into the app, which determines through geolocation the user's exact position within the venue... " In terms of the indoor venues/stadiums/etc. I have ever been to ( honestly, quite a few ), I ALWAYS have absolutely HORRIBLE reception on my iPhone ( AT&T ). I feel like this could be a massive issue for this sort of app. How can I use it, if it can't even figure out where I am or display the data inside…

Most modern stadiums are moving that direction -- http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/03/the-49...

That is true, there are some moving that way. What about the hundreds of other stadiums that are not upgrading anytime soon, though? Again, seems like a big issue they have not addressed or mentioned.

Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#13

Post by nlh »

zavulon wrote: post #7

This is a great idea, but it's bad news for me if it picks p at the stadiums I go to. I am always one of those "seat pirates" and with the app, the situation for me will change for the worse: instead of getting cheap tickets and then switching to a $200+ seat for free, I would have to pay for this from now on.

This is an example where, I hope, market equilibrium comes into play and works for the best. Like a hotel, a stadium would rather get >$0 for that $200 seat, even if they can't get the full $200. Right now, when you hop into it, they're getting $0 and you're hoping an usher doesn't check your ticket. It's sort of like jumping into an empty 1st class seat on an airplane, only you're (currently) less likely to get caught in a stadium.

Ideally, you should pay an amount that's fair to you and fair to the team without going to either edge case -- you paying $0 and "stealing" the seat, and you paying full boat.

The trick is finding that equilibrium price - and sometimes the stadium won't act logically. In theory, they should take anything >$0, but if they charge too little then people will stop paying full price in advance and just wait until the last minute. If they charge too much (I.e $150), it won't have any effect and they'll be right where they are now.

The illogical part is that they might not actually care about "revenue maximization" in the way a hotel or airline does - which is where this could all break down.

Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#14

Post by jokecamp »

Makes me think of the not-so-fun idea that stadiums would need to prevent "seat pirates." Ushers get an app that indicates if there is a butt in a seat for a ticket that was never used. They just need a sensor on the seat to indicate the status.

Much easier to enforce when you don't have to ask people to see their tickets. Everyone hates that.

Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#15

Post by craino »

This model works pretty well if you have plenty of empty seats, this could be a problem for fans who come a little bit late to the game. How do you handle fans that come late to a game?

Last year, I went to a baseball game a few innings late (maybe 2nd inning), how do you determine the time at which point to sell the seat? I would be upset if I paid $64+ bucks per ticket to have my seats sold based on getting to the stadium a little late.

Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#16

Post by roldie »

To me, this is similar to the music industry/pirating example. Find a black market, go to the source of the problem, improve the experience so that users will choose your legal method as the best alternative. In music/movies, it's providing easy-to-access, high quality streams and downloads; here it's providing a way to improve your experience at the ballpark.

Finding the right prices will be key, and take some time, but even less than optimal fee (from the stadium's perspective) will recoup some of the otherwise lost revenue.

How much can stadiums realistically expect to earn a night? Several thousand?

Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#17

Post by [deleted] »

craino wrote: post #15

This model works pretty well if you have plenty of empty seats, this could be a problem for fans who come a little bit late to the game. How do you handle fans that come late to a game? Last year, I went to a baseball game a few innings late (maybe 2nd inning), how do you determine the time at which point to sell the seat? I would be upset if I paid $64+ bucks per ticket to have my seats sold based on getting to the…

[deleted]

Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#18

Post by relic »

jokecamp wrote: post #14

Makes me think of the not-so-fun idea that stadiums would need to prevent "seat pirates." Ushers get an app that indicates if there is a butt in a seat for a ticket that was never used. They just need a sensor on the seat to indicate the status. Much easier to enforce when you don't have to ask people to see their tickets. Everyone hates that.

This made me think that thought as well. Judging by the number of ushers usually at events like this, in practice they probably wouldn't even need sensors on the seats. The ushers probably know the system better than anyone, and given a list of seats that should be empty, I'd bet that it would not take them very long at all to check if someone was sitting there.

Re: An App That Moves Sports Fans to Better Seats

#20

Post by mrgoldenbrown »

craino wrote: post #15

This model works pretty well if you have plenty of empty seats, this could be a problem for fans who come a little bit late to the game. How do you handle fans that come late to a game? Last year, I went to a baseball game a few innings late (maybe 2nd inning), how do you determine the time at which point to sell the seat? I would be upset if I paid $64+ bucks per ticket to have my seats sold based on getting to the…

The article didn't mention reselling seats that had already been paid for. Some venues always have unsold seats. (This may sound odd to those of us in places like Boston, where the Red Sox like to brag about selling out Fenway for NNN days straight.)
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