TORONTO—The Toronto Blue Jays have turned to technology to help boost ticket sales.
The American League baseball team is using what it dubs “cyber-sellers.” Equipped with wireless credit card equipment, a cyber-seller can deal tickets in seconds on the sidewalk, sending customers right to the admission gate.
The Blue Jays are the only pro sports team to use the ploy, now in its second year. The mobile ticket dispenser is manufactured by U.S.-based Xbernaut.
Paul Allamby, the Blue Jays’ senior vice president of marketing and sales, said the cyber-sellers are the team’s way of beating scalpers, people who sell baseball tickets illegally, at their own game. “Basically, scalpers were ripping off Americans who came up here to see our games,” said Allamby. “We didn’t want people to have to stand in line, so we equipped our staff with wireless equipment. They could swipe credit cards and just go to a fast-track window. Now, we’re offering a bar-coded coupon so fans can just go right to the gate.”
Rogers Communications, the club’s owner, is also the majority owner of Rogers AT&T Wireless, one of Canada’s largest mobile carriers.
