MLB Hopes Facial Recognition Program Scores With Fans

As the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason kicks off this week, the league hopes to expand its facial recognition entry program known as Go-Ahead Entry.

“Go-Ahead Entry is a completely optional, fast and easy, hands-free, free-flow entry experience, where fans don’t need to stop or get their phone out to scan a ticket,” MLB spokesperson Karri Zaremba, senior vice president of product – ballpark experience and ticketing, told PYMNTS. “The main goals of Go-Ahead Entry are to address fan feedback about having to wait in lines at the gate and convert what was previously a potentially frustrating experience into a welcoming and delightful experience.”

Go-Ahead Entry is available at seven stadiums for the following teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays.

To enroll in Go-Ahead Entry, fans can go to the MLB Ballpark app where they can take a selfie, which is converted into a unique numerical token that’s associated with the fan’s MLB account, Zaremba said. This makes any tickets the fan has eligible for Go-Ahead Entry at any ballpark where the program is available.

“The image itself is immediately discarded,” Zaremba said. “Then, when a fan walks through a clearly marked Go-Ahead Entry lane, the Go-Ahead cameras, enabled by our service provider, will perform the same process to see if there is a match. Go-Ahead Entry enrollees will then have any tickets for that event automatically validated. Go-Ahead Entry is typically paired with free-flow security screening technology to ensure the entire entry experience is free-flow, so all fans have to do is simply walk straight in.”

The information MLB collects via the program is secure, according to a frequently asked questions section on the Go-Ahead Entry webpage.

“We have implemented technical, administrative and physical security measures designed to protect fan information from unauthorized access, disclosure, use and modification that follow or exceed industry standards for security,” the page said.

Enrollment in the program is restricted to adults, but children can enter the game with an enrolled adult as part of a ticketed group if their tickets are linked.

“The overwhelming majority of fan feedback has been extremely favorable, with 98% of fans surveyed who have used Go-Ahead Entry saying their experience was positive,” Zaremba said. “In addition to Go-Ahead Entry being 68% faster than traditional ingress lanes, MLB Clubs say Go-Ahead Entry also provides a ‘surprise and delight’ moment to fans entering the ballpark, where gate attendants can greet the fan by name as they welcome them to the game. The most consistent feedback we’ve received from fans is, ‘When will this be at all gates?’ So, we’re seeing a lot of demand for Go-Ahead Entry to be available across more gate locations and entrances.”

During the offseason, MLB will evaluate the implementation of Go-Ahead Entry at more stadiums, Zaremba said.

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