Technology / 04.03.18
Got Tickets? Doesn't Matter With Paperless Trend
Access Staff
Original article published on the San Francisco Chronicle (04/03/18) by John Diaz
San Francisco Chronicle editor John Diaz foresees the eventual demise of printed tickets in favor of digital ones as a major loss for people who appreciate paper tickets. He cites the recent disclosure that five National Football League (NFL) teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, will go paperless this season, while the rest of the NFL will follow next year. Diaz also writes that the sports teams know better, as a printed ticket is "an acknowledgment that the tickets themselves have value to those who attend the games — the paying customers who are the franchise of the franchises." Diaz also says the price of paper tickets is a striking feature, particularly their affordability — which he suggests is the teams' real reason for going paperless, as opposed to officially stated reasons such as security. "In the pre-digital era, you either had a ticket to the event or you didn't," Diaz says. "There was no StubHub, SeatGeek or other convenient secondary market. This made it a buyer's market, especially at the 11th hour." Diaz also dismisses the claim that digital tickets save teams money when they can easily cover the cost of printing tickets, while their argument that paperless ticketing is more environmentally friendly is equally spurious. "The main motivation for getting rid of paper tickets is inescapable: It's about profit," he concludes.
Read the full story on the San Francisco Chronicle website.
Tags: Sports , Paperless , Security , News , Stadium , StubHub