Tickets.com chosen as the first-ever Official Ticketing Provider of Minor League Baseball

Groundbreaking partnership to provide Minor League Baseball teams with next generation ticketing technology, develop industry’s first league-wide innovation lab to deliver new ballpark experiences to fans

NEW YORK, Aug. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tickets.com today announced a new long-term partnership with Minor League Baseball® (MiLB™), the governing body for all 160 affiliated professional baseball teams, making it the organization’s first-ever Official Ticketing Provider. Effective immediately, the long-term agreement furthers Tickets.com’s commitment to the Minor Leagues™ by providing fans with a great customer experience, powered by Tickets.com’s ProVenue® platform technology on the devices fans use most.

Tickets.com chosen as the first-ever Official Ticketing Provider of Minor League Baseball

Tickets.com and MiLB also will jointly create a first-of-its-kind consumer innovation lab to develop new ideas and initiatives through technology to connect fans to their favorite ballparks, teams, players and communities, while also providing a storytelling platform of the MiLB fan experience. The innovation lab will be constructed to embrace and expand the latest technology innovations from Tickets.com and serve as an extension of Minor League Baseball’s commitment to connect its fans to the game.

“We have continuously been an industry-leader in family entertainment with over 41 million fans attending games in our ballparks annually,” said Pat O’Conner, President & CEO of Minor League Baseball. “Looking forward, we have some lofty attendance goals, and our long-term partnership with Tickets.com represents a core pillar to our overall growth strategy.”

“Technology is at the forefront of our commitment to super-serve the MiLB fan,” said Ken Babby, owner of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Akron RubberDucks and Chairman of the Baseball Internet Rights Company (BIRCO) Board. “After a 12-month process, it became clear that Tickets.com was the perfect technology partner to power our ever-evolving and growing ticketing needs.”

Tickets.com, which already has partnerships with a number of Minor League Baseball teams across all classification levels, will be providing its ProVenue® technology platform and infrastructure to participating teams over the term of the agreement, enabling widespread integration for crossover marketing and promotional opportunities. This marks the first time all participating clubs will have access to a universal ticketing technology and customer experience data, providing access to untapped business potential to drive meaningful fan experiences.

“Minor League Baseball is renowned for its creativity in crafting family friendly, affordable environments and we’re thrilled to be its first official ticketing provider,” said Joe Choti, President and CEO of Tickets.com. “Tickets.com is committed to building this partnership from a strong foundation of reliable and secure ticketing technology. We are excited to get started, working closely with Minor League Baseball and its clubs to exceed the expectations of today’s fans for user-friendly, intuitive mobile ticketing options.”

The Tickets.com ProVenue® platform is a full service, integrated ticketing solution designed to enable entertainment and sports organizations to sell tickets to consumers under the client’s own brand. MyProVenue is a next-generation web application, entirely devoted to optimizing the patron’s desktop and mobile ticketing experience. The intuitive interface streamlines everything from buying tickets to managing account preferences. It centers on the patron experience, providing a higher level of flexibility and usability compared to traditional e-commerce platforms and will further benefit MiLB and club patrons.

Tickets.com’s technology infrastructure will also provide a series of features and functionality, including interactive seat maps, ballpark pass subscription ticketing, ProVenue Access Control, ticket forwarding, Apple Wallet and email marketing tool CrowdConnect. These features are designed to further enhance the fan experience by providing flexibility for payment, speeding up access into the ballpark, allowing maximum choice on seat selection and even provide fans secure technology to share or transfer tickets to family and friends.

The new partnership also expands MiLB’s goal to continually improve the services and support it provides to clubs, including co-hosting a new annual ticketing conference – MiLB Ticketing Summit presented by Tickets.com – that will take place later this year. This event will provide a unique opportunity for key stakeholders from all 160 clubs to come together, share ideas and learn as everyone, including Tickets.com executives, shares best practices and the latest technology developments.

About Tickets.com

Tickets.com is a leading provider of fully integrated event ticketing solutions and services for thousands of top arts, entertainment, and sports organizations worldwide. Delivering the latest in ticketing technology, Tickets.com offers the advanced ProVenue™ ticketing platform, which serves the core of a comprehensive suite of integrated features, products, and services that help clients enhance ticket sales, marketing efforts, and overall customer experience. A wholly owned subsidiary of MLB Advanced Media, LP, since 2005, Tickets.com is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., and has regional offices across the U.S. and internationally in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia. For more information please visit www.tickets.com/provenue. 

About Minor League Baseball

Minor League Baseball, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, is the governing body for all professional baseball teams in the United States, Canada, and the Dominican Republic that are affiliated with Major League Baseball® clubs through their farm systems. Fans are coming out in unprecedented numbers to this one-of-a-kind experience that can only be found at Minor League Baseball ballparks. In 2016, Minor League Baseball attracted 41.3 million fans to its ballparks to see the future stars of the sport hone their skills. From the electricity in the stands to the excitement on the field, Minor League Baseball has provided affordable family-friendly entertainment to people of all ages since its founding in 1901. For more information, visit www.MiLB.com.

Media Contacts:
                    Jeff Lantz or Mary Marandi, Minor League Baseball, Communications@MiLB.com, (727) 822-6937
                    Matthew Gould, MLBAM, matthew.gould@mlb.com, (212) 485-8959