More ballparks to get biometric entry through MLB’s Go-Ahead Entry

Major League Baseball continues to grow its facial recognition entry program with biometrics from NEC. An article in Sports Business Journal looks at the league’s deployment of facial recognition at the recent All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, where MLB collaborated with T-Mobile to equip biometric Go-Ahead Entry kiosks with 5G network capability.

Go-Ahead Entry is now live in five ballparks across the league. Fans use the MLB Ballpark app to take a selfie, which is then used to gain access through facial recognition kiosks that greet them by name. The writer of the SBJ piece, Joe Lemire, says the entry process in Arlington took him around 20 seconds.

“Whenever people see it, it’s one thing, but when they experience it, it’s a different thing,” says Karri Zaremba, MLB SVP of product for ballpark experience and ticketing. There’s a surprise-and-delight element with seeing their name or hearing their name greeted personally by the gate attendants.”

Japan’s NEC provides biometrics for Go-Head Entry, the end-to-end system of which is proprietary to MLB. In previous years, the league has experimented with facial recognition from various providers: Wicket has provided face biometrics for entry to New York Mets games and Clear has done the same for Cleveland Guardians games.

MLB is planning to introduce Go-Ahead Entry at three or four more parks this year. Among them is Kauffman Stadium, home to the Kansas City Royals, which will roll out facial authentication for ticket holders. An article in the Kansas City Star quotes a news release from the team confirming that “MLB Go-Ahead Entry allows opted-in ticket holders to enter the ballpark without stopping to scan their tickets from their mobile device, whether alone or in a group.”

The league says its facial recognition tools are designed to conform with the strictest state privacy laws, to ensure it is compliant in any deployment. Enrolment is limited to adults, but only one member of a ticketed group needs to be registered, meaning a parent who has opted in can escort in a group of children if their tickets are connected.

Penalties coming for rampaging soccer fans identified through biometrics

Biometric ticketing and access control, however, may not get a better advertisement than the recent Copa America final in Miami, where thousands of fans gained unauthorized entry to Hard Rock stadium by storming gates, climbing walls and even climbing through the vents. The breach caused chaos at the event, causing it to be delayed by more than an hour. Now, according to Bein Sports, some 7,000 fans that have been identified via the venue’s biometric cameras face consequences that could range from fines to deportation.

Article Topics

biometric ticketing  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  face biometrics  |  identity verification  |  MLB Go-Ahead Entry  |  NEC  |  selfie biometrics