Sporting Kansas City announced today that ticketing industry leader SeatGeek will become the club’s official ticketing partner starting in 2017. As part of the new partnership, SeatGeek will serve as the official primary and resale ticketing platform for Sporting Kansas City and Children’s Mercy Park -- marking the company’s first direct ticketing partnership with a sports team or venue. The partnership between Sporting Kansas City and SeatGeek comes on the heels of the announcement of a broader partnership between Major League Soccer and SeatGeek to make the latter the Official Ticketing Partner of Major League Soccer.
SeatGeek’s new ticketing platform will bring a host of unique features to Sporting Kansas City that will make it easier for the club’s supporters to access and manage tickets to their games. Built on the open architecture and principles of cutting-edge technology businesses, the SeatGeek platform will allow Sporting KC to not only sell match tickets on SportingKC.com or via SeatGeek, but also any site or app of the club’s choice. This functionality -- historically uncommon in the ticketing space -- will allow for Sporting Kansas City supporters to buy tickets direct from the club in any number of places across the web or social media. Fan engagement partner FanThreeSixty will collaborate with Sporting KC in their efforts to maximize the new functionality and enhanced data capture associated with SeatGeek, while also overseeing data migration and integration into the platform.
"This is an exciting partnership for our club and our supporters," Sporting Kansas City President Jake Reid said. "We are always looking for ways to simplify the ticketing process for our fans and the partnership with SeatGeek will do just that. SeatGeek has been a leader in the ticket resale industry for years and we feel this partnership will revolutionize the way professional sports teams engage with supporters through the buying and selling experience."
The new SeatGeek platform will also be unique in the ticketing industry in how it opens up ticket resale verification to third parties. Historically, the resale verification solutions offered by teams and ticketing companies have been restricted to only a single officially-sanctioned resale marketplace. Under this new partnership, ticket resale verification technology will be made widely available to other ticket resale sites apart from SeatGeek alone. This will enable Sporting Kansas City supporters to securely buy or sell tickets on the resale platform of their choice, providing both buyer and seller full peace of mind that their tickets will be authentic and verified.
“We’re thrilled to announce Sporting Kansas City as SeatGeek's first sports ticketing client. Sporting KC has a championship legacy, a loyal fan base and a reputation for innovation on and off the pitch and we can’t wait to introduce their fans to a new and exciting ticketing experience in 2017,” said SeatGeek co-founder Jack Groetzinger.
Regarded as one of the most innovative and fan-focused organizations in professional sports, Sporting Kansas City has sold out 82 consecutive MLS matches and has long focused on offering its supporters innovative mobile experiences both in and outside of the stadium. The new partnership with SeatGeek will now offer Sporting Kansas City supporters a best in class mobile ticket buying experience, enabling them to buy Sporting KC tickets from their smartphone in just a few taps, use their mobile phone to gain entry to the stadium, and easily transfer tickets to friends via a text or through the SeatGeek app.
Working in conjunction with technology partner TopTix, SeatGeek will make all Sporting Kansas City and Swope Park Rangers home matches, as well as all ticketed events at Children’s Mercy Park available for purchase via SeatGeek starting in 2017.
About SeatGeek
SeatGeek (http://www.seatgeek.com) is the leading mobile-focused ticket platform that enables fans to buy and sell tickets for sports, concert, and theater events. With industry-leading mobile ticketing apps, a fan-friendly user experience and its proprietary Deal Score™ technology that helps fans identify the best ticket values on offer for a given event, SeatGeek is transforming the way that fans buy and sell tickets to their favorite events. SeatGeek is also the Official Ticketing Partner of Major League Soccer, working closely with the league to develop and introduce a new integrated ticketing platform for member clubs.
About Sporting Kansas City
Sporting KC is owned by a group of local Kansas City business and community leaders comprised of Neal Patterson, Cliff Illig, Pat Curran, Greg Maday and Robb Heineman. The club prides itself on its commitment and vision to provide high-performance entertainment and consumer experiences. Sporting Club purchased the team from the Hunt Sports Group in 2006, and under its direction has opened the world-class Children’s Mercy Training Center at Swope Soccer Village and state-of-the-art Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, while investing in the Sporting KC Academy for developing local youth into homegrown talent. Sporting KC was crowned MLS Cup champions in 2013, claiming a second league title in the team's 20-year history as a charter member of Major League Soccer, and is also a three-time winner of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (2004, 2012, 2015).
