RSS
Home
Product review: Flash Seats let you attend events without a ticket
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Flash Seats Logo, provided by KSE
Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE) recently asked me to review their new method of ticket distribution called Flash Seats which are offered by Veritix software (based out of Cleveland Ohio). KSE provides the tickets through their in-house ticketing affiliate called TicketHorse. Ticket-less systems aren't anything new, and Ticketmaster has been offering TicketFast for a while but Flash Seats take this one step further.
You don't ever actually carry any sort of ticket to the event you're attending. You don't print them off at home and you don't get them at will call. For the consumer here is where you see this system's biggest advantage. When you register online you're able to input ID information for a credit card of your choice, your drivers license or even something like a student ID and THAT becomes your method of entry. You can enter multiple forms of ID and as long as you don't forget your wallet or purse then you've got nothing to worry about. Simply provide your designated ID (credit card, etc.) at the door and directions to your seat(s) are printed by the “ticket taker”. At the Pepsi Center every regular ticket taker I saw was equipped for both physical tickets and Flash Seats which makes it easy since you don't need to stand in a particular line or anything like that.
Overall, the entire process is very easy (as long as you haven't lived under a rock through the internet era) and once registered it's very easy to add tickets to your account through KSE's list of events. It's worth noting here that you can only obtain Flash Seats for venues that have partnered with Veritix Software (see the list below). While this limits the Flash Seats' capabilities, Veritix is sure to partner up with new venues in the future as front offices look for alternatives to Ticketmaster.
Now you've seen how consumers will benefit from this simple system so let's look at why KSE is pumped about Flash Seats. Keeping the tickets completely digital gives Kroenke total control over the seats and prevents scalpers from getting involved (the seats can't enter the open market). Sure you're always going to have events where people can't use their tickets, but with Flash Seats you've got to transfer your seats to someone else who's registered with this system in order to dump them. You can sell them similar to other ticket services like StubHub but fees can be tagged to seat transfers which creates another level of income for KSE (18% of the new price you set as of last week). Therefore Kroenke and company not only profit off the initial sale, but they control the secondary ticket sales market as well. Very smart Veritix....
So here's the Beckett Bottom Line: Consumers win with the ease of use and comfort that comes from using ID that you're already carrying anyway. Businesses win with complete control of their ticket inventory from purchase to entry. Scalpers lose (for now) since KSE takes one of the biggest cuts from any secondary market sales. Two thumbs up :-)
Flash Seats Venues (Teams):
Energy Solutions Arena (Utah Jazz)
Paramount Theatre
Pepsi Center (Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth)
Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland Cavaliers, Lake Erie Monsters)
Rio Tinto Stadium (Real Salt Lake)
Toyota Center (Houston Rockets)
Related Articles:
Comments
