Blazers, Heat renew season tickets via app

As technology keeps advancing so do ways of renewal of season tickets. NBA teams now have started making the renewal of season tickets as easy as a couple of keystrokes on your phone. This year so far two NBA teams have begun selling renewals through their mobile app. The first team to do this was the Portland Trailblazers then followed by the Miami Heat. Dewayne Hankins whose the senior vice president of brand and strategy for the Blazers said "Our biggest fans and ticket holders are comfortable with the app, and it made a lot of sense to make it about renewals as well." As of last year, Portland had a 95 percent full-season-ticket renewal rate and 80 percent of the renewals were sold through Blazers.com. It marked a notable jump from the year before when only just 20 percent of the team's season-ticket holders renewed online and the rest were sold through more traditional ways, such as mailing and phone calls. Portland Blazers senior vice president of business operations said "One of the reasons we wanted to do it was that the integration of our mobile device and traffic has far outpaced any expectations," and "we wanted to do it because we have a savvy digital fan base and it makes it more functional for fans while driving engagement. There is a convenience factor.” About 200,000 fans have downloaded the Blazers' mobile app and the app is sponsored by Les Schwab Tires. Along with the new season-ticket renewal offering, the app offers team statistics, game tracker information, and video highlights. In Miami, the new Heat offering takes fans from the app to a proprietary customized payment center. As as result, fans in Miami will be able to complete their renewals fully through their phones but there's also something that’s lost in the process, and that could in part explain why app-based season-ticket renewals have been uncharted territory until now. Bill Sutton, principal of Bill Sutton & Associates and a consultant who has worked with the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers said "Taking renewals through the app is convenient, but you are missing a fan touch point, and if a fan is positive on what they want, it is a no-brainer, but you are missing a chance to up-sell or to add on seats.” I think all teams in the NBA and in other professional sports should have a mobile app to renew full season tickets and this will produce a lot of revenue.