Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) has extended its partnership with Ticketmaster to serve all Denver-based KSE teams and venues.
The long-term deal will provide venue and ticketing technology to major league teams Denver Nuggets of the NBA, NHL team Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids of the MLS and lacrosse team Colorado Mammoth. The deal also covers the Pepsi Center, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Paramount Theater and 1STBANK Center venues.
The news, which follows an initial one-year deal, includes the introduction of Ticketmaster Presence, the digital ticketing and access control platform, to its venues. This move will enable KSE venues to use SafeTix, the Live Nation-owned company’s latest security feature that uses an encrypted barcode that automatically refreshes every few seconds.
KSE’s EVP and chief ticketing and strategy officer, David Burke, said: “Providing the best possible and most secure fan experience in the region is KSE’s top priority.
“Ticketmaster’s innovative ticketing technology is an integral part of providing the most seamless live event experience for fans from increased personalisation to safely buying, selling and sharing their tickets to entering our venues safely and conveniently.”
SafeTix also provides fans with the ability to enter venues using NFC technology and allows users to transfer tickets on their mobile device.
Kurt Schwartzkopf, EVP and co-head of sports for Ticketmaster, North America, added: “We’re honoured to continue our partnership with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment with the ability to provide their fans with a frictionless live event experience combined with a never-before-seen level of ticket security.
“Our Ticketmaster Presence and SafeTix technologies streamline everything from the ticket purchase and management process to contactless venue entry to effectively eliminating ticket fraud, all while providing fans with the kind of personalisation we all want as they enjoy the safest and best ticketing options possible.”
Ticketmaster has been working with Kroenke since it acquired Rival, a ticketing company co-founded by former Ticketmaster chief executive Nathan Hubbard. The deal got the nod from the US’s Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust division in April.
Rival was assisted by Ticketmaster after encountering problems in its major contract with KSE last summer. Rival encountered difficulties with a large data migration from its previous partner, AEG’s AXS, after it assumed the contract to operate Altitude, which runs ticketing at Kroenke venues. The deal with Altitude was Rival’s first agreement when it was announced in January 2019.
After Kroenke’s contract with AEG expired in July 2019, the sports company instead transitioned to Ticketmaster. This apparently began acquisition talks between Rival’s owners and the Live Nation firm.