Cleveland Browns fans no longer have to worry about missing a touchdown when they go to grab a sausage, with Wicket’s announcement that it is expanding its facial recognition services to enable express access concessions and biometric purchases at the team’s home games.
Already boasting a successful express beer lane program, the Browns, Aramark Sports + Entertainment and Wicket have partnered with Tapin2 ordering kiosks and Mashgin optical checkout systems to allow fans at Huntington Bank Field to visually scan a variety of concession items (a kind of hot dog recognition technology) and pay for their purchases with face biometrics.
“As the sports industry evolves, so must the gameday experience,” says Alicia Woznicki, Vice President of Design and Development for Aramark Sports + Entertainment, in a release. “Fans want to enjoy everything their stadium offers without missing any action. The success of Express Beer at the Browns’ stadium showed us that fans are interested and willing to enroll in the digital age verification process, which gave us the confidence to expand on a much larger scale and introduce a comprehensive food and beverage program with the same capabilities.”
Express Access for concessions is being deployed at twelve stations throughout the building, with the aim of reducing wait times, increasing efficiency and driving revenue across the board. While the program is 100 percent opt-in, Wicket makes enrollment easy by enabling users to register on-site in tandem with their first purchase.
“Wicket is committed to enabling a sensational event experience, and the Express Access program at Huntington Bank Field is a prime example of this,” says Alastair Partington, CEO of Wicket. “Partnering with Aramark Sports + Entertainment to enable frictionless transactions at more locations throughout the stadium allows fans to spend less time in line and more time enjoying the action on the field.”
Mainstream news weighs privacy risks but enjoys express beer, pretzel
The NFL’s use of Wicket’s facial authentication tools has gained national attention, with NBC News airing a segment on the biometric system at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons. Using selfie authentication connected to a digital wallet, reporter Priscilla Thompson shows how the biometric payments system allows her to buy beer and pretzels with zero friction.
But she also interviews Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who highlights the lack of federal privacy protections for facial authentication. And she cannot help mentioning the case of the Las Vegas police, who refuse to abide by the league’s new policy of using face biometrics for digital accreditation.
NFL officials have been insistent that they do not share any biometric data with outside parties, and Jeff Boehm of Wicket underlined the point at Identity Week in Washington earlier this month, noting that the company is privacy-first and that teams are “very intentional” in how they use face biometrics and what the trade-off is. “We are very overt about this, saying you have a choice: if you want the convenience of getting into the stadium faster, you can get your concessions faster, you can opt-in.”
Major League Soccer names Wicket to second Innovation Lab cohort
Not to be outdone by the likes of mere North American football, Major League Soccer (MLS) is also chasing innovative tech to improve player and fan experience. The league recently announced six companies selected for the second cohort of its MLS Innovation Lab, which a release says “identifies and nurtures cutting-edge startups and advanced technologies” to “enhance the league’s key priority areas of fan engagement, on-field performance, and media technology.”
Given its success in the NFL and select MLS stadiums, it is no surprise that Wicket makes the list, cited as delivering “a best-in-class guest experience with facial ticketing, payments, access control and credentialing.” In an email to Biometric Update, Wicket COO Jeff Boehm says Wicket is “excited to be part of this program as we build on our success with MLS teams like the Columbus Crew and Atlanta United to understand further and serve the unique needs of MLS.”
Also included is Edge Sound Research, a U.S. company providing multimodal, personalized audio experiences for live entertainment venues and virtual environments; Spain’s Oliver Sports and Italy’s Soccerment, which produce AI-driven player performance monitoring technology and data analytics tools; UK-based sports tech startup Sportlight, which uses LiDAR and AI technology to track and manage injury risk; and LA-based smart footwear startup Lubu Technologies.
“The Innovation lab program provides an unparalleled opportunity for high performing companies to turbo-charge their growth, and to showcase their capabilities to the soccer world,” says Chris Schlosser, MLS SVP of emerging ventures. “We are very excited to partner with this group of excellent startups from around the world to co-create new ideas and push the boundaries in sports.”
Selected companies will be given the chance to showcase their concepts in real-world environments throughout the MLS ecosystem, and some will be invited to present to MLS executives and owners at the “Future of the Game Showcase” during the 2025 MLS All-Star Game in Austin. Will Wicket be on the ticket? Get your brackets in early.
Article Topics
age verification | biometric authentication | biometric payments | biometric ticketing | biometrics | Express Entry | facial authentication | MLS | NFL | Wicket