United and Ticketmaster announce five-year deal
Oxford United supporters will have an improved matchday experience next year as the club has been working with Ticketmaster on several innovative ideas that will make matchdays easier.
The club is pleased to announce an extension of the partnership with Ticketmaster, who will power Oxford United’s ticketing platform at the Kassam Stadium for the next five years.
The partnership will see the installation of Access Manager, Ticketmaster’s access control system, within the stadium for the very first time, making it even quicker and easier for fans at the point of entry.
The key focus is to improve the experience for fans when buying a ticket and accessing the stadium. Next season will see the installation of a new network at the stadium enabling a smart access control system (Access Manager) which reads a bar code on the ticket or card.
This means that season ticket books will be replaced by a single plastic smart card containing all the supporter’s information, which can be swiped to enter the turnstiles.
Fans without season tickets will also benefit from the introduction of 'TicketFast', meaning that supporters can buy a ticket online and print their ticket at home for the very first time. That will remove the need for postage, and also significantly reduce the need for supporters to queue to collect match tickets on the day.
There will still be the ability for fans to purchase by traditional methods before games, over the phone and in person both pre-match and on a matchday, with TicketFast an additional option rather a replacement.
Over the course of the summer the club will begin to introduce a package for all season ticket holders which will see their loyalty rewarded. The aim of the loyalty package is to reward those fans who follow the U’s week in, week out at the Kassam Stadium, as well as those fans who back the team away from home.
Kevin Smith, the club’s Director of Business Operations said:
“This is a significant development as part of our commitment to improving the fan experience at Oxford United. A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to secure a new contract with Ticketmaster, who remain the number one ticketing company in the world.
“The installation of Access Manager and the upgrade of our Venuemaster software will enable our fans to buy match tickets online right up until kick off and print their own barcoded ticket, which will be scanned at the turnstile.
“Most importantly, this new system will enable us to begin our loyalty project - recording and rewarding supporter behaviour across the football club. For supporters without access to the internet or a printer, the traditional methods of purchase, in person or over the phone, will of course remain.
“We'd like to thank Ticketmaster for their continued support with this exciting project and we hope that our fans see a continued improvement in their ticket buying process."
Adam Newsam, Managing Director, Sport for Ticketmaster, added: “We are very proud to be working with Oxford United FC. Our system will give fans better and easier access to tickets.”
Work has begun on installation and it is hoped that season ticket holders will receive their new card in mid-July, ahead of the start of the 2015/16 Sky Bet League 2 season.
Ticketmaster provides ticketing and access control services to a wide range of football clubs, and other leading sports teams and venues.