January 30th, 2017
Timbers and SeatGeek team up to offer fans a brand new ticketing experience starting with the 2017 season
New York, NY and Portland, OR (January 30, 2017) The Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer and ticketing industry leader SeatGeek announced today a landmark partnership. As part of the new agreement, SeatGeek will serve as the club’s Official Fan Ticket Marketplace starting with the 2017 season and will become the Official Ticketing Provider in 2019. This comes on the heels of a July 2016 partnership that made SeatGeek the Official Ticketing Partner of Major League Soccer.
SeatGeek’s newly launched primary ticketing platform, SeatGeek Open, features a radically different approach from that of industry incumbents. Built on the open architecture and principles of cutting-edge technology businesses, the SeatGeek platform will allow the Timbers to not only sell match tickets on Timbers.com or through SeatGeek, but also via any site or app of the club’s choice. This functionality -- historically uncommon in the ticketing space -- will allow for Timbers supporters to buy tickets direct from the club in any number of places across the web or social media.
"We are thrilled to be entering into this innovative partnership with SeatGeek," said Mike Golub, president of business for the Timbers. "Their industry-leading technology, mobile expertise and open ticketing ecosystem will make the entire ticketing experience easier and more efficient for our fans."
The new SeatGeek platform will also be unique in the ticketing industry in its efforts to eliminate fraud by opening up ticket resale verification to third parties. Historically, the resale verification solutions offered by teams and ticketing companies have been restricted to only a single officially-sanctioned resale marketplace. Under this new partnership, ticket resale verification technology will be made widely available to other ticket resale sites apart from SeatGeek alone. This will enable Timbers supporters to securely buy or sell tickets on the resale platform of their choice, providing both buyer and seller full peace of mind that their tickets will be authentic and verified.
Most immediately, for the 2017 season, SeatGeek will bring a range of unique features to the Timbers that will make it easier for the club’s supporters to access and manage their game tickets. The company’s best in class mobile experience will make it easier than ever for Timbers supporters to buy or sell tickets on their smartphone in just a few taps, use their mobile phone to gain entry to the stadium, and easily transfer tickets to friends via a text or through the SeatGeek app.
Widely known for having one of the most loyal and dynamic fanbases in all of sports, Portland has sold out every single one of its MLS home games since entering the league in 2011. As the Official Fan Ticket Marketplace, SeatGeek will offer access to a wide breadth of inventory as the number one destination for Timbers tickets. Fans can expect the best selection of seating options at various price points, even for the season’s most competitive games.
“The Timbers have demonstrated a relentless focus on fans. We will further the fan experience by providing mobile-first features that let users buy, sell, and transfer tickets,” said SeatGeek co-founder Russ D’Souza. “Portland is among the growing number of teams that recognize the importance of an open system.”
About SeatGeek
SeatGeek (http://www.seatgeek.com) is the leading mobile-focused ticket platform that enables fans to buy and sell tickets for sports, concert, and theater events. With industry-leading mobile ticketing apps, a fan-friendly user experience and its proprietary Deal Score™ technology that helps fans identify the best ticket values on offer for a given event, SeatGeek is transforming the way that fans buy and sell tickets to their favorite events. SeatGeek is also the Official Ticketing Partner of Major League Soccer, working closely with the league to develop and introduce a new integrated ticketing platform for member clubs.