Flash seats tickets are a form of digital ticketing used by several professional sports teams and venues. They allow fans to buy, sell, and transfer tickets online without needing a paper ticket. Flash seats tickets are managed through a team or venue’s official ticketing site and app.
How do flash seats tickets work?
With flash seats ticketing, each ticket bought by a fan is tied to their account and linked to their name. Fans can access their tickets through the team/venue’s app by logging into their account. The tickets live within the app and no paper ticket is issued. Fans can view their tickets, manage them, and securely transfer them to other users.
On game day, fans open the app and display their digital ticket to be scanned for entry. The scanner validates the barcode and that the ticket belongs to the account holder for entry. Flash seats tickets cannot be duplicated or forged like paper tickets.
What are the benefits of flash seats tickets?
Flash seats ticketing offers several benefits over traditional paper tickets:
- Convenience – Tickets are digital and accessible anytime through the app. Fans don’t need to worry about losing a paper ticket.
- Security – Tickets are tied to an account and can’t be duplicated. Scannable barcodes prevent fraud.
- Transferability – Tickets can be easily transferred to other users through the app up until event time.
- Integration – The ticketing platform is directly integrated with the team/venue’s system and customer accounts.
- Analytics – Teams and venues can better track ticketing data and trends to improve operations.
- Environmental – Eliminates wasted paper and printing for tickets.
How are flash seats tickets transferred?
A key benefit of flash seats is the ability to securely transfer tickets to other users. There are a few ways fans can transfer flash seats tickets:
- Direct transfers – Fans can transfer tickets directly to someone in their contact list on the app. The recipient must have an account with the team/venue.
- List for sale – Fans can list tickets for sale at a set price on the team/venue’s marketplace. Other fans can securely buy them.
- Ticketmaster Transfer – For Ticketmaster-issued flash seats, fans can transfer to anyone with an email via Ticketmaster.
All transfers are executed within the official ticketing platforms and update automatically across accounts. This allows easy exchange while preventing fraud or duplicates.
What teams and venues use flash seats tickets?
While not yet universally adopted, flash seats digital ticketing is gaining popularity among major sports teams and venues. Some notable adopters include:
League | Teams Using Flash Seats |
---|---|
NBA | Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards |
NHL | Colorado Avalanche |
NFL | Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans |
MLB | Colorado Rockies |
Venues such as the Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee Bucks) and Nationwide Arena (Columbus Blue Jackets) also utilize flash seats ticketing. Adoption is expected to continue growing as teams and fans become more accustomed to digital ticketing.
What are the drawbacks of flash seats tickets?
While flash seats offer advantages, there are some potential drawbacks to consider:
- Technological barriers – Fans must have a smartphone and be comfortable with apps to access tickets.
- Fees – Teams and venues can charge fees for ticket transfers.
- Last minute transfers – Transfers can be cut off hours before an event, preventing last minute exchanges.
- Internet issues – Connectivity problems could prevent accessing tickets.
- User error – Fans must be careful not to delete or lose access to the app and tickets.
Are paper tickets still available?
In most cases, teams and venues still offer fans the option of receiving paper tickets if they prefer not to use flash seats. However, paper tickets sometimes come with additional fees compared to the flash seats digital option.
The NFL Denver Broncos are one team that went fully digital in 2019 requiring all tickets to be flash seats only. This possibly foreshadows more teams going exclusively digital in the future as technology improves and fans become accustomed to it.
Can flash seats tickets be converted to paper?
Most teams and venues do not allow already purchased flash seats tickets to be converted from digital to paper form. The barcode and ticket information is uniquely tied to the purchaser’s account.
However, some teams like the Denver Nuggets allow season ticket holders to pay a fee to request a commemorative paper ticket while still using their flash seats for entry. But the commemorative paper ticket cannot be scanned for entry in place of the digital version.
How do you sell flash seats tickets?
If you wish to sell flash seats tickets that you can no longer use, you have a couple options:
- List them for sale in the team or venue’s resale marketplace within the ticketing app/site. Fans can securely purchase your tickets and have them transferred to their account.
- Transfer the tickets to someone you know who can then list them for resale themselves on the marketplace.
- For select teams, transfer your tickets to Stubhub who will list them for resale on your behalf and remit earnings back to you.
Selling directly on the team/venue marketplace often provides the best protections against fraud, duplicates, and ensures seamless transfers.
Can you print flash seats tickets?
Flash seats tickets are digital-only and cannot be printed out as valid tickets. The barcodes are tied to your account and will not scan if duplicated. Some teams like the Denver Nuggets allow you to purchase commemorative paper tickets, but these cannot be used for entry.
If you wanted a paper keepsake to remember an event by with flash seats, you would need to purchase a commemorative ticket in addition to your digital flash seats ticket used for entry.
Conclusion
Flash seats offer a more convenient, secure, and transferable digital ticketing solution over traditional paper tickets. They require fans to adapt to using technology for ticket management and entry. But most major teams offer assistance and options if fans prefer paper tickets.
Flash seats help prevent ticket fraud through tied account barcodes while also giving teams valuable analytics. Adoption is increasing across pro sports and should continue as more fans get accustomed to an increasingly digital world.