Eagles To Be First NFL Team Using App For In-Seat Concession Ordering

Eagles will utilize Bypass Lane app during Thursday's preseason game

The Eagles will become the first NFL team to activate a smartphone application for in-seat ordering of food and drink during Thursday's preseason opener at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles signed a deal with Bypass Lane, an Austin-based firm whose investors include MLB Rangers President & CEO Nolan Ryan. The Rangers are one of seven major league teams using the technology. The Eagles will pay Bypass Lane a licensing fee. The application, co-branded with the Eagles and Bypass marks, will be restricted to the team's 8,000 club seat holders this season, according to Eagles Senior VP & CMO Tim McDermott. If successful, the technology could be expanded to other areas of the stadium, McDermott said. Users of iPhones and Android and BlackBerry devices can download the free Bypass Lane application, and it is also accessible through the mobile Web. After completing the download, club seat holders select Lincoln Financial Field from the list of Bypass venues. They set up an account with their credit card information and identify their seat location before ordering food and drink. After placing their order, club seat holders will receive a confirmation receipt and a message with the approximate time of delivery to their seats. There are no customer transaction fees for using the system, and the food and drink prices are the same on the application as they are at the concession stand, McDermott said.

TEN MINUTES OR LESS: Eagles officials are confident their concessionaire, Aramark, can deliver Bypass Lane orders within 10 minutes. Bypass Lane was one of four tech vendors the Eagles tested dating to the final regular-season home game of '10. The Eagles ultimately chose Bypass and conducted further tests at Lincoln Financial Field this summer for three concerts, an international soccer match and Monster Jam, a monster truck event. For each of those events, the Bypass Lane application was downloaded 300-400 times, and up to 250 concessions transactions were completed for a single event. Fan surveys gave the new technology a thumbs-up, prompting the Eagles to roll out the technology starting with Thursday's game against the Ravens. The limited tests also produced per caps "slightly above average" for those events, McDermott said. The Eagles join the Rangers, Coyotes, Hurricanes, Mavericks, Stars and Wild as Bypass Lane clients. In addition, the tech vendor also has deals with Stanford Univ., eight minor league baseball teams and three college basketball arenas.