Fans attending Heat games at American Airlines Arena this coming season "will only be able to get through the gate with tickets on their phones," according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. The Heat are the first team in the NBA "with mobile-only entry." The T'Wolves and Cavaliers are among teams that have "mobile-only ticketing, but they permit fans to use a driver's license and credit card to get in." The Heat said that it "decided to adopt the system after finding that roughly one in three fans entered with a mobile ticket last season." The ticket on the phone is "still transferable." The Canadiens drew heat last month after announcing a similar change to digital-only ticketing" (ESPN.com, 8/10). NBC Sports Bay Area’s Ray Ratto said, “If they don't have a backup plan for this, then I think you're going to make a lot of angry fans.” NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole: “Just because one-third of your fans are doing this, I'm not sure there's a rush to make 100% of your fans to do it.” NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kelli Johnson added, “This is also a way for them to monitor their fans and get valuable information on who is sitting in that seat” (“The Happy Hour,” NBC Sports Bay Area, 8/10).
