Ticketmaster Installs Self-Serve Kiosks Outside TWC Arena

By Don Muret, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Ticketmaster has installed two self-serve kiosks outside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte that enable Bobcats fans and other patrons to buy event tickets 24 hours a day and pick up tickets they have purchased online or by phone. The installation, Ticketmaster's first at an NBA arena, provides the opportunity for fans to avoid surcharges by buying tickets at the kiosks, said Rik Knopp, Ticketmaster Mid-Atlantic GM. Those fees range from $3-10 depending on the event, said Bobcats Dir of Corporate Communications Michael Thompson. Ticketmaster owns the machines. The installation costs are part of its corporate partnership with the Bobcats, Thompson said. The kiosks have an average transaction time of three minutes. The goal is to make the transaction more convenient for the consumer, Knopp said. The kiosks feature touch-screen technology and a printer with instant ticket production capabilities. Credit cards are processed for ticket purchases and identifying will-call orders; there is no cash in the machines, he said. The two kiosks are on Trade Street outside the Bobcats team store. Two more machines will be set up by the end of the month on Fifth Street, on the other side of the arena. Knopp said company officials are discussing opportunities to install similar units outside RBC Center in Raleigh, home of the Hurricanes. The Braves use Ticketmaster kiosks at Turner Field, and Tickets.com, a competitor, has machines in use outside Nationals Park in DC, among other teams and venues. The Braves' kiosks are for will call only, but the club hopes they will be available to sell tickets soon, Braves Dir of PR Beth Marshall said.

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