It has been a long four-year journey, but Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are officially the new majority owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves. And they aren’t wasting any time in making improvements to the fan experience at Timberwolves games. Rodriguez has now shed some light on their recent endeavor, which he anticipates will change the ticketing business.
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Despite the transition to digital platforms such as Ticketmaster, the practice of facilitating tickets to sporting events has traditionally stayed the same. Rodriguez grew up on that form of ticket distribution, which allowed him to watch his favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees.
“When I was 10 years old, I had no money,” Rodriguez said in a guest appearance on The Hoop Collective. “My mom said, ‘Here’s two bucks to get to Yankee Stadium. So I pay two bucks and go all the way to the upper deck.”
Of course, Rodriguez could sit contentedly in his seat and watch the game. But it would be significantly more enjoyable if he could watch the game from a closer vantage point.
“Your goal is to work your way by the seventh inning somewhere behind home plate,” Rodriguez added. Times have changed, and so has security in sporting venues, to eliminate fans from doing what Rodriguez did as a child. However, A-Rod and Marc Lore have a solution.
They have launched an app titled Jump. This app serves as the equivalent of Uber but for ticketing services. All seats for Timberwolves home games will be available on the app.
If someone leaves the arena early, they can put their tickets for sale at a fraction of the cost they bought them for. This allows fans to upgrade their seats at a cost to enjoy the game from a closer view. This innovation is something Rodriguez believes is lacking in sports.
“If we wanted to go somewhere, we would take a cab. Now we have Uber. If you’re travelling on vacation, you got to go to a hotel. Now you have Airbnb. But if you go to arenas today, we’re still operating like it is still 1975. So this gives us an opportunity to disrupt a business that is ready to be disrupted,” Rodriguez proclaimed.
We have never seen a platform like this within sporting atmospheres. Rodriguez doesn’t aspire to shelter the Jump app only for the Timberwolves. If it turns out to be a success next season, surely other teams will look to partner with Rodriguez and Lore to use the app to add their home games.
