The Intuit Dome, the new home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, opened Thursday with a Bruno Mars concert. While team officials are still keeping a tight information lid on the exact specifications of all the technical deployments, some more information about fan-facing technology was made public prior to the stadium-opening event.
One feature that had emerged in conversations about the new stadium over the summer was its impending use of facial authentication technology for entry and concession payments. According to the Intuit Dome app and the know before you go page on the venue’s website, there are some branding words for the facial authentication systems, including “Game Face ID,” “Zoom Thru,” and “Intuit Dome Identity Pass.”
From the language in the app and on the know before you go page, it appears Intuit Dome will be leaning heavily on customers downloading the team app for ticket storage and for wallet-type transactions. (The app notes that fans who complete their full app profile will get a $10 food and beverage credit for doing so.)
While we haven’t yet seen any photos of the physical Intuit Dome facial authentication systems, the signup for what sounds like facial authentication ticket verification and entry and for fast access to concession stands sounds similar to other facial authentication programs, like those using technology from Wicket, where fans look into cameras on poles or pedestals to verify a live image of their face with a stored selfie photo.
The Intuit Dome information web page says, “Game Face ID allows you to Zoom Thru the entrance so you can leave your phone in your pocket and just walk right on in. To set your Game Face ID, follow the steps during the profile completion process, take a selfie when prompted and save it. It’s that easy.”
Unfortunately, the system apparently suffered some operational issues ahead of the first concert, with local TV station KTLA reporting that problems with the facial-authentication systems and app ticketing functionality kept fans from entering, a problem that delayed the start of the concert by two hours.
The Intuit Dome is also apparently offering an alternative identification system that doesn’t use facial authentication, called “Intuit Dome Identity Pass.” The info page says: “If you don’t have Game Face ID, then your Intuit Dome Identity Pass is your key to gaining access to the venue. Identity Pass requires you to have your phone in hand and your Identity Pass ready to tap upon entry.” Ahead of the opening of doors for the Bruno Mars event, there was extensive signage directing fans to “Game Face ID” lines for entry or other lines for those who hadn’t enrolled in the program yet.
Facial authentication will also be used at concession stands
According to the know before you go page, customers will apparently be able to gain access to concession and retail stores in the arena using their face by attaching a payment method to their Game Face ID profile. For those without the profile, access to the checkout-free stores can be done by tapping a credit card at the entry gates, like most other checkout-free deployments.
For alcohol purchases at stores, the Intuit Dome said it is using age-verification systems from Clear, the same company that runs identity verification systems at airports. According to an Intuit Dome site chatbot response, “Age verification is the process we use to confirm that you are of legal age to purchase and drink alcoholic beverages. For fans that fall into the age questionability range, we have partnered with Clear to complete the age verification process for those accounts.” Though the details are not spelled out in the chatbot answer, we suspect it will be somewhat similar to a system Clear previously used at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where selfie photos and pictures of a state-issued ID were used to verify a customer’s age remotely.
Customers who don’t have a smartphone, the Intuit Dome said, can still gain entry to the stadium and the “zoom through” experiences by contacting a stadium host at entry who will help set up a wearable wristband which will unlock the same kind of walk-through services at entry and concessions.
More soon as we learn more about the technology inside the venue, the creation of Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer. According to reports, the stadium will also feature in-seat phone charging ports as well as the already-announced “halo board” video screen, which is a large dual-sided oval that hangs above the stadium floor. Seats will also have buttons that will allow fans to interact with games and other video board experiences.
If you attended the opening shows tonight or Friday, send us some photos of the technology! Any photos used will earn the sender a cool Stadium Tech Report “field scout” hat!
