The upcoming football season will see Bristol Rovers begin a new partnership with Axess and Ticketmaster, which will deliver the English League One club’s ticketing and access control at The Memorial Stadium.
The new partnership will see the introduction of Axess software and scanning hardware for access control at the stadium.
Axess has worked with venues across the globe including Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland and BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Across the summer, new ticket scanners will be installed at all turnstiles and stewards will be equipped with upgraded hand scanners.
Peter Oliver, managing director of Axess UK, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Bristol Rovers and Ticketmaster as we introduce Axess’ high-quality stadium access control system into the UK market. In an established market, innovation, quality and reliability is of equal importance as we move into the era of digital tickets.”
Rovers’ retail and ticketing manager, Pete Weymouth, added: “Being able to work with one company for ticketing and fan entry into the stadium will make processes at the club a lot smoother. We suffered some challenges at the start of last season, and it took a lot of work going between the numerous companies we were working with.
“Since that point, Ticketmaster has worked with us to get us back to where we should be, and now we’ll move forward with the new Axess system, I am confident of delivering a service to our fans next season that exceeds their expectations.”
The club witnessed a record number of season ticket-holders for the 2022-23 season. Following the announcement of the new stand in the south section of the stadium, the club has opted to issue new season tickets for the 2023-24 season, meaning the correct access control processes were imperative.
The Axess products will offer fans the choice of card, ticket, phone or NFC-based ‘contactless’ tickets.
Christian Heidegger, head of Axess’ international stadia business unit, said: “The UK is a large and established market for stadium access, but since the COVID-19 pandemic requirements have changed, and we are delighted to be taking our first digital steps with Bristol Rovers.”
Rovers’ head of sales, David Bright, added: “For us it was simple, we made the decision to go with Ticketmaster for tickets and access control and, for this to happen, we had to invest in Axess products for the stadium.
“In the first meeting with them, we were very impressed with their team, their tech and their eagerness to work with us in partnership, not just a transaction. When fans come back to The Mem next season, we want to show them that we haven’t sat on our hands all summer, we’ve put the work in to raise the standards. The Memorial Stadium is their home, so it’s making sure that we deliver a product that they can say they are proud of when talking to other fans.”