Go Ahead Entry at Target Field will use facial recognition for lines
Facial recognition entry added to Target Filed
Target Field is adding "Go Ahead Entry" to four gates in 2025, hoping the facial recognition technology will keep improve line times at entry.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - You use your face to unlock your phone, and now Major League Baseball (MLB) figures you might as well be able to use it to get into a game.
Face first
What we know:
At four entry gates at Target Field, the Twins have installed a system called "Go Ahead Entry" for 2025. The new technology scans your face as you walk through, and matches it to your MLB Ballpark app – no need to slow down or stop.
Screens at the gates then show your name and the number of tickets you have, so a group can all get in together without stopping to scan each person’s ticket.
"We saw that 95% of fans attend games as a group and two-thirds of those groups are families," said Karri Zaremba, MLB Senior VP of Ballpark Experience and Ticketing. "So this had to be able to process large groups of ticket holders all at the same time."
No pictures stored
How it works:
To use the system, you need an account in the MLB Ballpark app, where you scan your face and connect your tickets.
MLB stresses that for those concerned about data privacy issues, no picture is kept, not even in the app itself.
"The fan takes [a] live selfie in the ballpark app and that’s converted into a unique numerical token which is associated with their account," explained Zaremba. "And the image itself is immediately discarded, so we do not store any images of fans to ensure safety and security."
Twins, Brewers add Go Ahead Entry
By the numbers:
MLB started testing the system in Philadelphia in 2023 and found that the facial authentication gates moved fans 2.5 times faster than traditional ticket scans.
Last season, the technology expanded to seven ballparks.
This season, the Twins and Brewers are new additions with more to come.
MLB says in fan surveys the system gets a 94% satisfaction score, but they stress it will still be optional to use.
What's next:
FOX 9 asked MLB if this tech would expand to other uses, such as using facial recognition to buy a hot dog or a beer.
A spokesperson said they’re always looking at ways to improve fan experiences, and if this can speed up entry, it could certainly speed up concessions.
But the prospect remains to be seen.
"We test out a lot of things to see what resonates most with our fans," MLB said in a statement.