Just before a recent Usher show at Inglewood’s new concert and basketball venue, fan Austyn Williams opts into the Intuit Dome’s facial recognition cameras with a snap of a selfie and a tap of a finger.
“It's going to be a new experience,” says Williams of the biometric ticketing system. He’s up for the high-tech approach. Plus, “we get to hear the sounds of Usher along with it.”
Concert and sports stadiums across the country are increasingly experimenting with digitizing the customer experience. Many require digital tickets or offer an app to navigate a visit. From New York’s Citi Field to San Diego’s Pechanga Arena, venues are asking visitors to try facial recognition for transactions like ticketing and concessions.
But the Intuit Dome is the first to pair the latest in smartphone technology with facial recognition to interact with fans in real time. And if the building’s $2 billion price tag is any indication, the Intuit Dome is betting big that customers will be okay with more data collection.
Austyn Williams says there are real pros and cons to facial recognition, but overall he’s excited to try the technology for the first time as he enters Inglewood’s Intuit Dome. Photo by Megan Jamerson/KCRW.
The Intuit Dome’s official app — which is required to get inside — links a digital ticket to a user's name, phone number, email address, and zip code. People can also add a credit card, and opt into the venue's facial recognition cameras by uploading a photo.
Those who don’t have a smartphone can pick up a tappable wristband at the entrance that offers the same capabilities.
Once in the system, your selfie is linked to your ticket and credit card — a feature called “Game Face ID.” The idea is that you never have to take your phone or wallet out of your pocket. Facial recognition cameras will allow you to walk right into the stadium without scanning a ticket, and since concession stands don’t have cashiers, cameras will record what you take and charge you accordingly.
Chris Wallace, chief communication officer for the Clippers NBA team, which uses the Intuit Dome as its home, says in an email to KCRW that they use the app’s data and facial recognition to “help in the fan’s experience.”
For example, Clippers enthusiasts might see a personalized greeting flash across a screen when they take their seat in the Wall, an area reserved for diehard devotees. The app could send a coupon for concessions if a decibel monitor in their seat picks up that they are cheering loudly. Or more practically, the app will send a push notification if drivers forget to put their license plate number in after buying on-site parking.
That’s the upside for visitors. In trade, the venue collects a lot of data. This can include photos taken on-site, employment info, and location, according to the privacy policy. Wallace tells KCRW they don’t sell any data, including facial data, to third parties, but they would share information with law enforcement in the case of legal proceedings.
Residents of California have the legal right to ask for their data to be deleted, and the Intuit Dome provides an online form for that. Wallace adds that if you erase a selfie from the app, it’s immediately gone from their system.
There are very clear business incentives for collecting this kind of data, says Larry Vincent, a marketing professor at USC Marshall School of Business: “It’s no longer a faceless ticket.”
Businesses can create personalized experiences to build brand loyalty. Contactless ticketing and concessions can make for shorter lines and more sales. And because a ticket is linked to a person’s account, this can discourage ticket resale and fraud.
“We're just scratching the surface on how this can be used, and it can quickly go to a sci-fi place that is creepy,” says Vincent. “Marketers have to really think about, ‘Okay, I can do this. Should I do this?’”
A lot of privacy experts urge caution. Data breaches happen. Studies show facial recognition can amplify racial bias against people of color.
Then there’s what’s happening at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, which uses facial recognition software to ban attorneys involved in lawsuits against its parent company from visiting the venue.
A bigger picture concern is that it desensitizes people to more surveillance in their lives, says Emerald Tse, a lawyer and fellow at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law. “Then it would get harder and harder to object when this technology is implemented in more serious contexts, such as when they're attached to essential services” like government benefits, she says.
Tse says she’s seen some states use facial recognition in connection with unemployment benefits. Also, to manage immigration cases for people trying to enter the U.S., the federal government has rolled out a mobile app that collects sensitive information like facial data, voice prints, and location.
All of these issues make visiting places like the Intuit Dome a hard no for Wendy Anguiano of Orange County. She usually attends a few concerts a year, but doesn’t think people should have to give up so much personal information to be in public spaces.
“This is not normal,” says Anguiano. “We do have a say. We can say, ‘This is the line I won't cross. I will not download this app. I will not go to the Dome.’”
Aiesha Moore (left) and Genesis Woods decided seeing Usher was worth the data collection. Photo by Megan Jamerson/KCRW.
Back at the Usher concert, Genesis Woods of Long Beach wears an “I love Jesus and Usher” T-shirt as she waits for the doors to open. Woods says yes, the tech in the app is a little creepy, but ultimately she doesn’t care.
Tonight’s concert is sold out, and like most people approaching the entrance, Woods walks into the line for facial recognition ticketing.
“What are we going to do?” says Woods. “We want to see Usher.”
She’s typical: Wallace says by the end of most events, between 70% to 75% of people opt into facial recognition.