The Digital Transformation Of Real Betis: Ticketing And Governance Via An App
February 18, 2020
It’s not only on the pitch that Real Betis has been making progress in recent years. At the same time as the Seville-based club has achieved strong league positions and experienced European campaigns, the club’s IT department has been introducing technology that creates better experiences for its fanbase while also boosting revenues.
The approach taken by the team is radical and careful at the same time. On the one hand, the way the club is being run is being overhauled so that key processes can be done digitally. On the other, traditional means of communication are still maintained to ensure that no fan is left behind. By managing this delicate process and achieving positive results across multiple departments, Real Betis has become a pioneer in LaLiga that other clubs are following.
“We’ve made things easier for the fans and in doing so we have transformed the club,” said IT Manager Antonio Jiménez López. “We’ve left behind the old footballing model, where everything involved physically going to offices and waiting in queues, and we’ve moved to a 100 percent online model.”
Boosted attendance
One of the most visible examples of the benefits of the new digital developments is with stadium attendance. “We’re absolutely mad about empty seats, we don’t want empty seats in our stadium,” explained Jiménez López, who noted that the IT department has achieved a 50% rise in average stadium attendance since the 2016/17 season. Its current average attendance of 48,000 is the fourth-highest in Spain, the club claims.
This has been achieved by allowing season ticket holders who can’t make it to a specific match to share their ticket with a friend or family member through the club’s official app, change the status of the ticket (from child to adult, for example), or to make the ticket available for resale. In this case, the club splits profits 50/50 with the ticket holder, with funds received the following month in their bank account.
With 50,000 registered season ticket holders, along with a waiting list of 7,000, Betis is one of the most faithfully followed clubs in Spain and numbers are increasing. The club claims that the majority of these already use the club’s official app and that adding a digital ticket service has proved extremely successful.
“We’ve significantly increased stadium attendance, which boosts the club’s economic results and also the international image of Real Betis,” added club communications director Julio Jiménez Heras. “The way the stadium looks during home matches is attractive and it makes people watching on TV want to experience our matches in person.”
Other ticketing matters now managed through the app include purchasing away matches or renewing season tickets. This avoids the need for fans to physically queue outside the stadium, while providing equal opportunities for fans who do not live close by. The club is also thinking of fans who are not comfortable with digital technology, providing a traditional phone line for followers who request it.
Paperless ticket entry
To complement its digital ticketing initiatives, Real Betis has updated its in-stadium technology to make it possible for fans to enter the ground without a paper ticket. Thanks to new readers at the turnstile, fans can now simply scan a QR code, drastically reducing the crowds that could occur before matches.
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