New Timberwolves Owners Announce ‘Innovative’ New Ticketing Experience For Games

The new Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez held a press conference this afternoon (July 11) to discuss a number of topics as they officially take over as the team's new owners.

Alex and Marc officially took over as controlling owners of both the Wolves and the Lynx a couple of weeks ago, and this media event is their first one in this new role.

Lore and Rodriguez discussed a variety of different topics about the teams as they set an agenda for the teams and the fan experience. Rodriguez commented that he wants to "bring a winner to Minnesota" in their opening remarks, but had a lot more to say about their vision as they take over.

One of the topics was innovation, rethinking things for the team and the fan experience to "separate themselves" from the rest of the teams out there.

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One of the things that grabbed my attention during their press conference is something that will give fans a unique opportunity to score a lot better seats than they might normally be able to afford at games as part of a whole new ticketing experience they'll roll out this year.

Fan experience innovations for games

Marc shared that he and Alex just launched a new company called Jump, which he described as a "dynamic, real-time integrated ticketing exchange" that improves on existing options and includes a full fan experience.

The plan is to use the Timberwolves and Lynx as a case study to sell other teams on this direct-to-consumer ticket platform.

They said this is the "first of many" steps they are taking as owners to show they are serious about trying new and different things and being leaders.

This new platform includes the option to "dynamically move to any seat in the arena in real time". Lore went on to offer the following example to explain how that works.

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He described a situation where a fan leaves in the fourth quarter of a game, leaving a seat open. That seat would then become available for people in the arena in a different seat to upgrade to that now-vacant seat for a nominal fee.

Lore used the example of as little as "$5 to $10" as a dollar amount you might expect to pay to upgrade your seats mid-game as they become available. The price will, of course, vary depending on where in the arena you want to upgrade.

The goal is for the bottom of the arena - the best seats - to always be filled, even as people leave.

The plan is to roll out this new app, which includes that upgrade option, for the upcoming season.

Where did the idea come from?

Rodriguez explained that it is an app much like Uber and Airbnb, where you can watch for available seats, select and buy them, and move down to them.

He told a story from his young years as a kid buying the cheapest possible ticket and "working his way down" to lower seats, trying to avoid being caught by ushers and getting in trouble.

Alex recounted remembering as a kid how frustrating it was watching a game from high-up seats when there were empty seats closer to the action. This element of their new app and fan experience gives fans the chance to take advantage of those empty seats in a way that won't get you in trouble with the ushers - all for a nominal fee, of course.