Sport Ticketing and memorabilia on Blockchain
The blockchain is about to revolutionize these industries — ticketing and memorabilia — through a granularly-tracked process of procurement and distribution.
Sports memorabilia is itself a billion-dollar industry; one where authenticity is the most prized possession. Fans are not paying for just any jersey: they want that jersey from the game. They want to own a piece of history — the dirt, the grass stains, the… perspiration? (ok, memorabilia can get a little weird if you think about it).
Fans desperately care about these items, so much so that a viable black market exists to drive their prices. Who can forget the frantic manhunt that ensued following the theft of Tom Brady’s jersey from Super Bowl XLIX? That single article of clothing yielded cover stories on newspapers and an international investigation by the FBI.
You’d think by now, we would have a mature market for such expensive gear, and yet, ask Eli Manning and the New York Giants about authenticity. On second thought, better not. That trial is still ongoing.
If an NFL star is directly involved in efforts to circumvent authenticity, just imagine how much fraud exists across the scope of memorabilia trade?
Blockchain, however, presents a technological solution to this problem, where game-used items can be verifiably tracked from the field to the auctioneer to the mancave
Each step in the lifecycle of that dirty, sweaty jersey now clearly outlined via a digital ledger, holding all parties involved in the transaction directly accountable.
Like the world of memorabilia, the event ticketing industry will surely benefit from blockchain’s powers of transparency. Counterfeit has long been a thorn in the event industry, as has a murky resale market (secondary ticketing accounted for over $15 BILLION in global revenue in 2017).
Blockchain protocols could directly tie a seat in an arena to the initial purchaser, creating a unique ticket ID and helping sports franchises and stadiums more clearly understand their customer. This use case extends well beyond just sports fans, with music concerts and theater being major opportunities.
