marinersapp21The Seattle Mariners will likely miss out on baseball’s playoffs yet again, but that isn’t stopping the team from improving the fan experience at Safeco Field from a tech perspective.

Starting Friday, fans will have access to a new app that allows you to, among a bevy of other features, upgrade your seat 30 minutes before first pitch (one hour for season ticket holders).

That means if you bought nosebleed seats and want to pay a few bucks to move closer, now you can. The team will control price of the upgrade depending on real-time demand.

“Because we price our tickets dynamically, and the price of the upgrade is a percentage of the cost of the ticket, upgrade prices could change before game time,” Mariners Director of Public Information Rebecca Hale said. “The app has an algorithm that tracks real-time dynamic prices and offer the upgrades at real-time prices.”

Before upgrading, the app requires you to answer a set of questions. You first pick the occasion — cheer, date, party, family or work — and then enter in the number of tickets. You’re then given upgrade possibilities grouped into four sections of the ballpark: Home Plate, Shaded Terrace, Baselines or Catch a Home Run (If you want to have better chances at a foul ball, check out this app).

AtTheBallpark1There are all kinds of other hooks and bells with the app, including social media links, concourse maps, game videos and information on each player’s walk-up music. Eventually you will even be able to order food with the app, a feature already available at select parks. Fans will also soon have a chance to watch batting practice from the field and meet Mariners legend Edgar Martinez just by using the new app. 

But the most interesting aspect of this to me is the upgrade feature. It’s something I’d definitely check out just before the game to see if I could snag a sweet deal on better seats. I see it as a win-win for both the fans and the team, especially when it’s more difficult to fill seats toward the end of a season when your ballclub is out of the playoff race.

You can download the app for iOS and Android.

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