improve fan safety while maintaining visibility. The renovations have been largely funded through Pennsylvania’s redevelopment assistance program. “The majority of it was funded that way,” notes Bowen. “It is a matching program in the state of Pennsylvania that is competitive, and you have to apply for and go through a process to be able to get selected to be approved to move forward with your projects.” While new seating throughout the stadium remains a possibility after the 2025 season, Bowen indicates those plans are still being finalized.These upgrades come at a critical time, as Minor League Baseball has increased facility standards for affiliated teams following the 2021 reorganization, requiring many stadiums to modernize player and fan amenities to maintain their professional baseball affiliations. EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY AND FAN EXPERIENCE Digital transformation at People’s Natural Gas Field has accelerated dramatically since the pandemic, revolutionizing everything from ticketing to marketing analytics.“Before the pandemic we were probably 3%, maybe 4% or so using digital ticketing in 2019,” Bowen reveals.“We made an effort to switch that post-pandemic by texting or emailing tickets to fans.” The shift to digital ticketing offers benefits beyond eliminating physical ticket costs.“The data gathering is what we’re going for,” explains Bowen.“We know if we give you a hard ticket, you’re not necessarily the person coming to the game, especially if you have season tickets. You’ll give those out to employees or customers or friends, and then we only have your information.” 98 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 04
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