The clock is running. Minutes wind down and seconds tick away. It’s a do-or-die moment, win or lose. Luckily for Golden State Warriors fans in the know, they’re hitting the winning shot with a new mobile app named Gametime. For the first time ever, sports fans can buy and use tickets — without printing — right up to tip-off via their mobile device.
“What sets us apart,” says Russian Hill resident and founder Brad Griffith, a former Stanford volleyball player and recent Stanford graduate, “is at Gametime we’ve created a ridiculously easy way to buy discounted Warriors and Sharks tickets – up to 80 percent off in some cases — and the tickets are delivered directly to your phone. No printing necessary. We’ve also created an algorithm that finds the best tickets by price and location — we only show you the 25 best, not an impossibly long list. The last-minute nature of the app allows you to watch prices fall, buy tickets, and show your barcodes on your phone at the gate.”
“The secret is in the expiring asset nature of tickets,” Griffith continued. “Tickets are essentially worth nothing an hour or so after the game begins, so sellers get very competitive within minutes of tip off. Like Hotel Tonight or Uber, you can summon something you need right on your phone and use it within minutes. It’s the future of entertainment.”
Griffith got the idea for the app when he and his brother were trying to buy tickets to the Giants’ NLCS against St. Louis last year. “We bought tickets from a mobile app, but it was difficult finding a place to print the tickets. We missed Tony Bennett singing the National Anthem and the first inning. There had to be a better way.”
Gametime (www.gametimesf.com/app) became available for iPhone users this past summer and was up and running for the stretch run of the Giants season. Gametime currently offers San Jose Sharks tickets along with the Warriors, but the locally created, sourced and funded company is growing nationally and will soon be available for Android users. Griffith hopes to have a full complement of the major teams from the NBA, NHL and MLB up and running in the near future. “Los Angeles is the next big market to open,” Griffith shared.
Business development director Doug Gilbert used the app at the Warriors opening night game versus the Lakers. “Five minutes before tip-off, we were watching prices drop and with scalpers swirling around us, we bought verified tickets with barcodes on my phone and went to the ticket taker. She scanned my phone and we were in! It was exciting, a real rush; and for Gametime, it was a historic moment: the first NBA tickets bought and used through our platform.”
“Mobile tickets represent under 15 percent of the current market, but by 2015 research indicates that number will soar to 50 percent — and keep rising,” said Griffith. “Even though we are competing against the Goliaths in the ticket industry, we know our product is better than what you can get from the big boys.”
Gametime is available for download at the iTunes store – just search “Warriors Tickets.”
