Atlanta Falcons partner with AT&T to let fans buy stadium snacks using facial recognition

When fans come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch the Atlanta Falcons play this football season, they’ll be able to enter the arena—and even buy food and drinks—without taking out their phones, IDs, or credit cards.

That’s thanks to a facial recognition system that allows fans to scan themselves in the ticketing app before the game, or on tablets provided at the door, and enter through dedicated lanes that don’t require them to show a physical or digital ticket, only. their faces.

“It was the smoothest I’ve ever experienced, and I go to a lot of sporting events,” said Todd Zeiler, VP of wireless engineering at AT&T, which provides connectivity to the stadium.

And when fans buy food and drinks at the concession stands, they can likewise complete the transaction without needing to produce an ID or credit card, and the items are instantly charged to their payment methods of choice.

Security staff monitor the technology and can receive notifications of any discrepancies or attempts to commit fraud—like someone trying to charge a nearby ticket holder—but the system usually works without much human intervention, Zeiler said.

Biometric tickets and concessions are becoming more common at stadiums: Teams including the New York Mets and Cleveland Browns have offered facial-based ticketing and payment options, and the Miami Formula 1 race this year allowed fans to purchase merchandise using biometric authentication.

The systems are designed to speed up check-in and check-out—and reduce the awkward fumbling of juggling wallets, hot dogs, and beer. And they’re part of a general plan to use digital technology to enhance the game-day experience, said Zeiler, who points to AT&T’s investment in fan-facing Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity in Atlanta stadiums, bringing enough bandwidth to allow fans to FaceTime. friends and family or stream clips from other NFL games while they’re in their seats, whether you’re using AT&T or another carrier.

“They watch the game while sitting in the game,” said Zeiler. “There’s a lot of pressure to communicate.”

Zeiler also emphasizes the security of AT&T’s network. “It never starts if there is no privacy and security in that whole area,” he said.

And the platform said facial data is stored securely, not sold or shared with third parties, and deleted after 365 days of inactivity. Still, facial recognition in stadiums has proven somewhat controversial, as the Las Vegas Police Department pushed back against plans to require facial scans from all who work at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, including police.

For fans, the biometric experience remains optional so far, so those wary of uploading a facial scanner to attend a game can stick to traditional ticketing and payment methods.

“I think one of the most important things is that opt-in is transparent and that there’s an alternative for people who don’t want to opt-in,” said Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Guariglia warns that there are generally few legal protections currently in place for biometric data without a company’s guarantee of how the information will be protected because unlike passwords or account numbers, biometric data cannot be changed if leaked or stolen. He says: “You only have one face. However, it is not spoof-proof.

But it seems that for many sports fans, who are often used to using biometric technology to log into their phones and enter the airport, the simple thing may outweigh the concern about data leakage.