Phillies to start letting in fans via facial recognition

Philadelphia will soon become the first city to allow fans entry into a stadium with facial recognition technology, according to the MLB. 

The new technology, MLB’s Go-Ahead Entry, will launch Monday, Aug. 21 at Citizens Bank Park, home to the Philadelphia Phillies, according to multiple media reports. The program uses a camera that recognizes any fan who has registered as they walk into the ballpark. Once identified, the tickets automatically scan. 

“No need to stop or even get a phone out,” MLB officials said in a statement. “Fans can now enjoy the ultimate hands-free, free-flow experience entering the ballpark with their eyes up.” 

Enrollment in Go-Ahead Entry is voluntary, the organization said, noting that the cameras will users’ faces to “create a unique numerical token." The facial scans will be immediately deleted afterwards and only the unique numerical token will be stored and associated with the user’s MLB account, officials said.

According to MLB, the technology is available for those ages 18 or older who can register using the MLB Ballpark app. Once registered, all tickets connected to a user's account will be automatically available for Go-Ahead Entry.

Those 18 and younger can only enter through the Go-Ahead entry lanes with a registered parent or legal guardian who is consenting on their behalf, according to the organization.

Fans are also able to unregister at any time in the app.