NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA, Sept.
23 /PRNewswire/ -- MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (MLBAM), the
interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball,
the Philadelphia Phillies and ARAMARK, the food and beverage
partner for 12 MLB teams, have announced that fans at Citizens Bank
Park can use their iPhone to order food and have the items
delivered to their seat.
It is the latest addition to At The Ballpark, a mobile concierge
program within MLB.com's industry-leading At Bat 2010 applications
for iPhone, that allows fans to check-in and manage their own
experiences at the ballpark. Working together, MLBAM, the Phillies
and ARAMARK are creating a gameday experience that integrates the
convenience of mobile technology, while allowing fans to make the
most of their time watching the game or socializing with
friends.
By utilizing the Apple devices' core location technology,
MLB.com At Bat 2010 can verify a fan is inside the ballpark and,
subsequently, grant access to an array of exclusive features,
including the ability to order food. During the pilot program, fans
at Citizens Bank Park can order some of the most popular menu items
directly from their seats, including a Philadelphia cheese steak, Tony Luke's Roasted Pork, Bulls BBQ Turkey
Sandwich, Planet Hoagie Italian Hoagie and Eastern Shore Crab Cake
Sandwich.
Fans will have the ability to order food from their seats via
the At Bat 2010 mobile application by providing their seat location
and a valid credit card which is then securely processed through
Citizens Bank Park's MICROS 9700 point-of-sale platform, powered by
MICROS Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: MCRS). Ordering food via At Bat 2010
does not require fans to have a pre-authorized account prior to
beginning the purchase process.
Citizens Bank Park is an ideal location to debut the At Bat 2010
food ordering feature. In addition to consistently ranking
among the most fan-friendly ballparks in MLB, its MICROS 9700
integrated point-of-sale system has allowed the Phillies and
ARAMARK to be at the forefront of pioneering new food service
technologies.
"We are thrilled that MLBAM and ARAMARK have chosen Citizens
Bank Park to launch this new application, and look forward to
taking our fans' game-day experiences to another level," said
Michael Harris, director, marketing
and special projects, Philadelphia Phillies.
"As baseball fans continue to embrace mobile technology, we
recognize the importance of identifying innovative opportunities to
provide food and beverage services at baseball games," said
Marc Bruno, president, ARAMARK
Sports, Entertainment and Conventions. "We are excited to work with
MLBAM and the Phillies to give fans a new way to experience games
at Citizens Bank Park."
"Going to the ballpark always has been a shared experience for
fans, whether they're among families, friends or business
associates. The innovations we've introduced through mobile
technology, including this debut of mobile food ordering at
Citizens Bank Park, are intended to further enrich those personal
experiences by making them more convenient, authentic and
applicable to popular social networks," said Adam Ritter, vice president, wireless
development, MLBAM.
In addition to food ordering, At The Ballpark offers an array of
exclusive content and social media interaction for fans at Citizens
Bank Park. Among those features are:
- Check-in: Accessible two hours prior to every
scheduled home game, fans can check-in at Citizen Bank Park and
deliver personal messages instantly across Twitter and
Facebook.
- My Profile: A detailed look at a user's
individual activity history, showing the number of games attended,
ballparks visited, teams seen and teams' records in those games,
among other customizable options.
- Venue Maps: With a verified check-in, fans can
view detailed venue maps and complete concession menus. The maps
and directories utilize the pinch-and-zoom functionality of iPhone
for zoom in and out features ability across the entire venue map,
allowing fans to quickly identify and navigate locations for
concessions, restrooms, first aid stations, ATMs, souvenirs and
customer service representatives.
- Social Media: Fans also can engage in the
community of 140-character conversations going on in-and-around
Citizens Bank Park with Twitter integration. In addition to being
able to send messages directly from within At Bat 2010, fans can
see the Tweets coming from the ballpark, as determined by
geolocation technology, from other fans using designated hashtags
(#phillies) and from followers' replies to the original
messages.
- Video Highlights: The in-game video highlight
experience within MLB.com At Bat has been enhanced exclusively for
fans that have a verified check-in by offering a set of bonus
in-game highlights exclusively for that individual game.
MLB.com At Bat, including the entire 2010 postseason, is
available from the App Store on iPhone or at
www.itunes.com/appstore/. For more information, please visit
MLB.com or Phillies.com.
About MLB Advanced Media
Established in June 2000 following
a unanimous vote by the 30 Major League Baseball club owners to
centralize all of Baseball's Internet operations, MLB Advanced
Media LP (MLBAM) is the interactive media and internet company of
Major League Baseball. MLBAM manages the official league site,
www.MLB.com, and each of the 30 individual Club sites to create the
most comprehensive Major League Baseball resource on the Internet.
MLB.com offers fans the most complete baseball information and
interactivity on the web, including up-to-date statistics, game
previews and summaries, extensive historical information, online
ticket sales, baseball merchandise, authenticated memorabilia and
collectibles, fantasy games, live full-game video webcasts and
on-demand highlights, live and archived audio broadcasts of every
game, Gameday pitch-by-pitch application, around-the-clock hosted
and specialty video programming and complete blogging capabilities.
MLB.com offers more live events on the Internet than any other
website in the world.
About ARAMARK
ARAMARK is a leader in professional services, providing
award-winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and
career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school
districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world.
The company is recognized as one of the "World's Most Ethical
Companies" by the Ethisphere Institute, as the industry leader in
FORTUNE magazine's "World's Most Admired Companies," and as one of
America's Largest Private Companies by both FORTUNE and
Forbes magazines. ARAMARK seeks to responsibly address
issues that matter to its clients, customers, employees and
communities by focusing on employee advocacy, environmental
stewardship, health and wellness, and community involvement.
Headquartered in Philadelphia,
ARAMARK has approximately 255,000 employees serving clients in 22
countries. Learn more at the company's Web site, www.aramark.com,
or www.twitter.com/aramarknews.
SOURCE MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
Copyright . 23 PR Newswire