January 26, 2011 | Volume 9, Issue 18

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Skip the Line, Not the Game

Round Rock Express and Bypass Lane Change the Face of Concession Sales

CONTACT

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Brandon Lloyd
President
Bypass
Phone: (512) 291-6162
Email: [email protected]

J.J. Gottsch
Executive Vice President
Ryan Sanders Baseball
Phone: (361) 561-4665
Email: [email protected]

ORGANIZATION

Round Rock Express

PROGRAM TITLE

Bypass Lane

OBJECTIVES

Ryan Sanders Baseball, the owner and operator of the Round Rock Express, the Round Rock Texas based Minor League Baseball team, continually strives to create an easy, accessible fan experience. Not a goal easily achieved, it requires vigilant dedication and openness to innovation and change. CEO and founder of Ryan Sanders Baseball, Reid Ryan states, "Our goal has always been to offer our fans the latest innovations, and Bypass Lane is just an extension of that." Specifically, Bypass Lane and Round Rock Express set out to meet a mutual goal: improve the overall fan experience and increase concession revenue, while cutting down waiting time, selling more food and allowing fans to watch more of the game.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Round Rock Express was the first organization to utilize Bypass Lane in the spring of 2010, using their stadium, The Dell Diamond as the beta test. Bypass Lane provides a mobile application for smart phones that allows customers to order and pay for food without leaving the game. The application will then send a text message to the customer when the food is ready. The ordered food will be waiting in a "Bypass" line in which the customer can walk up and receive their order without waiting. The application aides in minimizing wait time, allowing fans to spend more time watching the game. The application is extremely user friendly and costs 99 cents per usage. Ryan attests to this by saying, "The beauty of Bypass Lane is that Brandon Lloyd understands the tech and concessions business very well through his previous ventures. The fact that he has literally walked in everyone's shoes has made it user friendly on everyone." The company is also working on a sponsorship platform that will allow fans to use the technology for free.

A digital rendering of how Bypass Lane provides a great service to fans that don't want to wait in line.

MEDIA

The new Bypass Lane application was promoted by the Round Rock Express within The Dell Diamond with signage at the concession stands, in-stadium videoboard and PA announcements and flyer distribution at stadium entrances. The Bypass Lane application was also featured on social media sites, the team's website.

Local Fox Channel 7 highlighted the Bypass Product on the air which you may view by clicking here

PARTNERS

Round Rock Express partnered with Bypass Lane for this game concession idea. The introduction of this idea to increase concession revenue and relieve congested concession areas seemed destined to succeed as Ryan, speaking about their new partnership, "With the growth of the smart phone industry and the reliability of purchasing things on your phone, we felt the move to Bypass Lane was a natural progression."

RESULTS

The biggest result shown for the Round Rock Express was the increase in revenue on average per transaction. Bypass Lane helped the Express increase the average transaction between 25 and 50%. The average cash transaction was $7.15 and average credit transaction was $10.53, while the average transaction with Bypass Lane was $15.71. The Express optimized its concessions sales by decreasing the average wait time from 77 seconds to 30 seconds after implementing the mobile application. In a broad case study, Bypass Lane has shown to increase concession per-cap's between 25-40% and reduce average service. Although Ryan Sanders Baseball and the Express were the first organization and venue to capitalize on this innovative idea, Bypass Lane has now partnered with: Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Brewers, University of Georgia, and even JetBlue Airways to name a few.

LOOKING AHEAD

Due to the success of Bypass Lane's mobile application at The Dell Diamond, Ryan Sander's baseball has implemented the application for their other team, the Corpus Christi Hooks at Whataburger field in the upcoming 2011 season. "The Bypass Lane team is passionate about improving the fan experience and looks forward to announcing additional Bypass lane venues and team partners across the nation in the coming weeks and months ahead," says Brandon Lloyd, Bypass Lane President.

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For over 15 years, The National Sports Forum has been the largest annual cross-gathering of the top team sports marketing, sales, promotions, and event entertainment executives from throughout the broad spectrum of teams and leagues in North America. The 2011 NSF Conference and Trade Show will be held on January 31- February 2, 2011 in Louisville, KY. Additionally, NSF attendees and vendors rely on the NSF Alumni Association as their key resource for up-to-date and accurate information about what's going on in the sports industry. Visit www.sports-forum.com or contact The National Sports Forum at (619) 469-4101.

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