Spurs' AT&T Center Goes Cashless To Create Cleaner Fan Experience

SAN ANTONIO, TX — The San Antonio Spurs remain among the 16 NBA teams that are not allowing fans to attend games due to the coronavirus pandemic. But when fans are permitted to return to the AT&T Center, the team is taking another step toward preventing the spread of germs around their home facility.

The Spurs on Monday announced a partnership with Tappit, a global payment and data app that was created for cashless transactions at sports arenas. The Spurs are the first NBA team to sign on with the tech company and the third U.S. pro sports franchise to add the technology, according to a news release issued by the team.

The addition of the contact-free technology will allow the Spurs to safely bring fans back to the AT&T Center with the contact-free mobile payment technology, the team announced. By using the mobile app, fans will be able to pay for concessions and other merchandise around the arena through their mobile devices on “Spurs Pay”.

The app allows fans access to seamless transactions while purchasing food, drinks and souvenirs, but also provides the team a point of contact with fans once they are allowed to return to the arena for games. The Spurs have not yet announced a date for fans to begin attending games.

“Health and safety are at the forefront of all our fan experience upgrades this year, so we are very excited to introduce the AT&T Center as a cashless venue for Spurs games” Brandon Gayle, the Spurs’ executive vice president of revenue, brand and communication, said in a news release announcing the multiyear partnership. “We trust Tappit to help us create a safer environment for fans, staff and players alike. We are proud to be able to take our safety precautions one step further with the implementation of cashless payments, which minimizes person-to-person contact while also improving fan experience.”

Spurs Pay will also give fans access to personalized vouchers, incentives and loyalty points in addition to allowing them to pay without cash or credit cards. The team said the data provided by the platform will also allow team officials to ensure better customer efficiency once fans are allowed to return to the stands.

Tappit officials said that the technology limits the contact between fans and staff, which will allow for a “much cleaner” experience. The technology also cuts down on fraud possibilities as all payment information is stored securely within the team’s app and keeps fans from having to carry cash or credit cards to games.

The ATT&T Center has a capacity of 18,354 and returning fans to the facility remains an “organizational priority”, franchise officials said, according to NBA.com. However, while team officials said they are comfortable with the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, they said that they are uncomfortable hosting fans at this moment as the COVID-19 numbers and data in our community continue to trend in the wrong direction.”

Texas’ positivity rate stands at 13.46 percent as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University, which reports there have been 2.6 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 43,697 deaths in the state since the pandemic began nearly a year ago.