Sounders FC announced today that upon the expiration of their nine year partnership with Ticketmaster, they have decided to officially enlist SeatGeek as the new official primary and resale ticketing platform of the Seattle-based soccer team. This news comes shortly after Major League Soccer made SeatGeek their official ticketing partner in the summer of last year.

“From day one, we have been a fan-first organization, constantly seeking to improve our Season Ticket Members’ experience with every aspect of our club,” said Sounders FC Chief Operating Officer Bart Wiley. “We made this decision with our fans in mind. Partnering with SeatGeek as our new official ticketing platform provides our Season Ticket Members with a more tech-centric, simpler and cleaner way to manage their tickets. It also offers our club new ways to engage the marketplace. We believe our fans will be impressed with the efficiency and feel of the new system.”

SeatGeek is unique in the ticketing world in that it promotes a very open architecture, allowing both the team and the fans maximum opportunity and options. With SeatGeek as the Sounders’ ticketing platform, fans will be able to buy and sell tickets through not only SoundersFC.com and SeatGeek, but also via any site or app across the web and social media of the club’s choosing. In addition, their software, which powers ticket verification to prevent fraud, is made widely available to third parties; not only do fans have the power to make their own choices in ticket buying, they have the peace of mind to do so securely.

Insomniac browser for ticketing professionals

SeatGeek is a mobile-focused platform, with two-thirds of all sales occurring on mobile devices. Sounders FC’s announcement boasts that the company’s “best-in-class mobile experience simplifies the process for buying and selling tickets from a smartphone in just a few taps, while also improving ease for mobile stadium entry and allowing fans to easily transfer tickets to friends via a text or through the SeatGeek app or Sounders FC mobile app”.

The team’s home stadium- CenturyLink Field- faced technical issues earlier this year when entry was delayed for hundreds of mobile-friendly fans due to Ticketmaster network outages.

“We’re confident the SeatGeek platform will give Seattle supporters easy access to matches and help the club reach an even wider audience. It’s going to enhance an already top-notch fan experience”, said the company’s co-founder Russ D’Souza.

The Seattle Sounders’ partnership with this cutting-edge secondary site, which will begin in 2018, promises “access to a wide breadth of inventory” and “the best selection of seating options at various price points, even at the season’s most competitive matches”. Two more MLS teams- the Portland Timbers and Minnesota United FC- are set to start their SeatGeek partnership in 2019.