Freedonia Analyst Weighs In on Biometric Identity Screening at Major League Baseball Parks

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Apr 05, 2018, 10:08 ET

CLEVELAND, April 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It's the start of a new baseball season, and while hope for a successful season springs eternal in the minds of fans, security concerns remain as well.

In light of widely publicized news of active shooter tragedies in schools and in workplaces, and the risk of terrorism in public venues, sports stadiums are always on the lookout for improved security measures. However, these measures must not significantly hamper the customer experience or attendance might suffer.

With the start of the 2018 Major League Baseball season, nine teams are partnering with CLEAR to create an express line where fans can use a biometric identifier (finger print or retinal scan) to verify their identification and skip the conventional security lines.

Currently, there are five participating teams in the National League (Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants) and four in the American League (Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Seattle Mariners).

With tens of thousands of people entering a stadium within 30 minutes of the start of the game, the lines can be long, particularly with enhanced security checkpoints. The CLEAR process, which is free for fans and can be used immediately after signup, is designed to speed the screening process and ease the congestion at stadium gates.

According to Freedonia Group analyst Jennifer Mapes-Christ, "Through 2021, sales of biometric access control systems are projected to increase 9.9% annually to $1.2 billion. Biometric products will continue to represent the fastest growing access control technology segment for the foreseeable future."

She continues, "As technology improves, the throughput rate increases so users can move faster through the line, and the false rejection rate decreases so that users do not have to make multiple attempts to be verified."

Mapes-Christ adds, "However, privacy concerns continue to be stumbling blocks to the deployment and public acceptance of biometric-based systems. In most cases, the biometric characteristics are carefully secured from hackers or others who would misuse the data. Nonetheless, public skepticism of how technology firms handle personal data persists, aided by the recent revelation that personal data on Facebook ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica."

Additional analysis of biometrics in the US access control industry can be found in the following Freedonia report: Access Control Market in the US.

Visit the study page for more information: https://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-study/access-controls-in-the-us-by-product-and-market-3558.htm

About The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com – The Freedonia Group is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985, we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Additional Security studies can be purchased at https://www.freedoniagroup.com/, www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

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SOURCE The Freedonia Group