More sports fans are turning to the secondary market to buy game tickets rather than going to the team’s own website or app.

It’s a problem all sports teams are facing these days because the demographic data on who is buying tickets gets fuzzy.

Leave it to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to seek a solution.

The billionaire hired a Dallas startup called Tixsee to develop a new Mavericks app that makes the buying process seamless and fun.

The app eliminates several steps from the ticket-buying process and offers a panoramic view from every seat in the American Airlines Center so the fan knows what they’re buying. The app also gives useful information about traffic, parking, and concessions on game day.

The app launched just in time for the Mavericks 2016-2017 season and marks the first mobile product Tixsee has introduced to the market.

“We’ve modeled the fan journey from possibly attending an event, anticipation, planning and traveling, entering the venue, and content they create and share along the way.” 

Brett Dowling

Brett Dowling, co-founder and CEO of Tixsee, said the secondary market for tickets is fragmented and there’s a real disconnect between the team and the consumer.

“We felt we could create an experience that was easier for users to purchase a ticket on an app that’s native to the event product, in this case the team, but more importantly, create an experience that triggers that emotion you feel when you attend an event,” Dowling said.

Like every brand, sports franchises want to make an emotional connection with their fans.

“We’ve modeled the fan journey from possibly attending an event, anticipation, planning and traveling, entering the venue, and content they create and share along the way,” Dowling said.

Brett Dowling

Not only is the user experience upgraded, but on the back end the Mavericks get a wealth of demographic data and analytics that the team can use to better understand who is going to games, Dowling said.

“There’s a much more robust and rich collection of information that’s more insightful for the team,” he said.

They can push out notifications for games, news, special events, and other relevant topics.

They plan to make upgrades to the app throughout the season, including better parking integration so fans can find available parking spots.

“There’s a much more robust and rich collection of information that’s more insightful for the team,” 

Brett Dowling

The next step for Tixsee is to start working with other professional sports teams not only in the United States but Europe, too.

“They all have similar challenges, but each of them has their own philosophies and priorities as far as what’s important for the fan experience,” Dowling said.

Tixsee, which has 12 employees based in downtown Dallas, was self-funded for the first year of its existence. In June, the startup secured $1.75 million in seed money from private investors. Cuban wasn’t one of the investors, but saw what the company was doing and hired them to develop his app.

“We are an early-stage company and the scope of this product is large,” Dowling said. “For them to take the risk on a company that is early stage or startup and really collaborate closely to help us achieve our goals so we can help them achieve theirs says a lot about the character of Mark and the Mavericks.”

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