Record attendance. Record sales. And a winning payments experience for every fan.
Here’s how we knocked a complete payments technology transformation out of the park
300
points of sale
8
purchasing
channels
40
self-service
kiosks
Helped the Braves achieve the highest total revenue in Truist Park’s history in 2023, despite shorter games
Facilitated more than 500 transactions per minute across Truist Park at peak demand
Delivered deeper analytics and insights into the business via modernized POS technology
Customer
The Braves — Truist Park
There’s a good reason why 3.2 million fans flocked to the Braves’ home ballpark in 2023, putting it in the top five MLB Ballparks by average attendance — and it’s not just the team’s winning record. Truist Park blends a classic ballpark feel with state-of-the-art amenities to provide an unmatched fan experience.
The intimate setting is designed to maximize sightlines, making every seat feel like the best in the house. And as a first-of-its-kind development that blends commercial and residential uses with an ultra-modern sports venue, it’s uniquely embedded within the local community.
Location: Atlanta, GA, United States
Size: Enterprise
Commerce platform solutions: End-to-end cloud-based stadium and events point-of-sale (POS) technology
The challenge
Big payment demands in a small footprint
Truist Park’s intimate design stems from the organization’s goal of giving every fan a great view of the on-field action — and there’s lots of action at a Braves game. But with a more condensed footprint and rising attendances comes a new challenge: keeping congestion at bay on the concourses and helping fans get back to their seats as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Truist Park’s legacy POS technology was expiring, requiring a complete overhaul of the entire stadium POS platform.
Imagine the scene: High volumes (and pressure) at each POS. Expiring systems and rising fan expectations. Plus, a transformation that would need to happen seamlessly — and quickly — to avoid disrupting game day.
That’s a major league payments challenge.
Not just new — better
The goal wasn’t just to replace a system. It was to create something better, for fans and the Braves organization alike.
Recent rule changes have shortened the length of baseball games by 13%, reducing the time available to purchase snacks and drinks. That means busier peak moments and an increased need to help fans through lines faster. And the Braves’ outdated POS technology meant they could be missing out on key analytics and insights that a modern system can provide.
Meanwhile, fans themselves have come to expect more agile, flexible and seamless payment experiences. They want to be able to tap a card, scan a QR code or use a mobile wallet. They’re hungry for options beyond lining up at a concessions stand, like self service. And they want it to happen fast. Nothing spoils the fun like missing a home run because you’re stuck in line.
The stakes were high. Get it wrong and lines grow, fans get frustrated and revenue drops — and the reputation of one of America’s premier ballparks takes a strike.
A partnership poised for the challenge
The Braves explored options across the industry’s best POS providers to find a solution. With a proven history as a leader in reliable transaction times, and a deep focus on innovation, partnership, service, platform flexibility and a customizable approach to the needs of an MLB franchise, Global Payments was the perfect fit.
Our partner-focused approach and willingness to collaborate closely with ballpark food provider Delaware North offered greater flexibility than our closed-system competitors. And our proven record of delivering end-to-end solutions tailored to the particular challenges of a large ballpark environment showed that we could pull it off.
After winning a comprehensive RFP, Global Payments was selected as the Official Commerce Technology Provider of the Atlanta Braves and Truist Park.
Commerce platform in action
300 points of sale. Eight different purchasing channels. One seamless payments experience.
Our full-stack Xenial POS technology platform helped us roll out a cutting-edge payments experience at Truist Park without a hitch. We delivered 300 points of sale across the stadium, supporting eight different purchasing channels that range from mobile ordering and suite catering to 40 brand new self-service kiosks.
Together, we’ve given Braves fans more places and ways to pay than ever before, replacing traditional ‘belly-up’ concessions with modern solutions that dramatically improve speed of service.
The self-service kiosks, which sell hot food in a fraction of the time required for traditional concessions, have been particularly impactful on lines and wait times. With new, more capable payments technology delivering quality data and timely reports, the Braves organization is gaining deeper analytics and insights into the business. And we’re continuing to explore even more ways to elevate the payments experience, including bringing check-out free technologies like ‘Just Walk Out’ to the ballpark.
Innovation in action
"One of the most important aspects that Global Payments delivers is the breadth of the product line and single point of accountability across the POS ecosystem (POS terminal, kiosks, tablets, payment devices and processing) and multiple lines of business (Food & Beverage, Retail and expanding into other areas) which delivers benefits for scale."
Scott Waid — Senior Vice President of Technology Services, Atlanta Braves
Innovation delivered
Proving the power of payments
One stat tells the story: Truist Park broke its sales revenue record in 2023. That’s despite shorter games, and it happened while the ballpark took on a complete payments platform change. Global Payments, the Braves, Truist Park, Delaware North and fan experience experts worked together seamlessly to pull it off.
Enabling unprecedented performance
At peak times, our technology facilitated more than 500 transactions per minute. That enabled the two highest ever revenue games at Truist Park, with more than 50,000 total transactions each. Meanwhile, the 40 self-service kiosks — a brand new purchasing channel for Truist Park — drove nearly 10% of all transactions in 2023, and helped achieve a 38.57 second average open-to-close transaction time in October, when attendance peaked for postseason games.
Everybody wins
Bottom line: We’ve combined powerful technology, innovative purchasing channels and behind-the-scenes expertise to give fans what they need, when they need it. And the Braves organization is benefitting from more sales, faster transactions and deeper insights and analytics that drive better business decisions.
Innovation in action
“Through the partnership with Global Payments, the Atlanta Braves have updated and upgraded our POS technology platforms to provide a better fan experience.”
Scott Waid — Senior Vice President of Technology Services, Atlanta Braves
Staying ahead of change
Doubling down on success for 2024
In 2023, we helped make one of the best fan experiences in sports even better. But 2024 is a whole new ballgame, and we’re not resting on our wins.
We’ve built out additional hospitality capacity throughout the park, with 10 new mobile point-of-sale tablets carried by stadium concessions staff. Fans are able to walk right up to an attendant, grab refreshments and get back to the game. Or, attendants can bring a point-of-sale system straight to customer’s seats — or suites, for a serious ballpark VIP perk.
Meanwhile, we’ve transformed the Braves Clubhouse Store experience with 60 points of sale and eight handheld tablets. And we’ve added 13 additional self-service kiosks around the ballpark, bringing the total to 53. Guests get an easier, faster, more accurate ordering option — and the stadium gets more touchpoints to boost sales.
In the end, it’s all about the fans. Less time in line means more time enjoying the magic of game day. Faster checkouts and more transaction options mean more people can take a memory with them. And a better all-round ballpark experience means more smiles on the ride home.
“With Global Payments, we have a partnership built on innovation and collaboration that will help us shape the future of ballpark concessions in Atlanta.”
Derek Schiller — President & CEO, Atlanta Braves
That's innovation that delivers.
Whatever your payments challenge, we have a solution.
