Phoenix Suns Trying To Lure Fans By Offering Free Verizon Data With Each Game Ticket

When you’ve got seats to fill at a professional sports game and the team isn’t doing so hot, any bit of extra incentive to get fans to buy tickets can help. In an effort to lure tech-focused fans, the Phoenix Suns have partnered with Verizon Wireless to offer free mobile data with every game ticket purchase.

Fans can earn up to 11 GB of data during the current season, Verizon says, with the data going toward the front of the customer’s phone plan for that month. Any leftover data is rolled over.

A ticket in the lower bowl of Talking Stick Resort Arena will give fans one gigabyte of data with their ticket purchase, while two games will rack in three GB and three games are worth six GB. Seats in the upper bowl earn 0.5 GB per ticket for one game, 1.5 GB for two, and three GB for three games.

If you’re not a Verizon customer, you can “gift” the data to someone else who is.

“Data drives a lot of behavior these days,” Jason Rowley, president of the Suns, told MarketWatch. “Sports fans watching the game in the arena or at home are also utilizing their mobile device to download stats and stream playbacks.”

The program is a trial from Verizon, as part of its “FreeBee Perk” program. The company says it’s looking at similar promotions for companies across other industries, though it didn’t give specifics.

The Phoenix Suns are currently 14th in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 14-42 thus far this season.

Professional sports teams lure fans with free phone data [MarketWatch]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist