Major League Baseball testing Passbook as virtual replacement to physical tickets

With the release of iOS 6 on Wednesday, the Passbook application coulod change things forever for Major League Baseball. Four teams are undergoing a test where an Apple iPhone, with a special barcode on the screen courtesy of Passbook, replaces a physical ticket. The process will be tested over the remainder of the season by four teams, the New York Mets, the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals. If MLB likes what it sees, it could be the beginning of the end for physical tickets. On the bright side, fans might end up being treated to more realistic attendance figures.

MLB officials were present for the introduction of the Apple iPhone last week, along with officials from Starbucks and Sephora. All three will be supporting Passbook. The application uses bar code technology to store virtual boarding passes for air travel, tickets to events, and can even let you use virtual coupons to save money. It allows the entire process of purchasing a ticket to a movie or sporting event to be handled seamlessly online from the transaction, to the recipt of the ticket, to being allowed entry and it's done all without one scrap of paper.

source: AllThingsD