Major League Baseball is giving its At the Ballpark mobile application a significant boost with the ability to buy tickets.

MLBAM announced the addition of a new feature called MyTickets Mobile, which will provide mobile access for season and single-game ticket purchases from 12 participating teams. According to the MLB, this is the first time season-ticket holders can retrieve tickets within an app.

“The availability of the mobile ticketing on the device makes sense as sports apps are quickly evolving into the fans one stop location for everything you need regarding their favorite team or sport,” said Mike Cochrane, director of sports solutions at Atimi Software, Vancouver. “Providing a fan everything from information about the team, league or their favorite player along with merchandise and ticket purchase.”

“The fans benefit because they are already viewing the teams news/stats right on their handheld device, so it’s a perfect complement to have tickets available in the app,” he said. “Fans are already in the sports frame of mind, so making it easy for them to get to ticket purchase while viewing team news is a logical step.”

Mr. Cochrane is not affiliated with the MLB. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

The MLB declined to comment.

MyTickets Mobile
MyTickets Mobile will provide basic information such as game date, opponent, time, section row and seat. Each ticket will correspond to a secure bar code that can be scanned when entering the stadium.

At first, MyTickets Mobile will be available for the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. When more teams join, the MLB will announce the integration.

Baseball fans can store single game tickets in the app and present them to enter a stadium for the game.

Before mobile tickets were integrated into the app, fans could purchase tickets via a mobile site and have a QR code emailed to them for a mobile ticket. Now the entire process can take place within the app.

At the Ballpark is available for free download in Apple’s Apple Store and Google Play.

On iOS devices, users can add their tickets to Passbook for certain teams.

Mobile MLB
The MLB has been rolling out a number of new mobile and digital initiatives in the past few years.

Earlier this season, the MLB introduced mobile seat upgrades through a partnership with Experience.

Last September, MLB became the first professional sports property to support Passbook, per the company.

Additionally, the MLB enabled delivery of tickets via text message in 2007.

In April, the MLB teamed up with Domino’s to leverage mobile as part of a new promotion offering fans free pizzas after a no-hitter game is thrown (see story).

“The secnd screen has dominated a fan’s experience and engagement with their team,” Mr. Cochrane said. “Fans are watching games with their smart phones in hand.

“The additional content enhances a sports fan’s experience. The teams we’ve developed sports apps for recognize the value of connecting to their fans in the mobile medium.”

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York