“Accesso is a great partner, and their Accesso ShoWare solution has been tremendously valuable for our organization. We look forward to enhancing our relationship with this global technology company as we continue to reinforce the arena’s reputation as the region’s premier sports and entertainment venue.”
– Tim Higgins, General Manager, accesso ShoWare Center
About The City of Kent’s accesso ShoWare Center
Located less than 18 miles from Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma, the accesso ShoWare Center is a 154,000 square-foot multipurpose arena that hosts more than 110 events each year ranging from concerts to sporting events, family shows and more. Constructed in 2009 with a focus on sustainability, the arena was the first in North America to achieve LEED Gold Certification and boasts a variety of eco-friendly features throughout the venue along with its convenient access to freeways and free parking. With its intimate design and flexible scale, the accesso ShoWare Center offers seating configurations for capacities ranging from 2,500 to 7,300 and attracts over 400,000 guests each year.
The Challenge
For the City of Kent, building a sustainable venue was not just important from an environmental perspective. From the beginning, city officials and management were focused on the arena’s long-term fiscal success, both operationally and for the overall benefit of its residents. Although it might not sound like an important factor, the City of Kent saw an opportunity to influence revenue growth through the selection of a ticketing provider. Rather than work with a company who imposed hefty fees and a lengthy direct deposit settlement process, arena management was looking to find an innovative partner who offered flexible control and fan-friendly features.
The accesso ShoWare Solution
The City of Kent and its arena management team conducted an extensive review of ticketing software and selected the accesso ShoWare ticketing system for its flexibility over managing events, ease of use for box office staff and patrons and a revenue model that was beneficial for all.
The freedom to control ticket fees allows the City to extend special benefits to their residents that drive ticket sales, including free print-at-home tickets and lowered fees on family events, which allows the accesso ShoWare Center to stay competitive with the other 25 venues that exist within a 50-mile radius of the arena.
“When we embarked on our search, we said to ourselves, ‘Let’s see if we can drive greater revenue while achieving more control and better return,’” said Ben Wolters, Director, Economic & Community Development for the City of Kent. “Our use of the Accesso ShoWare solution is what’s best for us and our citizens because of the low fee structure.”
Following the success of the accesso ShoWare solution, the venue implemented the accesso Siriusware point-of-sale solution in 2017 to simplify operations and transactions for guests throughout the venue’s retail and food & beverage locations.