Sacramento, Calif. – Today, the Sacramento Kings, in collaboration with LAVA and Flow, the blockchain that supports NBA Top Shot, announced the release of the first-ever Smart Ticket NFT Experience Pass for lucky fans during California Classic. A select 100 fans with tickets to the NBA Summer League games, set to take place August 3 and 4 at Golden 1 Center, will have the opportunity to test this unique experience and receive digital art commemorating the games.
“With the Smart Ticket, you have the ability to assign more than just the rights to a seat but also the right to a variety of additional benefits such as merchandise, exclusive experiences and digital collectibles,” said Sacramento Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “Through blockchain, the Smart Ticket can be authenticated, and the attached privileges and experiences can be sold and exchanged. This is the future of sports, entertainment, media and all experiential business.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with the Kings and Flow to activate realtime experiences that last forever using blockchain,” said LAVA Founder and CEO Wen Miao. “With LAVA’s realtime experience activation platform now integrated with Flow, every live experience can be authentically shared, transferred, or traded - inside or outside the venue anywhere in the world. With this technology, the event never ends and the memories live on forever.”
“Our partnership with the Kings and LAVA showcases our shared commitment to the fan experience and to finding new ways to engage and to deliver to fans ‘in the moment’,” said Flow creator Dapper Labs SVP of Platform and Blockchain Partnerships Mickey Maher.
Select ticketed fans will be contacted to claim their Smart Ticket NFT Experience Pass, which will then be loaded into their mobile digital wallets with funds towards food and beverage and a limited edition digital NFT animation of the California Classic poster design.
Last week the team launched a digital collection of 85 NFTs depicting the 1985 commemorative pin given out in the Kings inaugural season in Sacramento and featuring exclusive experiences including 2021-22 Opening Night tickets. Fans can purchase 84 of these NFTs and have been able to bid on one rare and innovative NFT with an on-chain customizable jersey banner. The auction for this rare NFT concludes today.
These recent announcements continue the franchise’s history of incorporating blockchain technology across the business. In 2019, the Kings announced the NBA’s first blockchain-powered reward program in collaboration with Blockparty – an enhancement to the NBA’s first predictive gaming application, “Call the Shot.” Also in 2019, the Kings announced a collaboration with CryptoKaiju, creator of the world’s first vinyl toys powered by Ethereum and fully traceable on a public blockchain, to launch the first physical crypto-collectible in professional sports. In 2020, the team launched the NBA’s first Live blockchain-powered auction platform for authentic memorabilia with Consensys and Treum.
The Kings were named the "most innovative company in sports" by Fast Company and “Most Tech Savvy Team of 2016” by Sport Techie and were a recipient of Sports Business Journal’s “Facility of the Year.”