Twins staff demonstrate the new “Go-Ahead Entry” system at Target Field on Wednesday. The system uses facial recognition to admit fans into the ballpark at 2.5 times the speed of a traditional entry line. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Major League Baseball and the Twins are taking “hands-free” to the next level, using facial recognition technology so all fans need is their face to get into a game at Target Field.

The Twins are among nine teams using the method at some entry gates this season with what MLB calls “Go-Ahead Entry.” Fans who sign up will be able to walk into the game without getting out their phones to scan their tickets.

Karri Zaremba, MLB senior vice president for ballpark experience and ticketing, says the new technology has been wildly popular. Ballparks where Go-Ahead Entry is used saw those lanes move 2.5 times faster than traditional entry lanes, Zaremba said.

Target Field gates 3, 6, 29 and 34 will have the lanes this season and they will be up and running for the home opener April 3.

Go-Ahead Entry lanes simply have an attendant and a kiosk with two screens and a camera. Zaremba compared the new technology to a VIP experience because attendants monitoring the lanes can greet fans by name as they enter.

It’s an “eyes-up, hands-free way to enter the ballpark” and fans don’t have to “interact with any kind of screen,” she said. “They can simply walk straight in without even breaking stride.”

The technology was piloted in Philadelphia in 2023 and is rolling out to parks across the country. It is entirely optional, and fans can still scan a regular ticket on their phone. (There haven’t been paper tickets in years.)

Dave Horsman, vice president of ballpark operations for the Twins, admits he was skeptical when he first learned the technology was being developed in 2022.

“Then I saw it in action and I was impressed,” he said.

Bridget Harrington, a Minneapolis resident who works in front office administration for the team, was part of a group of volunteers who demonstrated Go-Ahead Entry to reporters Wednesday. She was impressed by how easy it was to use.

“The technology is lightning fast,” Harrington said. “It’s harder to schedule a dentist appointment or a haircut.”

Twins staff volunteers demonstrate the new “Go-Ahead Entry” system at Target Field on Wednesday. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

How it works

When developing the technology MLB officials realized some fans would be hesitant about facial recognition. To alleviate those concerns, Zaremba says no images of fans are stored by MLB.

Instead, after a fan downloads the latest version of the MLB Ballpark app, they need to take a “live selfie” that is used to create a unique numeric token connected to their account. The token is created by taking measurements of the eyes and nose area of the user’s face and then their image is deleted.

The Twins say the facial recognition entry program will in no way be used for security.

To enter the ballpark, users simply walk though the Go-Ahead Entry lane where the kiosk camera scans their face to match the token in their account with their ticket. A group of tickets can be attached to one account and everyone can enter together.

Once a user is registered the technology will work at any ballpark that has Go-Ahead Entry. And it works even if a fan is wearing sunglasses, a ball cap or has their face painted for the game.

“It’s been hugely popular because it is less stressful than trying to find your ticket on your phone,” Zaremba said.