Starting September 9, you’ll see something like this at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
From frequent flyers to fly balls, a special fast track lane for ballpark security is coming to AT&T Park, home to the San Francisco Giants.
A pilot program starting September 9th and running through the end of the season will be operated by CLEAR, the pay-to-enter trusted traveler airport security company currently operating at nine airports nationwide.
At AT&T Park, all fans have been screened with metal detectors or handheld wands this season, with the Major League Baseball organization requiring that all ballparks begin using metal detectors by the start of the 2015 season. Sometimes all that special screening can lead to backups.
“Ballparks are similar to airports as a lot of fans are going through security in a short time period,” CEO Caryn Seidman Becker tells TravelSkills. “During this pop up pilot, CLEAR members should expect the same great experience they have at the airport. CLEAR is all about making this process more efficient and effective.”
Related: Should I renew my CLEAR card?
How? After registering with the program, “CLEAR’s secure identity platform ensures you are who you say you are and you can use that identity in the airport and beyond. CLEAR is focused on bringing members an easier, faster, more efficient experience where they live, work and travel,” Seidman Becker promises — but wouldn’t say exactly how much time she expects members to save.
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Pre-game queues swell at AT&T Park (Photo: BullCityDave / Flickr)
But here’s how things will work at AT&T Park:
• The CLEAR lane can be found at the Marina Gate.
• The pilot will begin Tuesday, September 9th and run for the last 10 games of the season.
• CLEAR members must bring their CLEAR card to use the new pop up lane.
• If they bring a friend who is not a member, their +1 can use the line directly next to CLEAR.
CLEAR’s usefulness at airports gets a mixed reception from frequent flyers — and TravelSkills readers on our recent article about renewing CLEAR.
TSA PreCheck proved part of CLEAR’s undoing five years ago– but with PreCheck lines increasingly choked by passengers unfamiliar with how the process works, CLEAR is starting to look more attractive again.
Not sure whether you want to spring for the $179 annual membership? “As busy travelers return to the grind, they can enroll with a two month free trial and get other “travel pro” tools as well for free until September 15th,” Seidman Becker tells us. “Just use code PROTRAVEL at checkout. Members can always add a family member for only $50 more. All children under 18 are free and don’t require a CLEARcard. Kids can accompany CLEARmembers through the pop-up CLEARlane.”
Bottom line: if you fly frequently to the nine airports where CLEAR operates, you might find it useful. That’s especially true at airports where security can be swamped with vacationers, like Orlando or (soon) Las Vegas.
And now, AT&T Park.
–John Walton
UPDATE: Clear has published its own web page about the new fast lane at AT&T Park.
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Just returned on a flight from SJC and 5 otherwise idle Clear employees were trying to get me to sign up as I walked through the empty Pre-check line.
Unfortunately there is nothing special about that lane next door. According to the CLEAR website the +1s go through the regular line, no priority, but kids can come through the CLEAR lane.
So if you bring your spouse and kid…your kid comes with you, but your spouse gets stuck in the regular lane. Which you then wait for. Still makes no sense why a +1 seated with the CLEAR member can’t go through.
All go through a metal detector, there is no pre-clearance here. Really only helpful for solo gamegoers or those not arriving to a game together.
“PS. If you bring a +1 that does not have a CLEARcard, they will have to go through the regular security line located directly next to the CLEARlane. Take advantage of your head start to grab the first round of drinks!”
Responding to Greg – Um, I often go to a game alone. But I’m not coughing up 179.00 a year for the CLEAR program. At the airport, I’m in the Precheck program which works great every time I have it on my boarding pass.
This feels more like a desperate attempt for CLEAR to prove viability since their presence at airports has proved marginal… not worth the $179. I, for one, am weary of some entity constantly tracking my movements in the name of ‘security’.
Hey Greg: CLEAR states that +1s are allowed to go through special security line next to CLEAR lane. — chris
That would defeat the purpose of security.
No +1 in the baseball CLEAR lane??? Who goes to a game alone? This isn’t the TSA…they can make an exception for that…