Optimism Abounds on Pro Baseball Opening Day

Today is Pro Baseball’s Opening Day, one of my favorite milestones on the annual sports calendar. My affection for Opening Day is based on one part optimism (a new season, anything is possible), one part comfort (the return of the near-daily ritual of following my team’s on-field exploits), and one part relief (spring has finally arrived). 

This is also a major milestone for Evolv. Our first pro sports customers, back in 2021, were pro baseball teams. So, a day like today gives us an occasion to reflect on how far we’ve come. The most obvious thing is how much we’ve grown in pro baseball. From our start with three teams as their security screening partner, we’re now up to twelve. Less outwardly obvious, but equally important, is the fact that those early customers are renewing – and in some cases expanding – their Express deployments with us. Happy long-term customers plus a growing number of new customers tells me that we’re doing something right. 

In fact, we’re doing many things right. Our value prop in baseball and all sports and entertainment is more than weapons detection —  we are working to help improve the ingress experience, aiming to make it faster and more convenient for the vast majority of fans, without reducing the strength of a venue’s security posture. Actually, achieving that at scale and sustaining it over time requires many contributing factors ranging from initial product R&D at Evolv HQ all the way through customer service on-site at a ballpark when needed. The feedback from our baseball customers shows that we deliver, citing a significant reduction of ingress queues, expedited secondary security screenings when needed, and more time for customers to spend on concessions and merch, as major positive outcomes. 

That combination of positives is a real needle-mover, and why we’ve had so much success in pro baseball and other pro sports. Worldwide, we now have over 90 sports customers, including some of the most iconic teams and venues. We’ll keep sharing our positive message, and – in the spirit of Opening Day optimism – I’m confident that our customer roster will continue to grow. 

And, of course, we’ll keep watching baseball!  Best of luck to all our Big League customers for the 2025 season. 

*This blog post does not imply a partnership with or endorsement by the pro baseball league, or endorsement of any individual team.