I’m an avid collector of paper tickets. I’ve got at least four books full of tickets from various sporting events I’ve attended—mostly Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cleveland Guardians games. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, it accelerated the phasing out of paper tickets and the transition to mobile ticketing. While convenient, this shift has made it harder for collectors like me to preserve the history and memories tied to those games.
Over the years, I’ve been to seven MLB ballparks—Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH, Comerica Park in Detroit, MI, both Old Yankee Stadium and the current Yankee Stadium in New York, Fenway Park in Boston, MA, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO, and Sloan Park, the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, AZ. I’ve seen 24 different teams play in them, with most of those games taking place at Progressive Field, including a 5-0 shutout of the Colorado Rockies on July 30, which dropped Colorado’s record to 0-3 in my attendance. In 2025, I’ve only seen the Guardians face National League opponents—the Phillies, Cardinals, Rockies, and Braves. I haven’t seen them play an American League team since Game 4 of the 2024 ALCS (American League Championship Series), when the Yankees defeated the Guardians 8-6. New York’s record is 2-1 when I’ve been in attendance. New York’s only loss was an 11-3 thrashing at the hands of the LA Dodgers on June 8 at Yankee Stadium, LA’s record is 1-0. I only know this information because of the MLB Ballpark app, which allows me to track my personal game history.
Unfortunately, the NBA, NHL, and NFL don’t have an app like MLB Ballpark. Fans of these leagues typically rely on apps like SeatGeek, Ticketmaster, and StubHub to buy and manage their tickets, but these apps lack the features for tracking attendance, recording team records, or logging personal game history. While they’re useful for storing tickets digitally, they don’t offer the same detailed, interactive experience that makes the MLB Ballpark app so unique.
I know I’ve seen most NFL teams play the Browns at Huntington Bank Field, off the shores of Lake Erie, but some teams remain elusive. For example, I haven’t yet seen the Packers play in Cleveland—well, I did last season, but that was during the preseason, so it doesn’t count. So when Green Bay comes to Cleveland in Week 3 on Sept. 21, that’ll be the first time I see them in regular season action. If the NFL had an app like Ballpark, it could include features that separates preseason and regular season games, making it much easier to track which matchups I’ve attended without relying solely on memory.
I believe I’ve seen the Cavaliers play every team at least once at Rocket Arena, but I’ve been to so many games that I’ve lost track of their record when I’ve been in attendance. For example, I’d like to know what the record is for the Boston Celtics when I’ve been in attendance for their games, or when I’ve seen the New York Knicks I’d like to know what their record is. An app similar to MLB Ballpark for the NBA as well would make that much easier to follow. It could allow fans like me to log which teams I’ve seen, track the records of those teams, and keep a detailed history of which arenas I’ve visited—something that currently doesn’t exist outside of MLB.
The same goes for the NHL, as I’ve been to a handful of games: Two each in Columbus, OH, and Pittsburgh, PA, as well as games in Tampa Bay, FL, Toronto, ON, and Sunrise, FL, but I’ve been to way more Cleveland Monsters, AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, games and so it’d be great if the NHL had an app like Ballpark, but you could add AHL teams in there. I’d love to know which NHL affiliates I’ve seen in action and how many different teams I’ve watched over the years (including those teams which are now defunct).
The MLB Ballpark app has shown how technology can turn personal sports attendance into a living, interactive history book. It’s time for the NBA, NFL, and NHL to follow MLB’s lead and develop similar apps for their fans. Doing so would not only preserve memories in a digital age but also give fans a fun, meaningful way to track their sports journeys—team by team, arena by arena, and season by season.
Fans don’t just want a place to store tickets; they want a way to document their experiences, track the teams they’ve seen, and relive their journeys as fans. An app like this would transform the way fans connect with the games they love. It wouldn’t just be about attending—it would be about preserving our personal history as sports fans, one game at a time.
Now the ball’s in the NBA’s court, the puck’s on the NHL’s stick, and the NFL is lined up at the 50-yard line. It’s time for the other leagues to step up and deliver.
