Updated November 02, 2024 at 08:15 AM ET
Like many fans, Jerad Castillo has a box full of tickets from the games and concerts he's attended. There are some great memories — like a ticket for the U.S. Open golf tournament in 2019. And painful ones — like one from when his beloved Texas Rangers lost in Game 5 of the World Series in 2010.
But Castillo hasn't added to his collection for a while. Tickets are digital now — and the 40-year-old Fort Worth resident still misses his cherished stubs.
"You have your digital ticket, but as soon as you enter the event and that day goes, you have nothing to look back on that, you know?" he says.
But there's good news for fans like Castillo.
Some sports teams and concert promoters are starting to sell physical tickets again. Not the ones from the past, with the bar codes and the tear-off stubs. These are much higher quality, usually with a nice photo or art design. Typically, they are issued to mark a big game or moment.
They are becoming a bit of a hit, according to Weldon, Williams & Lick (WW&L), a printing company that is working with teams to produce the tickets.
"There's still always that connection to to an actual ticket," says Evan Gitomer, the company's chief revenue officer. "It reminds you, it takes you back, just like the sense of smell."
Customers feel resentment — but also interest
WW&L has been producing tickets for over a century, including for the Ringling Brothers Circus in the 1920s. Today, they've found a niche producing paper souvenir tickets for big events like Super Bowls, as well as concerts and Broadway shows like "Back to the Future: The Musical."
The souvenir tickets usually sell for $15 to $20. They're not included in the game's actual admission price, so some fans resent having to pay more money later for a ticket to a game or event they already attended.
But they are selling. Gitomer declines to provide specific figures, but says his company's revenues have more than doubled in the last couple of years.
"There's probably some some type of limit to where this can actually get to," he says. But he adds that every time he thinks that, he bumps into a fan who appreciates the chance to own a physical reminder of a game or a concert from a favorite artist.
A fan like Castillo.
He still vividly remembers Game 1 of the 2023 World Series when the Texas Rangers were facing the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was seated in the upper deck of Globe Life Field, the home of the Rangers. It was the bottom of the ninth and the Rangers were down 5 to 3. Things were not looking good.
Then Rangers star Corey Seager stepped to the plate. Every fan in the ballpark held their breath. And Seager delivered an electrifying game-tying home run.
It was one of Castillo's favorite sports moment of all time.
"I erupted. My cousin erupted. We embraced each other. The whole crowd went nuts," he says. "It's one of those magical sports moments you see on TV that, you know, it's awesome. But being in person to feel that energy, that excitement — you can't describe it."
A prized possession
Castillo did have one big regret: He didn't have a physical ticket to add to his precious collection, nothing to prove that he was really there.
But Castillo caught another break. The Rangers went on to win the World Series and later teamed up with WW&L to produce a commemorative ticket: It shows a grainy black and white picture of an unidentified player going to bat.
Castillo snapped it up immediately. He remembers paying about $45 for it, including a plastic display and shipping charges. He was even able to get it printed with his seat number from the day he saw Seager's home run: Section 225, Row 11, Seat 2.
It now sits on a special shelf, the centerpiece of his collection of Rangers memorabilia.
"It's something you can look on," he says. "I was there and this is where I sat. It just brings back memories."
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