For venues with multi-show programming, the whole run has always been sold one event at a time. And while this does the job, there are fans who would buy the whole season up front — especially if offered a bulk discount.

Venues are losing out on capturing fans interested in attending for the season, and fans are forced to purchase individual tickets for every event. And while there have been workarounds to managing this, we’re excited to announce a solution.

Introducing, Season Passes and Flex Packs.

Two ways to sell the season

Two new product types you'll find in Opendate: Season Passes and Flex Packs. If enabled in your account, these new product types can be found in the tab that lives on your series, right alongside the individual shows. And because Opendate connects both sides of your business, the money from a pass doesn't land in a separate bucket you have to sort out later. Each admission carries its share into that show's settlement on its own.

Season Pass

One season pass purchase and your buyer gets admission to every show in the series.

Flex Pack

A set number of admissions (e.g., a 3-Pack, a 5-Pack) that your fan can use across the series however they like. Save them all for the headliners, spread them across the run — a Flex Pack allows buyers to choose which shows they’d like to attend.

For both Season Passes and Flex Packs, you set the price, capacity, a max-per-order limit, and a description. Both product types support scheduled price changes: set an early-bird price now along with the date it steps up, and Opendate makes the change for you — no calendar reminder, no manual edit the morning prices are supposed to move.

Delivering a better checkout and ticket delivery experience for your fans

Season Passes and Flex Packs are bought at the series level, and they’re not tied to a single show. This means that it's only one checkout for the whole run instead of a dozen separate transactions.

Once purchased, a Season Pass lands right in the fan's Apple Wallet or Google Wallet — one card, all season. Flex Pack buyers claim the nights they want and get a regular ticket for each one, delivered like any other Opendate ticket. Everything lives in the fan's Opendate account alongside the rest of their tickets.

Sell before the lineup is finished

Most seasons go on sale before they're fully booked — the pass goes up, and artists confirm over the following months. Delayed delivery means you don't have to wait on the last confirmation to start selling: sell now, deliver later. When the season is set, the fan gets an automatic "your pass is ready" email — no manual send, no support tickets asking where their pass went.

How it works for venues

Season Passes and Flex Packs were built to integrate into your entire workflow — and save venues valuable time. Some details, and how these new products work:

• Redemption is automatic. Set redemption once and Opendate stamps a hidden admission type onto every eligible show — no list-checking at the door.
• Pass value pulls through to artist settlement on each show, so your per-show deal math stays correct. The season product doesn't break your settlements.
• Capacity is enforced per product, so you control exactly how many passes exist.
• Cancel a series and pass sales stop — no orphaned passes, no stray "your pass is ready" emails going out for a show that isn't happening.
• If a live price can no longer be charged under your fee rules, Opendate warns you before it becomes a problem.

One thing to plan for: a Flex Pack doesn't claim a seat until the fan chooses a night, so your biggest night can sell out before every pack holder has claimed it. Your per-show allotment is the lever — set it to hold back what you want reserved for pass holders.

‍This first version supports general-admission shows only. To stay up to date on reserved-seating Season Passes and Flex Packs, sign up to receive our product updates.

Spotlight: The Festival at Sandpoint

The Festival at Sandpoint is going on sale September 8 with Opendate's new season pass program.

For more than four decades, The Festival at Sandpoint has staged its Summer Series outdoors at Memorial Field on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho — nine nights of music across late July and early August. Season passes aren't new to them. What's new is being able to sell the season the way they actually book it: historically the pass went on sale October 1 and the individual nights followed whenever artists confirmed — sometimes November, sometimes April. The full lineup has never been ready when the season goes up for sale.

That's the problem Season Passes and Flex Packs is built to solve.

On September 8, The Festival at Sandpoint goes on sale earlier than it ever has, with a Season Pass and something it has never offered before — a 3-Pack, three admissions a fan can spend on any three nights of the run, priced to open the season to people for whom nine nights is a big commitment. Because passes are sold at the series level rather than against a single show, the festival can open sales while booking is still in progress, schedule the price increases that come later in the cycle, and deliver the pass once the season is set.

"A season pass for nine nights adds up, and the 3-Pack is our way of making the run more accessible — it's the first time we've offered anything like it. Being able to put both on sale before the lineup is finished means we can start selling when our fans are ready to buy, rather than waiting on the last artist to confirm."

— Veronica Knowlton, Director of Operations, The Festival at Sandpoint

Who Passes and Packs Helps

Season Passes and Flex Packs is built for anyone selling a run, not just a night:

• Festivals with a defined season
• Theatre and performing-arts companies running subscription series (general-admission for now)
• Venues with recurring programming — residencies, weekly series, comedy nights

Ready to sell the season?

Season Passes and Flex Packs is rolling out to venues now. Talk to your Opendate team about turning it on for your next series.