Boston sports workers cry foul (ball) as AI-powered self-checkout systems slash income

AI-powered self-checkout systems are transforming concession operations at major Boston sports venues, including Fenway Park and TD Garden, but workers are experiencing significant income losses and reduced hours. The technology represents a broader shift as artificial intelligence moves beyond manufacturing into service industries, fundamentally altering not just job availability but compensation structures and workplace dynamics.

What you should know: Sports venues across Boston have deployed AI checkout systems that dramatically reduce staffing needs while boosting sales for operators.

• Fenway Park installed six Mashgin AI-powered checkout machines in 2023, which use computer vision algorithms to identify products and process payments automatically.
• TD Garden operates two Amazon “Just Walk Out” cashier-less stores where customers tap credit cards to enter, grab items, and leave while AI tracks purchases through ceiling-mounted cameras and shelf sensors.
• An average beer stand at Fenway typically requires eight workers, while AI checkout machines need only one or two employees for ID checks and troubleshooting.

The financial impact: Workers are experiencing substantial income cuts when assigned to automated stations rather than traditional concession stands.

• Amanda Savage, a Fenway floater worker, estimates her tip income falls by half when working AI checkout stations because customers question who to tip after serving themselves.
• Richard Moffy, a 23-year Fenway veteran, loses “half to two-thirds” of his regular tips when working Mashgin stands.
• TD Garden workers have seen their shifts cut in half since automation introduction, dropping from five to six events per week to just two or three, according to United Food and Commercial Workers Local 144.

Labor tensions: Automation concerns have sparked union action and contract negotiations across Boston venues.

• Hundreds of Fenway workers represented by Unite Here Local 26 launched a three-day strike in July, partly over automation threats to wages and job security.
• TD Garden workers narrowly avoided a strike in late 2024, securing general contract language requiring Delaware North, the venue operator, to negotiate about economic effects of new technology.
• Workers requested stronger automation protections but achieved only limited safeguards in their new agreement.

Company perspective: Venue operators and technology providers emphasize efficiency gains and improved customer experiences.

• Delaware North reports 20-30% increases in customer traffic across more than a dozen Just Walk Out stores worldwide.
• Aramark, Fenway’s food services company, says comprehensive fan surveys confirm improvements in wait times and overall game experience.
• Amazon’s Rajiv Chopra describes the technology as “win-win,” allowing workers to focus on “other aspects of giving an awesome experience” like restocking and ID verification.

What they’re saying: Workers and fans express mixed reactions to the human cost of automation.

• “I hear people say, ‘Who am I tipping now? I did all the work myself,'” said Amanda Savage about customer confusion at AI checkouts.
• Richard Moffy warned that Fenway’s soul is being “gutted from within,” explaining: “People tell me that when they come to a game they don’t want to deal with a screen. They want to get a Sam Adams and two hot dogs from someone with a Boston accent.”
• Customer Julie Banks, 56, appreciated the efficiency: “It feels smoother and easier. I still get to have some human interaction but avoid the whole ‘getting a receipt’ and the awkward tipping situation.”

The bigger picture: Boston College analytics professor Sam Ransbotham expects an initial wave of AI-driven job losses but believes employers will eventually adapt their workforce strategies, emphasizing the need to “think how we can use these people for things that are uniquely human.”