Sports and tech: 3 ways they blend at live events
One of the most sophisticated thinkers in sports technology said Tuesday morning said technology will be calling the shots at live sporting experiences.
“Technology is going to enable the fluid fan to call the shots, if you will,” said Craig Duncan, the chief revenue officer of Venuetize, a mobile engagement platform that works with various live sporting events. “They’ll be calling the shots on what their experience is going to look like.”
Duncan was part of a CES 2020 panel that discussed what to expect at live sporting events in the years ahead.
“There’s huge room for improvement when you look at the entire fan journey,” he added.
Here are some additional highlights.
Digital Ticketing
Paper ticketing is all but obsolete in wake of the digitization of ticketing. Tickets to live sporting events are almost exclusively distributed via mobile applications, providing spectators and organizations alike with more convenience and security.
Spectators no longer risk losing their physical tickets, and organizations know exactly who is purchasing tickets and attending their events.
“The idea of knowing every guest in the building is pretty much a game changer, whether that’s from a security perspective or a business and marketing perspective,” said Skarpi Hendinsson, the chief technology officer of SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, where the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers will play next season.
Processing data
Leagues and organizations are processing advanced statistics, data and metrics and providing them to consumers in real time. Duncan attended the PGA Tour’s Championship in Atlanta in August and said he was “blown away by the technology being used there” when recalling the lasers used to track every shot.
“They’re using that to enhance the experience at home … but they’re expanding that right when you’re at the course,” Duncan said. “They are working right from your mobile phone so you can track the shot as well.”
Other data visualization examples include providing launch angles and exit velocities of home runs during MLB games.
eSports
Competitive video gaming has become a spectator sport, and top-flight competitions can draw tens of thousands of spectators.
“One of the reasons we’re so intrigued by eSports is it’s the first live event category that’s digital first,” said Zachary Leonsis, senior vice president of Monumental Sports & Entertainment — a multiplatform sports, media, entertainment, and technology company that owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
“These events are becoming great gathering events for communities,” he added. “They almost feel like conventions.”
The company also recently unveiled Caps Gaming and provides its professional gamers with the same resources that Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal or Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin would have.
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter. A Twitter List by reviewjournal