Our weekly tech round-up from the stadium and arena sector…
A smart venue pilot will be trialled at Little Caesars Arena, home of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, through a partnership between telco NTT, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment and the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience.
NTT will help ingest digital data from multiple sources in real time to provide an “enhanced situational awareness” for the arena’s management team, as well as an improved fan experience. NTT smart solutions will be deployed to monitor occupancy level at the venue by applying predictive and correlative analytics to the data collected from optical sensors and ticket scans.
The system will count the number of people in front of a gate and the number of tickets scanned, visualise people traffic volumes, and determine real-time and predicted occupancy level and entry wait times.
The NBA’s Utah Jazz has entered into a partnership with US-based cryptocurrency exchange and financial technology company CoinZoom.
The deal, which names CoinZoom as the official cryptocurrency platform and NFT marketplace for the Jazz, will enable fans to scan a QR code at their Vivint Arena seats to receive the latest team-focused NFT drops on the CoinZoom app.
Fans will be able to purchase the NFTs through credit cards, wires, ACH, direct deposits and more than 40 other cryptocurrencies. Every seat in the arena will be fitted with a QR code later this season as part of the deal, which also grants CoinZoom in-arena signage.
Zippin, a provider of checkout-free technology, has opened a new store at NRG Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans, through an agreement with Aramark, the venue’s exclusive food and beverage provider.
The store opened in time for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo event, which is expected to attract more than two million attendees. Zippin already has nine stores at Empower Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos.
The Zippin-powered Ice House Express stores at NRG Stadium will allow shoppers to tap a credit card to enter a store and then select the items they want. Zippin’s AI software automatically identifies the items through overhead cameras and sensors, and adds them to a virtual shopping cart. No checkout is required, with guests to be automatically charged upon leaving the store.
The Buffalo Sabres NHL team has signed a deal with total experience management company Alida to gather customer feedback to inform business decisions and enhance the fan experience.
The partnership allows the Sabres to create and maintain intuitive feedback loops to understand the changing preferences and needs of its customers. The insights will be used to inform strategic business decisions on engaging with their fans.
Skidata’s digital ticket check and green pass inspection has been used by German Bundesliga football club Bayern Munich as it welcomes back larger crowds to the Allianz Arena.
Skidata, a provider of access systems, has worked in close cooperation with Bayern on the AI initiative.
Oliver Meßthaler, Bayern’s director of ticketing services, security and facility management, said: “With the green pass solution, we are at the forefront. All other so-called ‘solutions’ with the need for more staff for additional manually operated control are out of the question for us as they are not sustainable. We know we can rely on Skidata, especially when it comes to new, ground-breaking solutions.”
Background image: Zoran Zonde Stojanovski on Unsplash
Share this