The Contactless Venue Experience
Rooting on your alma mater from collegiate stadiums and arenas or cheering on your favorite professional sports teams may look different in the upcoming seasons. Technology has paved the way for new developments in the contactless fan experience. In addition, venues are offering more ways for fans to access their team’s content all from their mobile devices.
The industry is making the shift to contactless fan experiences. Fall marks the beginning of various collegiate sports welcoming fans back to venues. While professional sports are nearly year round, here are some of the technologies being used in smart venues throughout the United States.
CLEAR Biometric Entry
Contactless entry is one of the first steps in a venue experience for a fan.
The moment you walk into a venue, fans can come across CLEAR’s biometric entry system. This technology provides fans with a ticketless entry experience. Rather than providing a ticket for entrance, the kiosk scans a fan’s biometrics (eyes and face) to grant them access to a venue. This technology replaces the need for traditional tickets, providing a frictionless entry.
This technology is currently located in various professional venues in the MLB, NBA, and the Seattle Seahawks’ Lumen Field.
Sports Innovation Lab CEO and Co-Founder Angela Ruggiero sat down with Jerome Pickett Senior Vice President, General Manager, Sports & Entertainment, at CLEAR in May. They discussed how venues were using CLEAR’s technology on the Fluid Fan Podcast.
Digital Seat
Digital Seat is a brand providing college athletic venues with their mobile fan experience platform. Digital tags are QR codes located on every seat within a venue. Using this QR code, fans can open the Digital Seat platform containing information and engaging content associated with their team. Using a mobile device, a fan can access team content and real-time updates. Digital Seat is currently installed in more than 20 college campuses across the country. This “fan engagement technology” offers fans unique experiences depending on their venue location.
This past week, Digital Seat made its way into one of the most historic venues in college sports: the Rose Bowl. This brand is leaning into the trend of contactless and mobile fan experiences.
Fluid Fans seek new forms of entertainment, and Digital Seat provides this opportunity right from the venue.
Cryptocurrency Payment In-Venue?
Cryptocurrency for in-venue purchases is not the standard for a fan’s venue experience.
However, the industry may shift given the experimentation period that took place over the spring across professional leagues.
In March, the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks became one of the first teams to allow fans to purchase merchandise and tickets using cryptocurrency. The Oakland A’s were the first MLB team to offer fans a chance to use cryptocurrency to purchase luxury suites. With cryptocurrency being used to purchase various experiences within the venue, there may be a market for fans wanting to purchase concession items.
It’s unknown if cryptocurrency will become a standard in the venue experience, however it has proven to provide fans with an option when purchasing.