Adweek: Fans of the San Francisco 49ers have a whole new reason to attend games with smartphones in hand. The NFL team’s newly opened home, Levi’s Stadium, has been equipped with a massive WiFi system that makes it easy for fans to gain admission, find seating, send texts, order food, locate restrooms and view replays.
As reported by columnist Troy Wolverton in the San Jose Mercury News, the 49ers earmarked roughly $125 million for Levi’s technological system, a significant portion of the Santa Clara, Calif., stadium’s $1.3 billion budget.
10 comments:
This is very cool that they did this. Whenever I am at a show or game there is never any cell reception so them adding the wifi makes it very convenient. Also they can profit from this by having people order from the smartphones. I think this is very cool and all venues should do it.
This setup may be right for a sports stadium, and may offer a both profit and customer satisfaction in such a context, but I disagree with the statement that ALL venues should provide a similar service. There are cases in theatrical performance where cellphones would completely destroy the world that so many people tried to create, so I think that venues should think about the types of shows they host to decide whether or not to provide an incentive to pull out a cellphone.
This is a very cool idea-and it will certainly speed up communication of video, texts, and other systems used in the stadium. However, how much technology is really needed to enjoy a sports game? Will it detract from the game and the fan experience to be online the whole time? How will this change the expectations of sports in other cities, in other stadiums?
While looking at this from a technical stand point, what the 49ers have done is really cool. They have created an environment very up to par of what is expected of modern technology today and integrated the idea well into the football experience. I just feel that like the BOAL piece FACETIME done at precollege last summer technology creates nothing more than a distraction and unnecessary hurdles from asking the girl out, or in this case experiencing the game. The idea of spending the time and money of leaving the comfort of your home couch and going to a football game is you go for the experience. Going there you are surrounded by people who are just die heart fans for the team as you are and you feel like you are really mentally with the players. With all the technology it seems to be nothing more creating new and innovative way to keep you from fully experiencing,distracting you from, the game.
And the same experience of really being present with the action you are viewing can be applied with theater. It's the whole reason they have the announcement of please silence your cell phone before the begins.
This Idea is great. It allows information to get to guests easier. although adding wifi might take away from the experience of being at a game, it might be what people need to get things done faster on their devices in order to enjoy the game without further distractions. I hope other companies follow their example and provide wifi to their guests. especially in a world that continually relies on technology
Good for them! Its kind of cool, the tech start up company that I am working with has run into the problem that the Levi stadium just solved. The company; Nymbus, is building an app that allows for audience interactivity at entertainment events, for the phones to become another lighting instrument. One of the significant challenges is how to synchronize and distribute the signal to the phones in an extremely packed venue, cell-signal is clogged too easily, there would be no way to bring in that many wifi nodes, and bluetooth is a remote option. However, in this space, our system could work flawlessly.
I think the idea of "smart" stadium is very interesting but must be approached with a certain amount of caution. The stadium has an overwhelming amount of technology at the hands of consumers, that it may become distracting or confusing what they are supposed to do during the game. Are we supposed to watch every replay and provide commentary like an announcer, or are we to be ordering food as often as we can. I think certain technologies in the stadium are helpful such as bathroom locators or finding your seat, but there is something to be said for sitting in the stadium and just taking it all in. I think it should be up to the consumer if they wish to use, which fortunately it still is.
The film industry is not doing so well, and I know I have not helped them I only saw like 3 movies over the summer. Personally going to the movies is just not that appealing to me any more, not sure why I am sure there are great movies out there.
I know price is a factor and I know everyone always complains about the price of movies, but it is true. Movies prices keep going up and well it just not worth it to me all the time to spend that money. I know the movie industry will not go away any time soon or ever and so I not really that worried about it. Yes, jobs will come and go, which is awful, but everything can not always go up. Producers and movie makes might just have to get inventive on find money for movies and the creation of movies.
At first I misunderstood the article and thought that the wifi system was an addition to an existing statement. With that in mind, it seemed like a waste of money. Knowing that it's a feature of a new stadium, I can see more of the appeal. However, I do think most smartphone users would use their data during a game if they were bored anyway. I also would imagine the bluetooth system may not be useful unless it is easy and clear to patrons how to log onto it, as bluetooth is not as widely used as wifi. I'm sure the owners of the stadium will be tracking the usage of these networks, looking to see if they really do increase traffic to their services. It seems like the performing arts could benefit from an effort like this more than sports, which are already well attended.
I think that this is a great idea. In the technology fueled world that we live in the installation of WiFi can only improve the experience at Levi's stadium. I would agree with their statements that this will foster a whole new era of sports fans to come and see 49ers games. It is very rare that a friend of mine will go to a concert or sports game and I will not see a live post from the arena or sports facility. Also I see the benefit economically with the installation. More people will buy food if they know that they don't have to wait on a long line to order potentially missing crucial moments of the game. For anybody that thinks that this system is bad because it takes away from the traditional experience of the game I would encourage you strongly to get over it. I am one of those people who holds the value of the traditional experience of the game and if you're like me then just don't use those features.
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