Technology has been behind some huge changes in the way we live and enjoy our hobbies, but going to a sports venue to watch some action first-hand is an area that hasn’t changed greatly until now. What emerging technology can we expect to see have a positive impact on this pastime?
The Chance to Stream Broadcasts as you Watch Live
It seems strange that we can do so many things with smartphones yet going to a stadium and streaming the game is still a frustrating experience. The major problem is that the time lags on these services means that the stream is typically at least 30 seconds behind what the fan sees on the field, so listening to the commentary while watching the game live is virtually impossible.
A company called Aircast plans to change that, by introducing ultra-low latency audio and video streaming technology for use in sports venues. Without the time lag, what happens on the field of play will perfectly match the stream. Jason Bennett is their head of marketing and he said that this fits in with the old-fashioned approach of taking a radio to games but providing a modern approach to give a similar outcome of a real-time sports broadcast.
Statistics at the Game
The emergence of websites and apps with a large amount of stats has added an extra edge to watching games for many people. In the past, watching the game in the same physical location where the action was taking place meant missing out on a lot of the data being produced by the players. One example of a solid use of extensive data comes from sportsbook technology.
Online sportsbooks use the latest betting software to give constantly updated odds and allow for in-game bets to be made easily. This is possible through the introduction of technology that seamlessly brings together huge amounts of the latest pre-game and in-game data to give fans a clear picture of what has happened to date, with a 24/7 service that covers thousands of sporting events across the planet every day of the year.
“Baseball Food” (CC BY 2.0) by M&R Glasgow
Ordering Food from your Seat
The in-game food is one of the most important aspects of going to a game, with this list of the best sports stadiums in the US to get food as you enjoy the action ranking Oriole Park at Camden Yards and American Family Field at the top. Yet, no matter how good the hot dogs and chili are, you risk missing some of the action if you need to leave your seat to order it.
Social payments platform CHEQ operates at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and they even allow people who aren’t in the stadium to order and send the food to friends who are there. This is where the introduction of in-venue apps has been huge, as they let you order anything you want from the different menus without moving from your seat. While these apps are capable of doing more than that, the chance to order snacks more conveniently is one of the main reasons why people want to give them a try.
These are just some of the ways that new technology is making a trip to a stadium even more interesting. We can expect to see more changes in the future as tech firms find new ways to make the in-venue experience better than ever before.