Technology helping change how sports fans experience the game

Luann Lasalle, THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL - Technology is changing how people experience sports at many arenas and stadiums.

Fans can vote via text message for their favourite player; self-serve automatic kiosks can upgrade tickets; and credit and debit card transactions can be done in the stands for food and beverages.

As well, tickets are electronically scanned to speed up entry into buildings, and digital signs are being used to target fans' specific interests.

Some venues are Wi-Fi hotspots, allowing fans to watch instant replays on hand-held devices. Wireless technology can also be used by staff to redirect personnel where they're needed.

These days, sports events are competing with fans' own big-screen TVs and video-game consoles.

"We now live in this world that's dominated by the Wii, Cirque du soleil . . . and competition for that entertainment dollar is greater than ever," said Wes Durow, vice-president of global enterprise marketing for Toronto-based Nortel Networks Corp.

"You've got people building stadiums who are thinking, 'OK, if I've got the worst seat in the house, how do I make sure that's a better proposition than sitting in front of a 40-inch flat screen on the couch,"' Durow said from Dallas.

Nortel is working with some NHL clubs, such as the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and Phoenix Coyotes, to give their venues a new technological infrastructure.

"We have a footprint in two out of three NFL stadiums and in 50 per cent of the Major League Baseball stadiums," he said, including the New York Mets stadium that's set to open in 2009.

Nortel is also set to provide network infrastructure for Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Durow said Nortel's technology will allow fans to rent hand-held devices, which he called "a relatively new phenomenon" not only to see replays but to do such things as co-ordinate cheers for players, play fantasy hockey or football, and track favourite players' points.

Cisco Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif., is involved in bringing similar technology to venues.

Hand-held devices for fans are already available in such sports as Formula One and NASCAR races.

Another example is using technology to improve service by sending messages to fans' mobile phones to redirect them to another concession stand when one counter is out of nachos, for instance, Durow said.

Analyst Mark Tauschek said what Nortel is doing in arenas and stadiums isn't significant enough to help turn the ailing company around.

"It's not big enough to make a dent," said Tauschek, senior analyst at Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont.

Nortel has said it plans another round of cutbacks and asset sales in the face of a struggling economy. The company said it's being hurt by competitive pressures, foreign exchange hits and product delivery delays.

Tauschek he isn't convinced that sports fans will flock to hand-held devices to watch replays.

"My sense is that when you go to the game you are involved in the game even if you don't have the greatest seat. If you want to see replays, you will see them on the Jumbotron (big screen)."

Durow sees things differently.

"There's all these new applications that are opening up that are, frankly, benefiting both the fans and the team," Durow said. "It's a revenue stream."

In the case of small-market teams competing with large-market teams, "all of a sudden it starts to level the playing field," he said.

The Phoenix Coyotes, a small-market NHL team, has overhauled its arena in the last two years with Nortel's help.

"A lot of what it revolves around is connectivity everywhere," said Jay Gaskin, senior director of information technology with the Coyotes. "The whole arena is a Wi-Fi hotspot."

The Jobing.com Arena, home to the Coyotes, seats 18,500. People can buy merchandise at their seats with wireless debit and credit card machines, important for the team which also relies on shows to bring in revenue.

Gaskin said the arena has an Internet protocol phone system, which is put to use in the box suites with a digital display and touch screen.

"(For) a concert, it will dial Ticketmaster. It will (also) dial Coyotes' sales staff for tickets and then take the order," he said.

"We implemented a texting program where fans could vote for their favourite player of the game," Gaskin said, adding the feature helps engage users and bring them back.

The Coyotes are considering having instant replays on hand-held devices and the infrastructure is in place, but the team doesn't yet have video or editing staff to make it possible, Gaskin said.