Wired Stadiums Offer Sneak Peek at Future
S A N F R A N C I S C O, Sept. 27, 2000 -- Scoring tickets to a big game is a major coup — it sure beats watching on TV or listening in on the radio.
But for fantasy sports fanatics and other information junkies, afree chair near an Internet-connected computer might be almost asattractive as a top-dollar seat on the 50-yard line.
With those sports fans in mind, 3Com Inc. has started anadventurous experiment at the home of football’s San Francisco49ers that it thinks might catch on nationwide.
3Com, which just renewed its naming rights to the formerCandlestick Park through next season, has set up about 50transmitters in the stadium in recent weeks.
First in the luxury boxes and eventually in regular seats, thosetransmitters will let fans use handheld computers to getstatistics, discuss the game with other watchers and people athome, and possibly even order food for delivery.
High-Tech Sneak Peek
High-tech amenities have been popping up in other stadiumsacross the country, but 3Com is believed to be the first to installwhat is known as a wireless local area network. The company hopesto show potential customers — other sport arenas, airports andconvention centers, for example — that such a network offers moreconvenience and faster response times than a hard-wired system.
At 3Com Park, a fan will able to celebrate a touchdown byexchanging high-fives with the stranger in the next seat and thenfiring off an Internet message to a friend at home.
3Com, based in Santa Clara, Calif., thinks there will be demandfor the service, and is even trying to figure out whether it’ssomething people would be willing to pay for.
“Very clearly, entertainment has changed,” said David Katz,the company’s vice president of strategic alliances. “Peopleexpect more in the form of information and multiple videocommunication.”
While NFL attendance hit a record high last season, the leaguefully supports giving fans more to do at games — despite theimplicit suggestion that the action on the field may no longer beenough to keep people entertained.
“Going to the game is the still the ultimate experience,” saidChris Russo, the league’s senior vice president for new media.“But if there’s some enhancement in terms of accessing statistics,or ordering food in the stadium or ordering merchandise, it’s justtaking advantage of new technology to make the experience betterfor fans.”
High-Tech Coming Attractions
The high-tech world not only has been stamping company names onstadiums, but also forming partnerships with teams to host theirWeb sites or handle their communications services.
For example, there are computers in luxury boxes and loungesthroughout PSINet Stadium, new home of the Baltimore Ravens. Thestadium also features two scoreboards that essentially are giantcomputer screens, with layers of statistics and video updates onout-of-town games.
“There are going to be times when the game and the team cannotsell itself,” Ravens spokesman Kevin Byrne said. “So we look fora total package.”
Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who owns pro basketball’sDallas Mavericks, plans to have wireless Internet services in theteam’s new arena when it opens next year. He envisions their use inways that don’t distract fans’ attention from the court.
“I think the worst possible use of technology is to use it as areason to present more TV. Other games, other events, unless it’s anewsworthy event, we won’t be presenting those during playing time.We want the focus on the event,” said Cuban, billionaireco-founder of Broadcast.com, in an e-mail interview.
“Want to take home a highlight video of the game, just plug inyour [personal digital assistant] and take it home with you. Samewith a concert or song you heard at the game. … Want to createyour own stats that are pulled from the official system? Great.Games are digital content that can be interacted with, distributed,discussed, whatever, before or after a game.”
An Unproven Technology
3Com’s system in San Francisco might not need to be popular tobe effective. It just has to work.
“Wireless LAN technology for sporting events is totallyunproven,” said Erik Suppiger, a networking analyst at Chase H&Q.“I would imagine this is more a demonstration of technology thanaddressing a targeted market.”
3Com hopes to officially launch the system in the luxury boxesSunday at the next 49ers home game, and then gradually expand it tothe other seats over the rest of the season.
At first, fans will have to borrow a Hitachi handheld device,but eventually they will be able to bring their own Palms (PalmInc. is being spun off by 3Com) or other PDAs, and have themactivated for the service.
Exactly what applications will be available are still beingtested. Streaming video and polls — for instance, what play to callon third down and 2 — are among the possibilities.
Some fans found in a football chat room on the Internet wereunsure whether they’d like to be able to do the same thing at agame. One person said a game is the “only time in my mundane lifeI don’t open a PC.”
“In the stands, I don’t know — it gets too emotional, andyou’re jumping around and screaming and yelling. It seems like itwould be kind of strange to stop and chat,” said Johanna Johnston,28, an Oakland Raiders fan in Napa, Calif. “But on the other hand,I would like to look at my fantasy football stats.”