After scooping up esports team Dignitas and launching the world’s biggest arena scoreboard, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils CEO Scott O’Neil is prepping his rapidly expanding sports franchise for the future.
O’Neil sat down with SportTechie’s Bram Weinstein to sound off on some of the moves he’s making in sports technology to ensure his teams continue to engage the next generation of fans.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways:
Esports
The 76ers became the first professional U.S. sports franchise to buy an esports team last year: Team Dignitas. This NBA season, the 76ers will also be among the 17 teams to have an esports team participate in the inaugural NBA 2K esports league season.
O’Neil says the team “can’t wait to get going” and believes that NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue and league commissioner Adam Silver are “building a really, really fun and exciting big business.”
“Some of the improvements they made to the game and the way they’re engaging their fan base, I think it’s a great way to tie fans back and forth through esports and the real game,” O’Neil said.
As for the influx of traditional sports team owners investing in esports, O’Neil says he thinks their participation represents a way to tap into the already expansive esports audience and create a broader business that ties together esports and traditional sports.
“You started to see a lot of my peers enter the space thinking, ‘OK, we understand how to sell tickets, we understand broadcast deals, we understand sponsorship,’” he said. “With more money comes more opportunity. You’ll start to see a whole ecosystem built in and around the esports space.”
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Prudential Center
Whereas the 76ers have an edge in esports, the Devils are working on the in-arena experience. The team recently launched the world’s biggest center-hanging scoreboard that weighs 88,000 pounds and stands four stories tall.
With 29 million pixels, it’s nearly triple to the 9 million pixels in the Dallas Cowboys’ scoreboard and 16 million pixels bigger than the world’s second-largest scoreboard, the Detroit Pistons’ scoreboard at Little Caesars Arena.
O’Neil said the scoreboard offers a “completely transformational” experience. It’s so huge that it demands attention in the arena, providing a landscape for which the Devils can highlight scorers, replay clips, and engage the audience during breaks in play.
“You’re talking about a monstrous experience, an industry-changing experience,” O’Neil said. “It’s like sitting in your living room in front of a giant movie screen.”
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Positioning For Growth
In addition to some of the newest technological advancements, O’Neil says he’s constantly looking toward the future.
In 2016, the 76ers launched an innovation lab to engage with startups at the crossroads of sports and consumer products. In exchange, those companies receive access to venture capitalists and 76ers marketing sponsorships.
Last month, John Harris and David Blitzer, the owners of the Devils and 76ers, announced the formation of a holding company called Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. O’Neil says this positions the company to take advantage of innovations in sports and entertainment.
“We think there’s so much value to be created and won in and around sports and entertainment and we’d like to be at the forefront of it,” he said.