Our 2013 NFL Tech Series provides a quick hit of tech insight on all 32 NFL teams up until kickoff of Week 1 of the regular season. Each feature includes the latest tech advances implemented by the organization in the effort to advance the team’s success… in a wide variety of venues. Stadium experience, fan engagement, mobile technologies, player performance and health, statistical data gathering and analysis… any and all aspects of the organization’s procedures in the effort to find success in the NFL is on the table. We’re uncovering those efforts, investigating those innovations and pondering the benefit they might provide, for the team, players and fans alike… today and looking forward.
Today’s focus is on the Atlanta Falcons, who are a popular choice to be a contender in the NFC. Highlighted below are some of the initiatives in new media and technology taken by the team and the Georgia Dome to give a better experience to fans this season.
Preston McClellan contributed to this report.
The Atlanta Falcons came oh so close last year in the NFC Championship game. The scenario facing Matt Ryan: 20 yards to go with under two minutes left with a Super Bowl on the line against the San Francisco 49ers. While the Falcons came up just short in their Super Bowl aspirations, they have a lot going for themselves on and off the field as they enter the 2013 season. First, a little history.
Georgia Dome History
Opened in 1992 as the successor to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (home to the Falcons for 26 years), the Georgia Dome cost $210 million and became the world’s largest cable-supported domed stadium. The Dome hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and XXXIV in 2000. The 8,900 tons of steel outweigh even the mighty Eiffel Tower. The Georgia Dome originally used AstroTurf artificial surface for its football events. In 2003, Arthur Blank, the owner of Atlanta Falcons, funded the new state-of-the-art FieldTurf artificial surface system.
Going Green at the Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome employees regularly practice eco-friendly sustainability habits such as, separating recyclables from trash in the stands after games, installing more efficient electrical and water fixtures in stadium upgrades, and using environmentally safe cleaning products to improve air quality.
Overall, the Georgia Dome and Atlanta Falcons made a sizable impact on the surrounding environment. With their eco efforts they managed to save 135 tons of material from landfills and 47 tons from single-stream recycling.
New Stadium Talks
The Atlanta Falcons and the city of Atlanta are in talks to build a new stadium to succeed the Georgia Dome. The Falcons want the stadium to open in 2017, but no definitive deal has been completed. The stadium is being conceptualized as a technology haven with the most modern look of any football stadium in the country.
Some of the unique characteristics of the Falcons’ proposed stadium design are a retractable roof in a corner of the stadium that gives fans a view of the Atlanta skyline from inside the arena. The design captures a lot of daylight along the top, something missing at the current Georgia Dome.
The new stadium would also have a huge 360-degree high definition LED Twitter feed around the stadium.
Falcons Sign with Catapult Sports
Atlanta joined several professional teams in joining Catapult Sports, an Australian company whose athlete-tracking technology is used to monitor athlete recovery and aid in injury prevention. Using the OptimEye system, Catapult fits a small “bug” on a player’s jersey to track where the athlete is moving in a 3-D space. The data collected is then analyzed to help teams better understand athlete performance.
Catapult’s devices that are used by seven other NFL teams to monitor athlete movement are intended to better inform the team so they know how hard each player is working and whether they are likely being overworked.
The information from Catapult has been rumored to be the reason why the team pulled wide receiver Julio Jones out of practice against the Bengals earlier in training camp.
FalconCast
Jay Adams, the Digital Media Content Manager of AtlantaFalcons.com and Daniel Cox, an Atlanta Falcons Freelance Writer, produce a podcast on various topics surrounding the Falcons preseason training camp. This is a new steam of media the Falcons are using to connect with fans. Click here to see all the episodes of FalconCast. This has been a focus for many NFL teams to try and give fans a look behind the scenes in areas that the common fan is not often given access.
Wayin Partnership
Earlier this off-season, Wayin, an online social engagement company announced that they had formed a partnership with the Atlanta Falcons. The team is going to use Wayin to engage Twitter followers during the regular season and future NFL drafts. Wayin helps teams like the Falcons with a fully customizable way to organize, visualize, and activate engagement around their brand, individual players, and their league.
“As a high-profile, emotional brand, the Falcons are always looking for ways to harness the torrent of conversation surrounding major events and present it to our fans in meaningful, digestible ways,” said Dan Levak, Falcons Director of Digital Media. “Wayin Hub’s flexible and powerful platform allows us to provide visitors a unique mix of insider perspective and fan sentiment as the NFL Draft drama unfolds.”
Going Forward
The future is clearly bright for the Atlanta Falcons. While there are numerous hurdles for the new stadium effort, it looks like they are well on their way to getting it done. It may be a number of years until they actually leave the Georgia Dome and move into a new stadium, but the bottom line is that the plan is in place for themselves to have a bright future in Atlanta. This would be a strong win for a town that showed great fan support during their inspiring 2012 postseason run and as they look to be a contender for many years to come with their young core of Matt Ryan, Roddy White and Julio Jones.