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 Carolina Panthers’ plan to renovate Bank of American Stadium and to revamp the team’s social media push heading into the 2013 season.
For fans of the Carolina Panthers, 2013 is just the beginning.
Earlier this year, the Panthers and the city of Charlotte agreed to a deal in which Charlotte would contribute $87.5 million for upgrades and renovations to Bank of America Stadium, the home of the Panthers for the past 16 years. The renovations will begin immediately following the 2013 season, and will take an estimated two years to complete. In the first phase of the project, escalators will be installed to take fans to the upper deck of the stadium.
The Panthers will also upgrade Bank of America Stadium video boards, ribbon boards, and the stadium sound system. In the final phase of the project, the Panthers will add new concourses to the upper deck of the stadium. They are also looking into the feasibility of adding terraces on the upper deck to give fans a view of the city skyline.
For Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, the goal of the project is to improve the experience of all 74,000 fans, not just those with luxury suites. In an interview earlier this year with ESPN, Panthers president Danny Morrison echoed those sentiments while adding that the plans were “fluid” and could change as technology improves and new possibilities surface.
The Panthers originally proposed a much larger deal with the city of Charlotte, asking for more money to perform the improvements above as well as improve club seating and luxury suites, build a new practice facility and team store, and increase the number of entry gates and size of the stadium ticket office. Unfortunately, the deal required a tax increase, which legislators rejected.
The approved stadium upgrades won’t take place until the conclusion of the 2013 season, but the Panthers have plenty of plans to keep busy with in the meantime. They are in the final stages of a Wi-Fi augmentation project that involved relocating several existing access points while adding new high-density access points to Bank of America Stadium. The upgrades should boost the reliability of the network for fans attending games, which is becoming more important as team executives begin to comprehend the importance of the second screen.
An improved Wi-Fi network at Bank of America Stadium is crucial for improving fans’ user experience with the Panthers official team app, produced by Yinzcam. In 2012, the Panthers added their radio pre- and post-game show broadcasts to the app, and in 2013, the Panthers plan to add the in-game radio broadcast as well. The Panthers are also exploring the addition of the NFL Red Zone channel in the near future, according to Panthers Director of Broadcasting and New Media Henry Thomas. The app has been a hit with fans thus far, with over 140,000 downloads across the Apple, Android, and Blackberry markets.
In seasons past, fans’ use of data during games was thought to revolve around the downloading of information for fantasy sports. Recently however, team executives
have noticed that uploading data, specifically via social networks, has become a larger part of the game day experience. The Panthers had considerable success with social media last season with several promotions, letting fans vote on the coin toss via Facebook and choose a charity to receive a $74,000 donation from the team.
They also created an official Panthers Foursquare badge to fans checking into Bank of America Stadium, and expanded their presence on Reddit, which the team used to give away autographs and conduct player chats. In 2013, the Panthers are looking for ways to increase that social media engagement on game days and throughout the season.
In addition to game day engagement on video and sideline message boards, the team is looking to improve the level of social media integration across the entire organization, according to Thomas. That includes television, radio, community outreach, branded staff writers, ticketing, and merchandise. The team also wants to boost fan-to-coach and fan-to-player interaction via Twitter takeovers, Google+ hangouts, Facebook chats, and Reddit AMAs (ask me anything).
When the 2013 season kicks off, the Carolina Panthers, led by a head coach on the hot seat and a developing boom-or-bust quarterback, are not expected to be atop the NFC South at seasons end. Off the field however, the future is brighter, thanks to an organizational push to become more social and a host city willing to invest in the Panthers’ plan to modernize Bank of America Stadium.