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 Tennessee Titans, a team dedicated to the construction of the ultimate digital stadium environment.
BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME… AND STAY
Two years ago, the Titans started looking at the rise of technology in the home and the transformation that technology was catalyzing in the way fans absorb the NFL, and they took action. At that time, attendance at the stadium was down across the board. Over a span of five years the average NFL team was noting an average fall of 5% in single-game attendance. The average home included at least one large-screen HD television, fans have access to full coverage of any team in the league via DirecTV League Pass, and the rising cost incurred attending a game gave more than a few fans the motivation needed to pass on season tickets and save a few bucks with seats on the couch.
To combat the trend, the Titans recognized the potential technology would give the organization in turning the stadium into an experience capable of matching – and for many, beating – the at-home event, and they went all out to turn LP Field into a state-of-the-art digital playground.
New HD Jumbotron screens were installed at the north and south ends of the stadium, each measuring 157 feet wide by 54 feet high (1,032 pixel boards, the world’s largest HD video screens in an outdoor venue). LED ribbon boards were installed on the east and west stadium faces to provide visual graphics throughout the game. Put it all together and you have the NFL’s most elaborate outdoor visual system, a system that ranks (by tech standards) second only to the insane systems installed by the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans (indoor facilities).
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
With the completion of the stadium’s visual systems and the appreciation it earned from the Titans community, the team started seeking opportunities to expand on that same effort, leveraging the interactive tech experience at the field to provide worthy motivation for fans to leave the comforts of home for the game. The strategy remained the same: provide optimal connection between the fan and the experience. Pushing that strategy forward, the Titans found a multitude of improvement opportunities.
High-speed elevators were installed to provide fans with tickets in the upper decks the ability to visit the primary attractions of the stadium without losing time to get there. Interactive touchscreen technologies were installed throughout the stadium, giving fans elaborate-yet-convenient access to information and payment options for any of the commerce interactions they might face at the stadium. Hospitality areas were constructed to host large groups, corporate outings and other events with the same emphasis on service via technology.
All of these efforts improved the connection between the fan and the experience at LP Field, but all are reliant on the most influential tech decision the Titans made in putting it all together. Working with AT&T, the Titans have established an enhanced 4G LTE-capable Distributed Antenna System (commonly referred to as a DAS) to provide top-of-the-line wireless access to any and all who visit LP Field.
Multiple antennas push AT&T wireless services throughout the venue to ensure maximum network coverage, all but eliminating the typical list of network complications (crowd size, density, terrain, building materials/construction) found in stadium venues. This network guarantees all fans at LP Field will enjoy quality cell connection and data coverage no matter where they roam during the game, a system that cost the team over $500 million during the two-year construction of the network.
While many destinations are working to limit and monetize access to the internet, the Titans are working to provide it free of charge and encourage a two-way street between fans and the organization.
The team reports online social interaction during events with fans in attendance (and the collection of data from those interactions) is up 40% since this system was completed. This advance has opened new doors influencing progress for all of the team’s online efforts, giving fans a level of service and engagement they appreciate while the team continues to build their relationship with their supporters.
FOCUS ON HEALTH
Turn to the headlines from recent tech efforts and you’ll also find the Titans are working not only in support of a better fan experience, but also in support of their employees. The rise of concern related to head injuries has turned the concussion – a fairly common event for a football player – into a hot-button topic for those working in the game.
The concussion – a head injury that occurs when a traumatic event forces the brain through the protective fluids in the skull and into the interior wall of the skull – has been tied to a list of ailments that commonly afflict football players for years after their career on the field is over. With rising awareness about this problem, the Titans are working to serve as a source of progress in the fight to leverage technology against head injury.
Earlier this year, Reebok announced a new partnership with Tennessee quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, utilizing the NFL veteran as the test model for a new skullcap designed to diagnose major head injuries in real time. The Reebok CheckLight system is a thin cap worn under the helmet, utilizing wearable tech capable of detecting and recording the impact the head absorbs throughout the game. As more impact is sustained by the cap, a warning system is updated to present the level of potential injury the player may have suffered as a result of those events.
The CheckLight is one of several tech advanced aimed at providing real-time protection against head injuries during play while advancing the knowledge about these injuries, their relationship to ongoing health and effort to limit those events as a result of the game. Reebok notes they are also working on similar tech offerings for other health applications, and the Titans (again, manned with the technology at the stadium to maximize the opportunity) are there to support those efforts.
Put it all together and you have one of the more progressive tech efforts in the NFL. The Titans are utilizing a world of technologies to improve the experience for everyone involved, from the players to the coaching staff to the event staff to the fans and more. It’s an effort worthy of praise and one (we hope) many others copy.