Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 — A roundup of the key sports technology news you need to know, including SportTechie’s own content and stories from around the web.
- The New York Mets are partnering with CLEAR, a biometrics identification company, to debut automated self-checkout concessions kiosks at Citi Field for the remainder of the 2019 regular season. The kiosks will be located behind section 130 and will enable fans who are CLEAR members to scan their food and beverage items before scanning their fingerprints at a self-checkout machine built by Mashgin. The machine will then charge the items to a credit card associated with the user’s CLEAR profile. When alcohol is being purchased, CLEAR verifies that the customer is of legal age before completing the transaction. A customer service representative will continue to be stationed at the kiosks to assist guests and enforce policies.
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- The Sacramento Kings have partnered with cashierless convenience store Zippin to open the world’s first in-arena, checkout-free food and beverage store at the Golden 1 Center. Fans will not have to wait in line or scan items to leave the store and can instead download the Sacramento Kings and/or Zippin mobile app in order to get a receipt. Shoppers who don’t have the app can enter the store by presenting a valid credit or debit card at the entrance. Zippin’s AI-enabled cameras and sensors will identify shoppers inside the store. “Banish the checkout line. That’s Zippin’s motto,” Zippin CEO Krishna Motukuri said in a press release. “I can’t think of a better place than a sports venue to eliminate the checkout line. When Zippin launches in Golden 1 Center this Fall, Sacramento Kings fans will be able to walk in, grab a beer, and walk out in under 30 seconds.”
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- Australia’s National Basketball League will livestream 52 games on Facebook Watch in the U.S. during the 2019-20 NBL season. All 52 games will feature LaMelo Ball of the Illawarra Hawks and RJ Hampton of the New Zealand Breakers. Both Ball and Hampton are American-born NBA draft prospects who elected to skip college and play professionally in the NBL. Facebook Watch will also stream 23 regular season games, the NBL finals, and highlights on its platform in Australia and New Zealand as part of the agreement. The NBL regular season tips off on Oct. 3 in Melbourne.
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- Temple University has partnered with Headspace to make the mental health app available to the school’s 500-plus student-athletes and coaches. The app offers more than 800 hours of content aimed at helping users lower feelings of stress, anxiety, pain, burnout, depression and irritability while raising feelings of focus, resilience, happiness and better decision making. The U.S. women’s national soccer team used customized mental training practices provided by Headspace ahead of its World Cup title-run this summer. “The Headspace App has helped countless people since its launch, and it will provide our student-athletes with an easily accessible resource that they can use throughout their day, when they experience stress, anxiety, decreased motivation, lack of focus, and other symptoms that affect mental health,” said Stephany Coakley, senior associate athletic director of mental health at Temple University.
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- ESPN has signed a one-year deal with Facebook to bring several exclusive digital shows to Facebook Watch. The network will now stream Facebook-dedicated versions of studio shows such as Always Late with Katie Nolan, The People’s MMA Show, Countdown to GameDay, and Fantasy Focus Live. Fans will be able to engage with ESPN’s programming on Facebook Watch through watch parties, polls, and live Q&A sessions with the shows’ talent.
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