Being a football fan, or any type of sports fan, can be tough. But it’s all worth it, as nothing can rival the excitement of being part of the crowd watching a great match at a top stadium. However, long queues to enter venues or to buy refreshments can dampen spirits, particularly if you can’t get a beer before the match kicks off.
Fortunately, thanks to solutions like our Allynis Smart Event Platform, which combine NFC technology, mobile apps and smart event platforms mean stadiums can now offer a much quicker and convenient experience for fans. To help explain how this is possible, here are three ways this type of technology can make any big stadium match-day run smoothly…even if your team doesn’t:
- Make a season ticket smart – The days of the plastic season card are over. Now venues can equip super fans with an NFC wristband so they can get into the stadium and pay for refreshments and merchandise with just the swipe of their hand. Linking the wristband to mobile apps helps them to check their balance and give them access to half-time pre-ordering and seat locating.
- Better behaved crowds – Equipping refreshment stands with contactless payment facilities reduces the time taken to make a purchase, by 63% compared to paying by cash or 53% compared to using a traditional credit card. Faster payment means less time spent at the tills and shorter queues. In my experience, well-fed and watered football fans are much happier.
- Pre and post-match rewards – Mobile apps mean clubs can entice and/or reward loyal supporters with special discounts, whether that be for transport to the game or for merchandise after the match.
The benefits for the clubs themselves are also clear. Digital interaction with fans produces untold amounts of data about consumer behaviour, which they can then use to refine service levels and enhance their relationship with customers. Faster contactless payments mean they can serve more people and sell more goods. The same principles, and technology, can of course be applied to any large sporting, event or festival venue as we’ve mentioned before, in this post “Contactless technology beyond payment”.
I’ll admit that not much can ease the pain of watching my team lose sometimes, but fast payment, shorter queues and special rewards would certainly help. Do you agree? And how else do you think contactless and mobile technology could improve experiences like these? Let us know by tweeting to us @Gemalto, or leave a comment in the section below.
And for more information, make sure you follow the Connected Stadium Summit this year; we’ll be there providing demos and showcasing our Allynis Smart Event Platform. Andrew Duckworth from Saracens will be there as well, giving a speech on day 1 of the event, at 11:30. For those who don’t already know, Saracens Rugby Club in London has been trialling our smart wristbands with great success at Allianz Park; find out how here.
