New Trend: Fantasy Friendly Stadiums
ParkerM
Moderator
An article in USA Today this week discusses how Fantasy Sports are influencing stadium owners to upgrade their facilities. New stadiums being built are now taking the needs of Fantasy players into consideration for their design schemes. Personally, I think this is HUGE! Fantasy Sports are have a direct impact on many important decisions.
What do you guys think about this? Would you be more likely to attend a live NFL game if they were wired into your Fantasy Sports needs?
A welcome new trend: fantasy-friendly stadiums
Steve Gardner, USA TODAY Sports
Once a year, I grant myself the poetic license to step away from the numbers and trends in fantasy baseball to take a larger look at the industry. The week of the annual Fantasy Sports Trade Association summer conference is the perfect time to do it.
This year, we descended on the Bay Area, home to arguably the two best teams in baseball. But, of course, no one wanted to talk about baseball because it's almost time for fantasy football season to begin.
One of the most interesting things from the conference was a panel discussion on what NFL teams are now doing to cater to fantasy owners as they make their plans to build new stadiums.
The challenge, according to Steve LaCroix, chief marketing officer of the Minnesota Vikings, is persuading fantasy players to "get off your couch and come to the game." That's no small feat as the experience of watching at home keeps getting better and better.
Those of us who have grown up playing fantasy sports even before we could afford to go to the games in person have grown accustomed to having cool new toys at our disposal, from live fantasy scoring to Red Zone channels.
Throw in a little more disposable income and we're no longer blogging from the basement, but from a luxurious man cave. Who in his right mind would want to leave?
The San Francisco 49ers will be making a similar transition this football season, moving from Candlestick Park into new Levi's Stadium. In order to compete with man caves throughout Northern California, the Niners will offer fans at the game access to a fantasy sports lounge, sponsored by Yahoo.
With a capacity of 1,400 to 1,600 people, it will have charging stations and touch-screen technology and will allow fantasy owners to access their rosters on game day. There's something empowering about seeing Frank Gore stumble during pregame warm-ups and having the power to bench him right from his own home stadium.
Hmmm. That just might start coaxing the turtles out of their shells. But what about while they're sitting at the game? Fantasy owners still want to check scores and stats of other games.
"Great Wi-Fi is a must," says Ethan Casson, the Niners' chief revenue officer.
He also says charging stations will be available for customers waiting in line for concessions. And if your phone battery is dying while you're watching the game, you can have a portable charger brought to your seat.
While it's great to make sure everyone stays connected, there's another detail to take into consideration. There is an actual game going on.
How connected do we want (or need) to be at the stadium? That's a valid question, but remember ... there's a lot of dead time during the game. Change of possession. Replay reviews. Halftime. All those TV commercials.
Even the most reclusive fantasy owner might actually enjoy watching a game in person if many of the comforts of home are still close at hand.
What do you guys think about this? Would you be more likely to attend a live NFL game if they were wired into your Fantasy Sports needs?
A welcome new trend: fantasy-friendly stadiums
Steve Gardner, USA TODAY Sports
Once a year, I grant myself the poetic license to step away from the numbers and trends in fantasy baseball to take a larger look at the industry. The week of the annual Fantasy Sports Trade Association summer conference is the perfect time to do it.
This year, we descended on the Bay Area, home to arguably the two best teams in baseball. But, of course, no one wanted to talk about baseball because it's almost time for fantasy football season to begin.
One of the most interesting things from the conference was a panel discussion on what NFL teams are now doing to cater to fantasy owners as they make their plans to build new stadiums.
The challenge, according to Steve LaCroix, chief marketing officer of the Minnesota Vikings, is persuading fantasy players to "get off your couch and come to the game." That's no small feat as the experience of watching at home keeps getting better and better.
Those of us who have grown up playing fantasy sports even before we could afford to go to the games in person have grown accustomed to having cool new toys at our disposal, from live fantasy scoring to Red Zone channels.
Throw in a little more disposable income and we're no longer blogging from the basement, but from a luxurious man cave. Who in his right mind would want to leave?
The San Francisco 49ers will be making a similar transition this football season, moving from Candlestick Park into new Levi's Stadium. In order to compete with man caves throughout Northern California, the Niners will offer fans at the game access to a fantasy sports lounge, sponsored by Yahoo.
With a capacity of 1,400 to 1,600 people, it will have charging stations and touch-screen technology and will allow fantasy owners to access their rosters on game day. There's something empowering about seeing Frank Gore stumble during pregame warm-ups and having the power to bench him right from his own home stadium.
Hmmm. That just might start coaxing the turtles out of their shells. But what about while they're sitting at the game? Fantasy owners still want to check scores and stats of other games.
"Great Wi-Fi is a must," says Ethan Casson, the Niners' chief revenue officer.
He also says charging stations will be available for customers waiting in line for concessions. And if your phone battery is dying while you're watching the game, you can have a portable charger brought to your seat.
While it's great to make sure everyone stays connected, there's another detail to take into consideration. There is an actual game going on.
How connected do we want (or need) to be at the stadium? That's a valid question, but remember ... there's a lot of dead time during the game. Change of possession. Replay reviews. Halftime. All those TV commercials.
Even the most reclusive fantasy owner might actually enjoy watching a game in person if many of the comforts of home are still close at hand.
Comments
less likely. i paid to watch the game, not check a fantasy team.