When we consider what sport represents, it would have been unnatural before times of Covid-19 to imagine live competition without spectators. For the athletes and coaches, game day is all about the performance. Without fans, however, sport is merely a mix of athletic ability, while the fans are the ones who bring meaning to the world’s biggest sporting occasions.
This is the same across all entertainment industries. Entertainment is, by definition, an act of bringing joy and excitement to large groups of people. The only real difference between a theatre production or the act of going to the cinema, when compared to sport, is the fact that the viewing experience is completely scripted, whereas one of the unique marvels of sport is the fact that anything can happen.
There will likely always be the traditional, diehard supporter whose experience – much like the athletes and coaches themselves – will rise and fall with the success of their team. But sport is much more than winning and losing. Sport is (usually) a coming together of people and, as social-distancing restrictions slowly but surely lift, it is important, more so now than ever, to find new ways to leverage and monetise the fan experience as we go forward.
How we embrace sport is evolving too. The adoption of wireless technologies inside stadia, for example – and notably in venues across the US, Asia, and Europe – has changed the way live events are delivered to the paying customer, and most notably by making the experience for visitors as seamless as possible with the use of mobile ticketing and the option for cashless payments.
What this also means is that sport is no longer only a form of entertainment. It’s fast becoming a service industry that connects with customers in much the same way that Uber has transformed the shared-transport experience by using radio-frequency identification (RFID) wallet payments and how streaming services are taking live and on-demand content direct to the consumer via mobile.
Stadia which offer visitors cashless payment options receive an increased volume of transactions
Christiaan Page, Legacy Sport co-founder
While more convenient to the spectator, there are many benefits mobile and cashless services bring to the business too. As we’ve inferred in previous blog posts, the digital transformation of sport is presenting clubs and organisations greater connectivity with the individual fan and it is no different for the stadium experience either and the way sport engages with spectators watching from the terraces.
By giving fans the option to purchase their tickets and conveniences via their mobile device, your business is inviting the individual to become a member of the virtual family. In doing so, sporting teams and bodies are capable of guiding the fan experience in real-time and via the cloud – and is helping many elite events, including this year’s UEFA Euro 2020 championship and potentially the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, to optimise their in-stadia operations and accounting processes.
It is also proven that stadia which offer visitors cashless payment options receive an increased volume of transactions, while they also cite an increased average spend per customer and the reduced risk of ticket fraud and theft. Furthermore, as spectators return to stadia in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, cashless payment technology also accommodates a touchless experience and is deemed to be more hygienic.
Looking ahead, it is vitally important that executives take note of these technologies and how they are reinventing the fan relationship with their sport. Some will question whether they have the existing infrastructure or finances to invest in such an endeavour, but rest assured, as sport becomes more consumer-focused, there will be an opportunity for everyone to reap the benefits of the new-age fan experience.
Words by Christiaan Page, with the collaboration of Steven Impey. Image courtesy of Imago.
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