In the midst of a roster overhaul the results on the field for the Atlanta Braves have been less than desirable. Fans should have hope, however, as the current regime is killing it in another way.
The future home of the Braves, SunTrust Park, will have an industry-leading terabit network installed and maintained by Comcast. According to Eric McLaughlin of Comcast, the free wi-fi will be available to visitors of SunTrust and the retail area surrounding the park.
Comcast touts that the speed of this network will surpass that of Levi’s Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers and what is considered the best network in professional sports today, by 2.5 times.
This is significant because the latest research claims that millenials (people between the ages of 18-24) look at their mobile devices an average of 43 times per day. Other research claims that millenials see free and accessible wi-fi as an entitlement, not a fringe benefit.
As time passes, these people will become the majority of baseball’s potential fan base and a critical source of revenue. The likelihood is that in another decade or two, any venue which doesn’t offer fans a network which can handle the traffic of tens of thousands of mobile device users will be seen as archaic. The negative impression left on people could be destructive to the bottom line for the Braves and other professional sports entertainment entities.
Having this level of accessibility also creates smoother game operations and greater profit maximization for Atlanta, provided everything is working. Fans will easily be able to purchase seat upgrades and merchandise from their devices. Fans could order beverages and food then have it delivered to their seats, once again, all from their devices. Few things make buying as likely as ease of transaction, and integrating the purchase process into technology will make lines shorter for fans who opt to use more traditional methods in their spending.
Eventually, the only thing fans won’t be able to do from their seats is use the restroom, and even that could be incorporated into mobile applications which give fans notices about which restrooms are seeing the least amount of traffic at the moment.
All those new utilizations and the network to support them will create new digital real estate which the Braves and their partners can monetize. The amount of advertising space in the park and on the concourse is finite, but in the digital realm it will only be limited by the team’s ability to sell it. Using the network, fans will do some marketing for the the team and its partners, sharing their experiences at the park on social media platforms.
If this network delivers on Comcast’s promises, this will make Atlanta the leader of not only the baseball world, but professional sports worldwide in offering free and cutting-edge connectivity to its customers. In turn, the Braves should be able to increase their revenue to a degree that has been unprecedented in professional sports.
If Atlanta can deliver a product like this in the stands, there is some reason to hope that the product on the field can be just as glorious some day.
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