N&R front-pager:
In 2017 at the Barclays Center in New York, if the tournament lands there as has been reported, fans would be able to see views of the game from behind the rim and in other locations through the arena’s Wi-Fi. The camera feeds are one of several innovative ways the arena helps fans see a game in additional ways.
And it’s a draw for the ACC.
“It’s just come in to a point of conversation in terms of taking a look at it as it relates to the site of the ACC tournament,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said.
…Swofford said ACC schools are looking at ways to incorporate new fan experiences in their home football stadiums and basket ball arenas.
“Young fans are used to and expect (it), and it’s a part of their way of enjoying the game,” Swofford said. “Now, 70-year-olds, not so much, but (with) the younger fans, it’s absolutely a factor. They like the ability to be interactive, the ability to connect with their friends elsewhere as well as in the venue and talk about what’s going on.”
Don’t need to tell you that just about everybody in the Greensboro Coliseum was working their personal electronic device. If you weren’t on Twitter, you were nobody. Logging onto to the wireless at the coliseum was a bit cumbersome —you were handed a hard copy of the password and the process wasn’t so obvious. You also need a password per device, but once you were on, you stayed on. But it sounds you’re on Wi-Fi once you walk through the turnstiles at Barclays Center.
Needless to say this is another major expense for older sports and entertainment venues -the Panthers spent a good chunk of money for technology upgrades to Bank of America Stadium.
With this in mind it will be interesting to see what kind of gadgetry will be proposed for the downtown performing arts center, especially since it’s being pitched as a way of keeping young professionals in Gboro.
