Swiss Super League football club FC Basel has detailed plans to transform St. Jakob-Park into a 5G-equipped smart stadium through its partnership with telecommunications company Sunrise.
FC Basel first partnered with Sunrise last year and the two parties have now joined forces to deliver the Sunrise CamCheck innovation, which will give fans the chance to watch matches via the official club app while they are at the stadium.
The technology will enable supporters to choose from four camera perspectives, which can be followed live or rewound in case any action is missed. Sunrise CamCheck will also include slow-motion replays.
The stadium Wi-Fi and Sunrise’s 5G network will allow Sunrise CamCheck to run smoothly. FC Basel said the initiative will form the basis for further innovations in 2021, with the 360-degree live videos and augmented reality applications set to be added into the club app.

www.thestadiumbusiness.com/2020/11/30/basels-st-jakob-park-to-become-5g-smart-stadium/

In taking on its first sports sponsorship, Bellevue, Wash.-based collaborative work management company Smartsheet chose an athlete, sport and event which all key on buzzwords well suited to inspiring its own workforce and customers.

Pip Hare will need all of that and more as she sails around the world by herself in the non-stop Vendée Globe yacht race. She’s doing it in a boat that is partially sponsored by Smartsheet, whose name is emblazoned on the craft’s foresail.
The 24,296-mile race — billed as the greatest in the world and the “Everest of the seas” — started Nov. 8 in Les Sables d’Olonne, France. It has featured female skippers just seven times since 1989. Hare is among six women competing this year against 27 men.
“This is Smartsheet’s first sports sponsorship because we were deeply aligned and believed in her mission,” a company spokesperson told GeekWire on Wednesday. “Her determination to challenge the industry norm, compete in the Vendée Globe and show the world a new way continues to inspire our team.”



Smartsheet has a web page dedicated to learning more about Hare, a 46-year-old English yachtswoman who says that she wanted to compete in the race “because it’s one of the toughest sporting events on the planet” and she knows she’s “capable of a hell of a lot more than anybody ever thinks when they look at me.”
Smartsheet has also built a dashboard on its own platform to track Hare’s progress. The dashboard includes a real-time competition map where fans can track Hare’s location on the course against other racers. Statistics also allow a deeper dive on such things as speed, weather conditions, Hare’s health metrics and first-hand insights into what she is experiencing.

www.geekwire.com/2020/smartsheet-sets-sail-round-world-race-female-skipper-first-sports-sponsorship/

In the space of nine months, or thereabouts, the face of sports broadcasting has rapidly shifted to blend with the harsh reality. First came sport’s coronavirus-enforced postponements in mid-March, and then the prolonged period of “classic repeats”.
By late May, rights holders had adapted their setup to produce sports programming remotely as live events returned behind closed doors. By the end of the summer, the innovators who helped put sport back onto screens sat down to discuss what ideas were worth keeping.
Ahead of English soccer’s resumption in June, domestic Premier League rights holder BT Sport was among several linear subscription TV networks to introduce “shared viewing” to its digital offering, catering to fans forced to watch from home as stadia echoed in their absence.
Since then, as mixed reality technologies and virtual conferencing have enhanced the way sports properties can engage with online audiences, the UK broadcaster has introduced new innovations that could change the dynamic of sports entertainment forevermore.
Among the network's innovations, BT Sport has launched its new Match Day Experience, delivered in collaboration with EE’s new 5G network, which has thus far provided new augmented reality (AR) features during the network’s live Premier League coverage, including real-time and augmented match statistics. In addition, fans also have access to a 360-degree viewing experience – built and deployed in collaboration with Tiled Media and Deltatre – that gives them control of in-stadium cameras.
smartseries.sportspromedia.com/features/bt-sport-ee-5g-augmented-reality-premier-league-digital-mobile-technology

Rogers Communications, Sportsnet, and the University of Waterloo announced the launch of the Sportsnet Hockey Hack: Powered by Rogers 5G. The virtual hackathon offers a unique opportunity for students to design applications to enhance the fan experience for Sportsnet viewers, using Rogers’s 5G technology and data from the NHL’s Puck and Player Tracking system during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The participating teams of students will also take advantage of Intel technology, software tools and expertise, including Intel Smart Edge and OpenVINO, to build applications designed to create fun, immersive viewing experiences for Sportsnet and NHL fans. Potential solutions may involve augmented reality and second screen experiences, as well as fantasy and other gaming or e-commerce applications.
“The next generation of sports fans will engage with and experience our broadcasts in ways we can’t even imagine today,” said Bart Yabsley, President, Sportsnet. “As Sportsnet continues to be a leader in sports technology innovation, we are excited to work with some of Canada’s top young minds at the University of Waterloo to discover how Rogers 5G technology can change the way millions of NHL fans watch and engage with the sport.”
Today Rogers also announced a 5G program dedicated to the research and development of sports and fan engagement. The new program is included in its three-year partnership agreement with the University of Waterloo to advance 5G research in the Toronto-Waterloo tech corridor. In September, Rogers also lit up the University of Waterloo’s 5G Smart Campus to support university researchers testing 5G applications in a real-world setting such as smart city infrastructure monitoring and alerting systems, asset tracking technologies, and more.
“5G is at our doorstep and it’s poised to change the world as we know it. Fan engagement is a very interesting use-case and one that will really benefit from the ultra-low latency of this next generation technology,” said Jorge Fernandes, Chief Technology and Information Officer, Rogers Communications. “Our work with the University of Waterloo focuses on bringing together our country’s brightest minds to advance Canada’s 5G roadmap and I’m excited to see what the students come up with at this hackathon.”
With the guidance of experts, mentors, and feedback from stakeholders, each student team will work throughout the week to create a working prototype of their application and showcase their idea to a panel of judges in hopes of earning prizes, job placement opportunities, and potential funding to transform the prototype into reality. The judges are Bart Yabsley (President, Sportsnet), Mina Chan (VP Video and Entertainment Services, Rogers Communications), Jonathan Kyle (Engineering Director, Intel), Grant Nodine (Senior Vice President, Technology, NHL), and Marisa Benjamin (Research Communications Officer, University of Waterloo).
"The University of Waterloo is very proud to be working with Rogers, Sportsnet, and the NHL to make the experience of watching a game on TV more interesting and interactive for hockey fans," said Bridget Moloney, Managing Director of Waterloo's Gateway for Enterprises to Discover Innovation (GEDI).
"Waterloo has a proud tradition of student innovation. This project will give our students the chance to interact with cutting-edge 5G technology and will really showcase how these bright young people will shape the future of corporate Canada," said Carly Cameron, Manager of Entrepreneurship Experience at Concept, the campus-focused entrepreneurship unit leading the hackathon.

While fan experiences at live events continue to evolve due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19, today, Visa and the National Football League (NFL) finalized plans for safer and more secure payments via a cash-free future for the Super Bowl. Visa, the “Official Payment Services Technology Partner” of the NFL, will now enable seamless, safe and secure digital payments at the big game this season and beyond. 

As we all work towards a safe and secure return to large venues and events, Super Bowl LV will offer 100 percent digital payment acceptance for fans throughout the stadium on game day, including parking, concessions, retail, mobile ordering, and more. Beyond game day, “Super Bowl Experience presented by Lowe’s” will be 100 percent cash-free for the first time. For fans who require assistance, ATMs that exchange cash and dispense Visa-branded pre-paid cards up to $500 will be available, with no load fees. Visa pre-paid cards dispensed in-stadium will also work outside the venue, demonstrating ways to create a more inclusive environment for all fans to participate in the emerging digital economy.

“Visa is one of our key partners in helping us imagine how our fans will experience the NFL in years to come,” said Renie Anderson, Executive Vice President of Partnerships & Chief Revenue Officer for the NFL. “We’re excited to announce that for our biggest event the future is here and we thank Visa for the innovative approach to enable a more secure way to pay at Super Bowl LV. This move will not only make the game more enjoyable and efficient for our fans, but most importantly, safer for all involved.”
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“Long before the pandemic sparked demand for safe, touchless experiences, Visa has been at the forefront of in-stadium digital payment innovation. Teaming up with the NFL to now make payments completely digital at the Super Bowl not only achieves a primary goal of our partnership, but is transformative for the future of sporting events,” said Mary Ann Reilly, Senior Vice President, Head of North America Marketing, Visa. “Visa will continue to lead the point of sale digital transformation at stadiums nationwide, because converting to touchless, digital payments is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for fans and concessionaires alike.”
The Super Bowl news highlights a long history of Visa delivering innovative payment enhancements to NFL fans in stadiums across the country. In recent years, Visa assisted six stadiums in upgrading their point of sale infrastructure to accept contactless payments. Now with Visa’s counsel, the NFL stadium landscape is taking it a step further and rapidly transforming to a primarily digital environment. More than 20 stadiums nationwide are moving to a cash-free model or plan to do so in the near term, including Visa partners the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. With over 75 percent1 of consumers surveyed stating they have changed how they pay in order to reduce contact since the pandemic, minimizing touchpoints in-stadium will make fans feel safer and provide a better purchase experience overall.

“While working on re-opening plans, one area Visa urges venue operators to no longer discount is their digital commerce infrastructure. Improving efficiencies, maximizing return and ultimately providing a more touchless environment for fans are just a few benefits of digital payments Visa has uncovered and best of all, digital payment execution does not have to be a daunting task,” continued Reilly. “Our new step by step guide is designed to provide even the digital novice the right tools to start their digital journey and prepare their venues to be ready to welcome fans back. “
Visa is committed to helping venues around the globe prepare for reopening with digital-first operations. Collaborating with third-party partners, the new “Touchless Payments: A Key to the Return of Live Events” guide ensures live entertainment venue operators feel equipped to accommodate the growing expectation for touchless commerce experiences and provide actionable guidance on how venues can adopt payment innovations and implement new processes. Visa uncovered four primary benefits to encourage venues to go digital:

• Safe and Secure: Having touchless payments builds confidence with fans, limits the need to exchange physical cash or coins
• Drives Revenue: Fans at a stadium or arena spend 25 percent more per transaction at venues when they don’t have to deal with cash
• Increased Efficiency: Operational efficiencies along with savings from limiting cash-related fraud, which can equate to an estimated $150,000-$350,000 for stadiums who made digital payments ubiquitous.
• Data and Loyalty: Can link and manage digital purchases to loyalty platform to reward fans.

The Sacramento Kings NBA basketball franchise has claimed a first for a professional sports team with the launch of a new Discord server that will create a virtual arena experience for fans.
The Discord server will allow Kings fans to gather online to interact and expand access to exclusive experiences that usually take place in-person at the team’s Golden 1 Center home arena.
Discord is an instant messaging platform and focused on gaming when launching in 2012. It has since grown to cover areas such as music and sports and currently has over 100 million active users.
Through its partnership with Discord, the Kings will host a range of live Q&As directly with fans on the server, featuring access to Kings front office executives, players and broadcast personalities. General manager Monte McNair yesterday (Wednesday) hosted one of the first Q&As as part of the Kings’ NBA Virtual Draft Party.
The server will also feature merchandise updates, real-time game and topic discussions and other initiatives. The server can be accessed on the Discord desktop or mobile app or via Discord.gg/sacramentokings.

www.thestadiumbusiness.com/2020/11/19/sacramento-kings-launch-virtual-arena-space-with-discord/

IBM and the Masters Tournament, of which IBM is an exclusive digital partner, are unveiling My Group, an innovative digital feature enabling new levels of fan engagement and revolutionizing the digital viewing experience for the 2020 Masters Tournament. The new feature will allow patrons, anywhere in the world, to create personalized groups of players, and watch every shot, on every hole, from all of their favorite golfers from the 2020 Masters Tournament. My Group, which runs on IBM Cloud with Red Hat OpenShift, will be available globally in the Masters Tournament app and on Masters.com.

Additionally, IBM is proud to partner with Augusta National Golf Club on a redevelopment project in the Harrisburg and Laney Walker neighborhoods in Augusta, Ga, alongside AT&T and Bank of America. The $2.5 million cash grant contribution from IBM and each of the partners, resulting in a combined $10 million contribution, will provide the majority of funding for this phase of the transformational project, which includes the construction of an innovative community center, and a new headquarters for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the CSRA. IBM will also offer resources and expertise on alternative forms of education that quickly deliver in-demand digital skills, with the goal of improving income and economic opportunity in the community for generations to come.
My Group with Watson on the IBM Cloud
This marks the first time ever in professional golf that patrons will be able to create customized "feature groups" of golfers in the app, and access video of every shot by those players throughout the Tournament. With more than 90 golfers from dozens of countries around the world competing in the 2020 Masters, My Group offers a personalized video feed, giving patrons access to every player's rounds in near real time. My Group also features highlights and regular updates from the Tournament leaders, and must-see shots from other golfers, as they happen. As part of My Group's customized viewing experiences, IBM is leveraging Watson's artificial intelligence (AI) to curate highlights of exciting play. My Group is one of the first applications of Watson to bring customized viewing experiences to millions of people, globally.
The technology being used for the Tournament this year builds on IBM's Watson-powered solutions developed for previous Masters, which have analyzed data including traditional golf statistics, ball tracking data, crowd noise and more. During the 2019 Tournament, nearly 20,000 individual video clips of players' shots were captured and analyzed by Watson. This year, new AI models were developed using data from last year's Tournament. The data includes the excitement ranking of shots and other data points like player ID, round, hole, score, and tracking stats such as shot length. In total, 16 distinct models were trained to provide personalized and important content of popular players and top performers  for My Group users.
For patrons familiar with the Tournament, the "Masters roar" is an iconic indicator of an important shot. Without patrons onsite this year, broadcasters and digital content teams would face a new challenge: quickly and accurately identifying the most important shots. Using IBM Watson Studio and its AutoAI and machine learning capabilities, data from those past shots will serve as a baseline for Watson to generate a hypothetical patron excitement score to identify this year's "must-see shots." These excitement rankings models will be used to automatically determine which live shots, of similar situations in past videos, a viewer is presented to watch as highlights in their My Group channel. This information will go on to power the new My Group feature as well as editorial content, including "Round in 3 Minutes" video summaries, and more on the Masters app and Masters.com.
For the first time, IBM will power the 2020 Masters using a hybrid cloud approach enabled by Red Hat OpenShift, the industry's leading enterprise Kubernetes platform, with on-premises data and workloads running on multiple public and private clouds operating seamlessly. In previous years, many workloads were already operating in the cloud, but some, including publishing, scoring and staging for the Tournament remained on-premises for latency reasons. In reaction to the pandemic, which necessitated more data and workloads being housed in the cloud to boost efficiency, IBM worked closely with the Masters Tournament to pivot those workloads to IBM public cloud, and used a hybrid cloud architecture to bring them together. The flexibility and hyper-scalability of Red Hat OpenShift, built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, enables both the larger Tournament technology and features like My Group to exist on a consistent foundation across IT environments.
"The digital experience of sports has never been more important than it is right now," said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President, IBM Cloud and Data Platforms. "We're proud to put the power of IBM's hybrid cloud and AI technologies on display through the My Group feature on the Masters app and website. And we are honored to enable millions of Masters patrons around the world to enjoy the storied tradition of this magical Tournament."