The Impact of Smart Stadiums on Football Spectatorship

It's an interesting thing, the changes of time. As one thing disappears, a new fad pops up. You might not have noticed this but the spectatorship at some live football games was starting to experience a slight decline over the years. With the rise of online technology and the ability to watch your favourite game from the comfort of your home or a nice and luxurious flat-screen TV, those who managed stadiums in fear that perhaps watching a live and in-person game would fall off the scene like CDs fell out of the music world, being replaced by iTunes and Spotify. Before this happened, stadium managers educated themselves and came up with a wonderful merger. Mixing the technology and comfort that people experience at home, with the live and entertaining vibes of a real-life stadium. 

This article aims to explore the impact of smart stadiums on the world of football.

Spectators Can Get the Latest Information and Data

One of the best things about smart stadiums is the fact that spectators can get the full experience of a live game, without missing out on the technological analytics that they are accustomed to. When watching a game from home, many fans enjoy having their laptops open bedside them, seeing the ranks of the players go up and down on their FIFA board or even on their betting platforms. They might even take the time to read through this casino bonus piece by Bonusfinder UK that gives them further information about the different ways in which they can place a bet on their favourite players. Going to a stadium started to feel tedious and fans were missing out on something that felt crucial to their experience, the data sets. Luckily, due to the rise of smart stadiums, fans can now go and watch a live game, whilst being updated on the latest data, through the integration of the information from smart stadiums to their phones. The way this works is that you can log into the smart stadium's Wi-Fi and enter your email address, the stadium usually has its own app, which you can look into and there you will find the latest happenings of the game. 

A further plus to smart stadiums is the fact that they boast the very best camera footage and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. This means that fans never have to worry about being left disappointed by the wrong call by the referee as cameras are always recording so that the referee can go and take a look back at a foul or an attack and then give out the correct signal. This creates a much more enjoyable experience for the referees, the players, the managers and the fans, as everything is based on fact. So if your favourite Manchester United player was tackled in the box and it should be a foul, you can rest assured that it will be, as through the high level of cameras, refs do not miss anything nowadays. 

Ease of Parking and Organisation

Beyond the data and information that is at the fingertips of spectators, they can also look forward to a seamless experience from start to finish. Smart stadiums boast some of the best artificial intelligence (AI) which means that there are many features to the stadium. For example, spectators who have bought tickets to enter the stadium can see beforehand how busy the place is, find the parking beforehand and then drive directly there to park. Waiting in line and spending hours stuck behind cars is a thing of the past. The tech that is connected to smart stadiums also includes information about public transport and public routes that can be taken to and from, it offers promotions and deals that fans can jump in on, it allows fans to order and pay for drinks and food to be delivered straight to their seats and ultimately creates one of the most enjoyable and stress-free experiences that a live stadium game could ever do.