Secure Sell-Out Events at Your Stadium With Tech
The United States is home to over 900 stadiums of varying sizes and purposes. While the NFL has 30 full-time stadiums, you may be surprised to know it is actually “The Big House” of Michigan Stadium that takes the gold as the largest stadium in the US— with a capacity of 107,601.
Additionally, there are dozens of smaller 10,000 – 12,000 seater stadiums in major cities and communities across the country.
The Need for Profitable Stadium Events
Between 1970 and 2020 state governments and local municipalities across the United States and Canada invested approximately $33 billion in public funds into major-league sports venues. Stadium venues contribute to national and local economies by not just hosting sporting events but also concerts, conventions, graduations, weddings, and other events.
With so much opportunity and investment comes the need to make venues profitable.
Because every stadium sales team, event planner, and fan can agree on one thing—
Stadium events are better when all the seats are full.
To sell out a stadium, ticketing professionals need to implement technology in the sales and fan experience process in order optimize performance and drive profitability. Take a look below to see if your stadium is implementing these 7 tech improvements for more and better sales.
1) Present Interactive Maps & Venue Tours
How are you presenting your stadium to prospects? With a flat PowerPoint, PDF, or Google Slides presentation? Or with something much more innovative and immersive like DIGIDECK?
Hundreds of leading venues worldwide from ASM Global Properties to Madison Square Garden have added the presentation platform DIGIDECK to their tech stack for impactful presentations that convert to revenue— created in a fraction of the time.
DIGIDECK is the ideal presentation technology for venues, as it comes complete with built-in sales enablement features such as:
- 360° Venue Tours: Allow prospective ticket buyers or events to gain a clear expectation of premium seating, amenities, and your stadium’s layout.
- Interactive Maps: Prospects can interact with your presentation and see pricing, panoramic views, and nearby amenities.
- Backend Analytics: Take advantage of viewership analytics that indicate who viewed your presentation, when, and how long they viewed each slide for a more personalized and intentional follow-up.
Leveraged by some of the highest profile stadiums like Caesars Superdome, American Airlines Center, Ball Arena, and dozens more, it’s clear that DIGIDECK is becoming the new standard in impactful sales presentations built specifically for stadiums and venues of all sizes.
2) Consider a Personalized Stadium App
Does your stadium have its own app? Since so many people rely on their smartphone for everything from learning about events to buying tickets to planning travel, streamlining everything about your stadium and its events into one app is a smart technology choice.
Your app can include features like:
- Parking maps and directions
- Live streams
- Replays & commentary
- Stadium & team news
- Ticketing
Plus, if your app is on a visitor’s phone, you stay on their mind and in their lives for much longer after the event.
3) Utilize Mobile Sales Platform
By now, most, if not all, stadiums sell tickets online. To ensure a seamless booking experience, optimize your page loading speed to load in less than two seconds. Offering multiple payment options is another way to make the buying process more accessible.
In today’s day and age, it’s not enough to just sell tickets online. The process also needs to be optimized for mobile while feeling authentic. Mobile usage accounts for over 79% of internet access, so ticketing for your stadium events needs to be accessible via mobile, otherwise prospects will quickly move on.
4) Try Out Presale Partnership Initiatives
On your mobile sales platform, consider a ticketing partnership or promotion to add excitement to a specific campaign. These are most common for concert presales and other top-tier events that provide exclusive access. For example— American Express cardholders gain advanced access to ticket sales for a major performing artist.
Creating an exclusive group also creates scarcity, which is one of the best tactics you can use to sell more tickets as you aim for a sold-out event. Implementing scarcity in the form of a limited supply attracts customers who want to be a part of an exclusive group.
5) Replace Concessions With Tech
Sometimes, the main event isn’t enough to secure a sold-out audience. Fans and attendees also want to feel confident in the experience they’ll have inside the stadium.
One of the biggest pain points? Long lines at concession stands.
Implementing technology like mobile concession ordering systems, self-service kiosks, or even just starting with a cashless system can dramatically reduce wait times and frustration— ultimately increasing morale and solidifying a more positive customer experience.
What’s more? Because mobile concessions and cashless systems are tech-powered, you’ll benefit from all the data captured along the way in order to make more efficient decisions each season.
6) Create a Digital Infrastructure
It might seem obvious, but we live in a world obsessed with the internet. Therefore, in order to create the most positive customer experience, ensure your stadium is equipped with the latest and greatest WiFi technology. You want your guests to be on their phones taking photos and videos so that they can share them on social media and create free advertising for your venue.
Start with offering free WiFi and work up to offering 5G connectivity for faster service.
Giving your fans a fast internet experience will note only drive retention, but will also cater to Millennial and Gen Z audiences who prioritize connectivity in their everyday lives.
7) Produce and Share Highlight Videos
Fans love a good hype reel! The time people spend watching videos continues to grow year over year. In fact, 33.33% of all online activity is video consumption. The average person spends 18 hours a week watching videos online.
Investing in simple video technology like cameras and lighting equipment goes a long way for event visibility and intrigue. Short videos under one minute in length tend to perform better, so take the time to produce highlight videos of your event and stadium to share on social platforms. Additionally, consider adding videos as evergreen content online in order to drive engagement and impressions even after the event.
Upgrade Your Sales Deck to Stand Out From the Crowd
Which of these technology advancements have you tackled at your stadium, and which ones are you eager to try out?
Dozens of top performing stadiums have found that ditching PowerPoint and making the switch to dynamic, trackable DIGIDECK sales and renewal presentations gives them the upper hand in the buying process.
Aim big and hit your goals with help from a striking sales deck that gives you hours back each week— see how Madison Square Garden, American Airlines Center, and more are securing sell-out crowds with a free DIGIDECK demo!
