Enhancing the soccer fan experience with technology
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and there are many indicators that it’s gaining significant steam in the US. Despite the interest and money from fans, many teams leave a lot to be desired when it comes to investing in technology to give their fans a better experience in and out of the stadium. Maybe it’s because many teams have rich legacies that span decades that they can hang their hats on, and they have garnered die-hard fan bases across the globe.
I recently started as the Director of Product Management for the San Francisco Deltas, a new professional soccer team beginning play in 2017, and we don’t have that legacy — and that’s a good thing. I’m excited because I believe we have an incredible and unique opportunity to be contributors and leaders in giving fans the technology-supported experiences they deserve.
So why the Deltas? We are starting from scratch so we need to build our team and fanbase from the ground up. This clean slate will allow us to get our fans familiar and integrated with technology without trying to cobble together legacy systems. As lovers of the sport, we want anything we build to be usable by other clubs in the future so they can provide their fans with a great experience.
We have an amazing team of investors, and many have had successful careers in the technology sector. They understand the value technology can bring to our fans and we fully expect to tap into their expertise along this journey.
Technology also supports our values as a team: innovation, transparency, and community. The connection between innovation and technology is fairly obvious. Technology can enable transparency by giving our fans a direct connection with the team and the ability to give feedback and even make some decisions ranging from what kind of food we should have at our games to what our home kit should be. Community can also be fostered by technology. We hope to build deeper connections between fans by rethinking how ticketing is done. Fans will initially buy a seat in a Flexible Seating section, but will be assigned a seat closer to game day in an area that has other people with that common interest.
Finally, our fans are the biggest reason I believe we can be leaders. We are in the epicenter of technology builders and early adopters. Fans will expect that we push the limits, and we will do that without being gimmicky. We also believe our fans will understand that we will make mistakes along the way, but it will always be in the spirit of experimentation and making the fan experience better.
Our road is long and our time to our February kickoff versus the San Jose Earthquakes is short, but we expect to tap into our startup DNA to move quickly, experiment, and iterate so that over time we can give fans the best experience possible. I’ll be checking in periodically with more detailed updates on the journey, so stay posted!
