There’s plenty to look forward to in the world of sport this year. To highlight the most important trends, Golfsupport.com studied the Deloitte report “Trends Expected to Disrupt and Dominate in 2018” to pull 4 key points that illustrate just how the sporting world is changing.

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Protect the Real MVP

Sports franchises the world over will continue to build state of the art stadiums, but will bear in mind physical security protocols need to be updated. To achieve this, it is expected stadium operators will rely on digital solutions to bolster their security capabilities.

To contend with potential threats, stadium operators have begun implementing biometric recognition, electronic fingerprinting, RFID tags, and other similar technologies that enable them to inspect fans efficiently upon stadium entry, and evacuate and track fans quickly and safely in the event of an attack.

Further, to curtail any violent behaviour, incident tracking, fibre-optic camera surveillance, video analytics, and other non-invasive technologies will play a firm role in stadium security strategy.

By harnessing technology to ensure a safe fan experience, sports franchises can potentially minimize the risk of violent incidents, and avoid the subsequent revenue loss associated with such events.

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Let Fans Call the Shots

As the temptation to experience games from the comfort and convenience of the home continues to rise, sports teams have begun to expand the definition of the “season-ticket holder” and evolve their ticket packages to engage a broader continuum of fans. For example, in the US, the New York Jets have rolled out subscription-based mobile passes that allow fans to attend a predetermined number of games for a flat fee.

The trend of innovating the game-day experience through stadium enhancements and participation opportunities has also spurred more tailored ticket offerings. In 2018, ticketing creativity is key, inspiring a whole new generation of fans to the venue.

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Win the Hearts of Millennials

Gone are the days of mass marketing games on hard copy adverts and TV. Instead, as individuals increasingly watch sporting events over digital platforms, the data trail left behind will be used to target fans with personalised offers to buy tickets or merchandise.

By moving ad spend to digital and social channels, teams can effectively target fans who are already interested in their content. This method is particularly important for organisations hoping to capture the loyalty of millennials, whose preferred media mediums are smartphones and mobile applications.

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The Digital Coin Takeover

Imagine a technology that enables full control of the ticket resale market, and prevents tickets from being fraudulently copied or shared. Well, this is possible through two trends influencing the financial markets – cryptocurrency and blockchain.

These digital assets have the potential to disrupt the sports industry through their ability to mitigate risk, create new sources of value, and enable new secure transfers of information. Although still in its relative infancy, blockchain offers potential emerging solutions to many challenges the industry is striving to improve.

Challenges such as:

• Ticket traceability and data capture.
• Engagement throughout the fan journey.
• Gambling/daily betting.

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