Amazon may have skipped putting its name on the outside of the renovated stadium where the Seattle Kraken will begin NHL play next month, but the company is bringing its technology to the inside of Climate Pledge Arena. The arena announced Wednesday that four food and beverage stores inside the arena will be equipped with “Just Walk Out” cashierless technology like that used in Amazon Go convenience stores and some Fresh grocery stores. The arena stores will also feature Amazon One palm-scanning tech, which lets customers enter and pay with the wave of a hand. Just Walk Out allows customers… Read More
Amazon is adding a little promotional branding on the helmets of the Seattle Kraken, the city’s new NHL team set to take the ice for its inaugural season next month. The tech giant’s smile logo will be affixed to both sides of midnight blue helmets that the Kraken will wear for home games, the team revealed Tuesday. When the team is away from its home at Climate Pledge Arena, white helmets will feature decals that read “The Climate Pledge,” as a way to draw attention to the effort to get businesses to commit to going net zero carbon by 2040.… Read More
A major new player on the sports television landscape could be an MVP for fans of teams in the Pacific Northwest thanks to a deal announced Thursday. fuboTV, a growing live-TV streaming platform with a heavy emphasis on sports, has reached an agreement to stream ROOT Sports, the home of regional game telecasts for the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Kraken and Portland Trail Blazers. The deal will include ROOT’s coverage of more than 300 live regular season games of those teams and gives cable TV cord cutters a way to keep up with the teams and related coverage, especially as the… Read More
Morgan Geekie might be the right guy for the right town. There are obviously plenty of geeks in Seattle and we’ve even embraced a handful who play professional sports in the city. But this is the first time we’ve connected with one who’s especially, well … Geekie. A 23-year-old hockey player from the tiny town of Strathclair, Manitoba, Geekie was selected last week by the Seattle Kraken during the NHL expansion draft. In 38 career games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Geekie had six goals and three assists. Three of those points came in his first NHL game — and his… Read More
For all of the technology being developed and considered for Seattle’s new NHL team — from the mobile app that will help drive the fan experience to various touches throughout a $1 billion arena — Todd Humphrey is particularly driven by his desire to avoid standing in line. “I’m highly motivated as a Canadian and as a hockey player to get people beer and to their seat faster,” Humphrey said. “You couldn’t have a better guy thinking about this day in and day out.” Humphrey is senior vice president of digital and fan experience for the Seattle Kraken, the NHL… Read More
