Getting through security lines and into Safeco Field to see a Seattle Mariners baseball game could be a smoother process for fans who sign up with Clear, makers of a biometric identity platform. And it could eventually lead to less hassle in the beer line. Safeco joined two other venues Friday in announcing that they were adopting the service. SunTrust Park, home to the Atlanta Braves, and Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, home to the Oakland Athletics, will also use Clear. Eleven professional sports teams across MLB, the NBA and MLS have signed on for what Clear calls a “frictionless and customized fan experience.”… Read More
TAYLOR’S TAKE ON THE WEEK IN SPORTS TECH: Can better tackling make football safer? That’s the thesis behind Atavus Football, a Seattle-based startup that uses data analytics and rugby fundamentals to help football players with their tackling technique. The company scored a big win this week after the Texas High School Coaches Association picked Atavus to oversee the certification process for a new mandatory statewide tackling certification program. Atavus encourages players to make contact with their shoulder, keeping their head out of the tackle. The company’s “Tacklytics” platform uses video and data analysis to help coaches understand how well their players are… Read More
Seattle is definitely a sports town. Or, a geeky sports town. At least it was Thursday night at the seventh GeekWire Bash, the annual extravaganza that turns the CenturyLink Field Events Center into a roaming geek carnival. With hundreds of participants competing at assorted skill levels in multiple brackets, the competition was fierce in dodgeball, ping pong, foosball and “Settlers of Catan.” And aside from those main events, people knocked each other over in Sumo costumes, took on Seattle Sounders FC players in “FIFA 18,” battled it out in a variety of virtual reality and traditional video games and much… Read More
NFL COO Tod Leiweke stepped down Tuesday and reports indicate that the former Seahawks CEO will team up with his brother and help lead Seattle’s potential new NHL franchise. Both the Seattle Times and KIRO Radio report that Leiweke will return to Seattle and join his brother, Tim Leiweke, who heads up Oak View Group, the ownership firm trying to bring an NHL expansion team to the Emerald City. Leiweke spent the past three years as a top NFL executive and led the Seahawks from 2003 to 2010. He spoke at our GeekWire Sports Tech Summit this past summer and… Read More
Jason Flick isn’t a player on the pitch for the Seattle Sounders FC. But he will be representing the team in competition this season, and he’s even ready to take on some of the pros who play soccer for a living. Flick is a pro in his own right, as an eports gamer, and he’s one of a handful of players chosen to compete in eMLS, a new competitive gaming league organized in partnership with EA Sports. “I’ve been playing ‘FIFA’ on console for about 10 years, creating content on YouTube for over five years now,” said Flick, who is… Read More
