Our 2013 NFL Tech Series provides a quick hit of tech insight on all 32 NFL teams up until kickoff of Week 1 of the regular season. Each feature includes the latest tech advances implemented by the organization in the effort to advance the team’s success… in a wide variety of venues. Stadium experience, fan engagement, mobile technologies, player performance and health, statistical data gathering and analysis… any and all aspects of the organization’s procedures in the effort to find success in the NFL is on the table. We’re uncovering those efforts, investigating those innovations and pondering the benefit they might provide, for the team, players and fans alike… today and looking forward.
Today’s subject: the Oakland Raiders, a team often associated with tradition and history and, with new-school leaders facing old-school challenges, a team desperate to make more.
Catching Up (Sort Of)
The loyal fans of the NFL will recognize Oakland’s motto – “Commitment to Excellence” – a sign of a generation past. For decades the Raiders were run by Al Davis and the corporate slogan served as a reflection of the effort on the field. However, as the years wore on and Davis wore on with them, the lack of commitment to progress brought more than few with pointed finger at Davis claiming the Raiders were being left behind. Shortly after Davis’ passing, the pains of those failures to evolve (on all fronts) were detailed by Yahoo’s Mike Silver, discussing heir-to-the-throne Mark Davis and his lack of connection to technology, commerce and leadership in a post titled, “Raiders owner Mark Davis is in over his head”.
More recently, Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter detailed the state of the corporation as such: “Still, the depths of the struggle might not have truly hit (general manager Reggie) McKenzie until several months after his hiring, when he changed into his workout gear and headed to the back of the team’s Alameda training facility, where his long jog around the practice fields was spoiled by wildly uneven footing and goose droppings… When McKenzie asked who was responsible for the upkeep of the fields, which were riddled with dirt patches, the answer stunned him. The Raiders did not employ a full-time, on-site groundskeeper….When he went to view the club’s draft room last year, he discovered that none existed, so he had one built from scratch. When he requested the team’s scouting questionnaires for evaluating college prospects, he learned there weren’t any, so he created them.”
In other words, this is a team just starting to learn about organization… much less technology. The new regime is working to get things up to some semblance of “speed,” and while they continue to battle struggles against ownership, there are small signs of change.
Speaking Up (Just A Bit)
While the coaching staff works to improve in their operations, the easy avenues for moving the organization forward are being found via marketing. The most noteworthy advance by the crew has to be the team’s new mobile app. Working with the mobile development team at TIBCO, the Raiders have put forth a solid effort available on iOS and Android. More importantly, they are officially working with a progressive organization (TIBCO is a publicly-trade Silicon Valley organization working towards goals in big data via cloud applications) offering one of the most comprehensive mobile portals in the NFL. Interactive schedules and rosters, fan networking, real-time polling, immediate access to staff at The Coliseum and the ticket office… those are just a few of the perks you’ll find in this offering, and it’s hard to deny it shines.
You’ll also find the social team for the Raiders working in positive directions. Many of the teams in the NFL have recognized the power of social and are dedicated to improving those efforts (it’s a cheap means to a positive, interactive end). A recent blog post from Raiders.com blogger Jerry Knaak shows this crew is getting support from finance to produce top-notch social engagement via training camp, and we expect you’ll be seeing continued advance for tech via the venue down that same road… we just wonder where that road leads.
Stepping Up (And So Far Behind)
Oakland is currently fighting to keep the Raiders in town. With the new (and not-at-all improved) Davis in charge, rumors run rampant suggesting this team is one of the most probable candidates for relocation. Los Angeles is a destination many view as one of desire for the NFL, and as such the Raiders are expected to be in the discussion as the team to fill that void. However, the city of Oakland recently announced the dedication of $1 million to study new stadium proposals. The propsal – titled “Coliseam City” – seeks a proper site for a full-blown neighborhood development, targeting 1,000 acres where the O.co Coliseum and Oracle Arena currently reside. Designs are supposedly inspired by the Staples Arena location in LA (home for three professional teams) along with a bevy of entertainment venues.
There are some wondering which teams – if any – will be joining the Raiders at Coliseum City, but it’s impossible to deny the Raiders seem destined for venue upgrade and (we would hope) adjacent tech advances should follow… but that’s still a plan unfolding.
Today, the Oakland Raiders easily rank amongst the NFL’s poor and unfortunate in review of technological integration. It’s impossible to predict what Davis will do with the team (and his money) moving forward, but he’s already opened the purse strings a bit, and they seem to be evolving in thought. Recent reports note the Alameda County Sheriff recently came calling with hopes of testing facial recognition at Raiders home games, and those same reports suggest the Sheriff was turned away. At the very least… that’s a sign of progressive thought.
It’s still not enough, but it’s a start. We hope the 2014 report for this series brings more report of work done… and not so much on work in the works.