Golden 50 signs have blanketed San Francisco. Construction cranes surround Levi’s. With just 17 days to Super Bowl 50, the minds behind the biggest football game in history convened at Chat Sports’ Minds Behind the Game Wednesday night.
The focus of their ninth thought leadership summit was on the brand and technology partners of SB50: the host stadium, the NFL fan experience, and the cutting-edge technology at Super Bowl City. Hosted in partnership with the Super Bowl 50 Committee, the event also marked the launch of the Chat Sports Android app—just in time for the big game.
Get The Latest Sports Tech Event News In Your Inbox!
Al Guido, Chief Operating Officer of the 49ers, Aidan Lyons, VP of Fan Centric Marketing for the NFL, and Sam Yen, Chief Design Officer at SAP tackled the topics in a discussion moderated by Chat Sports CEO James Yoder. When asked what will make this Super Bowl the best yet, Lyons provided an exclusive preview of the mobile fan experience.
“We’re putting the fan first and putting the technology in their hand to make things seamless,” Lyons explained. Fans visiting The NFL Experience driven by Hyundai, pro football’s interactive theme park set up in SF’s Moscone Center, will have instant access to the memories they make.
The NFL’s Fan Mobile Pass will be “the digital key to unlock an entirely new experience with user-generated content, ” touted Lyons. By registering their information just once on the app, fans can “tap-in” to sponsor areas, enter contests and automatically receive greenscreen photos and videos via email.
The focus on mobile tech prevailed, with encouragement from all to download the Levi’s App, the NFL’s Fan Mobile Pass, and the Chat Sports app well in advance of the game. Debuting first on Android today, with an update soon for their iPhone app, Chat Sports EXPLORE experience will track popular topics and share socially trending articles with fans. A polls feature will allow user to vote on winners of AFC & NFC championship games, as well as the Super Bowl champs and MVPs.
The SAP Fan Energy Zone will be another playground for fans. Virtual reality will transform young and old into snap-taking quarterbacks. The interactive experience will focus on uniting fans in the spirit of competition. “With our real-time technology, you’re going to be competing against everyone else,” Yen explained. “You could be throwing a pass with everyone else in the stadium.”
Guido addressed the logistics of game day itself. Though he cited his main worries as weather and transportation, Guido remained positive that the 49ers & Levi’s teams were planning ahead to avoid major challenges. Learning from the public transportation debacle at MetLife Stadium, the 49ers have worked closely with CalTrain to provide pre-ordered tickets for exact capacity counts—hoping to avoid long lines and delays. “We feel good about it,” Guido said with a smile.
After several questions from the crowd and the twittersphere (#behindthegame was trending locally due to volume), the hour was late and the night had to conclude. Handshakes and farewells from the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, SAP, and Chat Sports sent attendees on their way. But the mode was anything but tired. The energy was palpable and the hype was high: Super Bowl 50, here we come.