Sports geekery: Welcome to the stadium that’s as smart as your phone

When the owners of the San Francisco 49ers drew up plans for the team’s new $1.3 billion stadium, they tapped the ingenuity surrounding their Silicon Valley home. The result? Levi’s Stadium is home to the first mobile app designed to enhance every aspect of a fan’s stadium experience, from steering fans to their parking spots to identifying the least-crowded restrooms. No more waiting in line for a $10 beer and $6 hot dog. During the game, fans can order food and drinks that can be delivered directly to their seats or picked up at express windows. Don’t agree with that call? Use the app to watch instant replays from four camera angles. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says he saw the app’s potential as soon as he downloaded it for the 49ers’ Sept. 14 regular-season opener.

Everybody’s connection to the outside world now really is their phone, so that has to become part of the (game-day) experience.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak

The app will ask fans if they want to order food and drinks at certain times during the game, depending on past behavior patterns. And Levi’s Stadium greeters now can welcome fans by name after scanning their digital tickets at the gate. Ultimately, the 49ers hope to profit from the digital capabilities by eliminating ticket printing costs and ringing up more concession sales as the team gains a better understanding of fans’ individual preferences. Although some of the planned features aren’t yet complete, roughly one-third of the sold-out crowds at the 49ers’ first two regular-season games have used the app in some way. Levi’s Stadium is now a massive laboratory that can test technology’s ability to change the way large crowds experience athletic events, concerts and possibly even political conventions.

We think this is going to be the forebear of everything else that comes to stadiums.

49ers CEO Jed York