The Browns' front office has implemented a variety of "efforts to
gauge the experience of their fans before, during and after" games, according to Kevin Kleps of CRAIN'S CLEVELAND BUSINESS. Browns President Alec Scheiner, Exec VP & Chief Revenue Officer Brent Stehlik and other team execs made "the rounds in Cleveland's lakefront Municipal Parking Lot before the Browns' Oct. 13 game" against the Lions. Scheiner said, "Part of the reason I do this is just to understand our fan base better." Kleps notes the Browns also employ "secret shoppers at every home game who roam FirstEnergy Stadium, talk to fans and workers, take pictures -- and take in everything." Delaware North Cos. GM Fattar Thomas, whose company is one of the Browns' two main concessionaires, said Scheiner, Stehlik and Browns CEO Joe Banner "leave no stone unturned." Scheiner said that the team has fans "fill out surveys on portable devices provided by stadium personnel during every game." Scheiner: "I have a running spreadsheet of all the things we're trying to address." A vast amount of data is "a must" for Scheiner. His shoppers include "an outside company" contracted by the team, as well as "uniformed personnel who roam the stadium and take notes and Delaware North's secret buyers." The team's new fan experience initiatives include "new gates and screening lines to improve stadium entry, a disc jockey, enhanced cell phone service, banner unveilings, even weiner dog races at the halftimes of one preseason and one regular-season game." Scheiner said that the initiatives have been "very well-received" (CRAIN'S CLEVELAND BUSINESS, 10/21 issue).
