There’s a pretty short list of things that people do not enjoy about attending live sporting events. Some entries in that list include very loud noises, poor cell phone service, raucous Raider and/or Dodger fans, potentially getting sunburnt, and — certainly above all else — having to wait in egregiously long lines to purchase concessions or use the restroom. Rarely ever do lengthy lines dissuade people from going to a sporting event, but some of the most commonly uttered words around a stadium are: “Eh, I’ll just wait until there’s no line.”
Alas, how does one know when there will be no line? If ever anybody had an existential crisis at a baseball game, it would come about as a result of their inability to decide when there might not be a crowd at the hot dog stand. Fortunately, WaitTime is here to answer the prayers of everyone (including yours truly) that has no interest in missing a significant portion of a game just to get a soda. WaitTime uses “patent-pending crowd-science technology [that] provides real-time information on fan traffic to major entertainment and sports venues,” and does so in an effort to ultimately eliminate the majority of long lines to get food or go to the bathroom at all venues — not just athletic ones.
Seeing as WaitTime is a relatively new technology, it has yet to be implemented in essentially every stadium — which hopefully it will be, as the opportunity to avoid lines will undoubtedly spur attendees to purchase more concessions. That said, WaitTime has already found it’s way into the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, where the NBA’s Pistons play on a regular basis and the likes of Michael Jackson and Led Zeppelin have performed concerts in the past. Fans in attendance at Pistons’ games will be able to access WaitTime’s data either from 30 screens located around seating sections, or from the Pistons Mobile App on their smartphone — thus, not even having to leave their seat.
Fundamentally, WaitTime appears to be something that should have been implemented in venues a long time ago, as it truly affords people the opportunity to maximize their time viewing whatever event they came to a given venue to see.
While the Pistons are the first sports team to catch that drift, it should not be long (not sure if WaitTime can determine how long, unfortunately) before other institutions implement the technology, giving their fans a more enjoyable stadium experience.
