The 49ers are running into their second-annual tech and analytics conference this week. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Team presidents from six Bay Area professional sports teams will gather at the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium on Thursday to share their ideas about how technology, analytics and strategy can advance the success of pro sports in their region.
At the 49ers’ second-annual Innovation & Business Strategy conference, which will take place on May 9 and 10 in Santa Clara, 49ers President Al Guido will host Oakland Athletics President David Kaval, San Jose Sharks President Jonathen Becher, San Jose Earthquakes President Tom Fox, Golden State Warriors President (and recently-elected NBA Hall of Famer) Rick Welts and San Francisco Giants President Laurence Baer. The only president of a major local franchise missing from that list is Marc Badain of the Oakland Raiders. But the Raiders are soon to become the Las Vegas Raiders and be absent from the Bay Area entirely, anyway.
Whereas some teams in major markets might find themselves in competition, the 49ers hope to join together with other local teams in a learning session that might lead to collaboration. This “Presidents Panel” will be the physical manifestation of the hashtag #bayareaunite that many Bay Area teams already use when tweeting one another with kudos and good luck ahead of games, says Guido. The premise being that a rising tide lifts all boats.
“They’re tremendous organizations, on the cutting edge of their sport,” says Guido, referencing the Warriors’ innovation on and off the court and how the Giants were one of the first teams in pro sports to experiment with mobile ticketing. “If we can can steal good ideas from each other and bring it to our fans, we should do that.”
San Francisco’s NFL team will host more than 20 speakers and four panel discussions altogether over the two-day conference, with attendees representing the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB, and discussions ranging from ticketing and data analytics to artificial intelligence and business strategy. The conference will be less about using data analytics to evaluate player performance, and will instead emphasize business strategy through analytics. A key goal is to find synergies that drive top-line growth.
Esports will be on the agenda, with the chairman of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Team Dignitas in attendance. So will tech and investing, with speakers representing Sapphire Ventures, Facebook, Idemia, VenueNext, and Intel.
The conference will also offer a forum for entrepreneurs in business analytics and strategy to meet with major players in the space, something Guido says is an important focus for his team. More than 45 startups have so far moved through 49ers Enterprises, the team’s investment and advisory offshoot.
Asked about which area of tech he (and the 49ers) are particularly excited about, Guido raises the evolution of broadcasting and says he’s interested to see how streaming will couple with the live in-arena experience to create new, engaging content for fans.
Keeping fans inside and outside the stadium invested, both during and in between games, is something the 49ers have long embraced. Last season, they teamed up with 30sec.io to launch a platform that delivered curated team-related audio to smart home devices and connected vehicles. The team also incorporated new virtual reality and 360-degree video features into its own app.
“As I told my staff the other day, I think this is the best time to be involved in the world of sports,” Guido says. “Live experiences in-arena have never been better—and the same thing can be said for the content experience. You’ve never been able to be as close to your fans as you are today.”
