An exterior view of the Capital One Arena during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Thursday, Apr. 18, 2019 – A roundup of some of the key sports technology stories you need to know, including SportTechie’s own content and stories from around the web.
- Capital One Arena First to Accept Alipay Mobile Payment System: Washington D.C.’s Capital One Arena will become the first venue to accept Alipay, a mobile payment system owned by the Alibaba Group. Home of the Wizards and Capitals, the Monumental Sports & Entertainment-owned arena will make the payment solution available across ticketing, concessions, and its stores. The integration of Alipay could help target Chinese sports fans in the D.C. area. Chinese travelers were by far the top international visitors to the D.C. metro area in 2017, with a total of 302,000 visitors, according to the Washington Board of Tourism.
- LeBron’s Uninterrupted Launches Boxing Docuseries “40 Days” With DAZN: LeBron James’s digital media company Uninterrupted has partnered with streaming platform DAZN to launch a new boxing docuseries called 40 Days. The first edition of the series will debut Apr. 23 and follow boxing stars Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs as they prepare for their fight on May 4. James and his business associate Maverick Carter will be executive producers for the series, which will air on the DAZN platform and DAZN social media channels, Uninterrupted’s social channels, as well as Univision, NBC Sports Network, and a group of regional sports networks including MSG, according to the Associated Press.
- The NBA 2K League Will Play a Road Trip Tournament in Las Vegas in May: The NBA 2K League has scheduled its first set of regular season games to be played outside the league’s New York City studio. From May 9 through May 11, the esports league will move competition to the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas for THE TURN, a 20-game tournament sponsored by AT&T. “The atmosphere in the NBA 2K League Studio during games is electric,” said NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue in a press release. “We are thrilled to bring the best NBA 2K players in the world and that studio experience to our fans in Las Vegas.”
- Sportradar and SportsGrid Plan Free 24-Hour Betting Network: Sports data firm Sportradar and fantasy sports media outlet SportsGrid have partnered to launch a free 24-hour sports betting network. The deal will combine Sportradar’s advertising and streaming technology and data with SportsGrid’s programming to provide fans with analysis of stats and odds across professional sports, according to a press release. Sportradar has signed data distribution deals with sports organizations such as MLB, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, FIFA, and NASCAR. “The integration of Sportradar data and technology into our content is game changing for our free twenty-four hour audio and video gambling network,” stated Louis M. Maione, president of SportsGrid.
- Eyecarrot Announces Vision Training Partnership With Sporting Kansas City: Vision performance company Eyecarrot will work with MLS club Sporting Kansas City. The team will deploy Eyecarrot’s Binovi Touch software platform to conduct tests that track and measure each player’s visionary performance. “We are incredibly excited to implement Binovi Touch into our regimen to assist in baseline testing our athletes for post-concussion rehab, screen our athletes to develop a thorough vision profile throughout the athletes at all levels in our organization, and to create individualized vision training protocols for their deficiencies,” said Kurt Andrews, Sporting KC’s head athletic trainer and director of sports medicine, in a press release.
