The San Francisco 49ers are the newest team to spin their stadium business into a technology venture outside of their organization.
VenueNext, a company formed in October 2013 to help the Niners develop their mobile application for Levi’s Stadium, announced last week it is seeking new clients and investors to expand its business.
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VenueNext staff keeps an eye on the performance of the Levi’s Stadium mobile app.
Photo by: DON MURET / STAFF
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To date, the firm’s primary financial backer has been Aurum Partners, an investment company owned by the York family, owners of the 49ers. VenueNext’s 25 employees own equity in the company, said John Paul, the firm’s founder and chief operating officer.
Paul has spent 35 years working in the tech industry, mostly in Silicon Valley. He was previously senior vice president of Dish Digital. Before that, Paul served as executive vice president of Sling Media, where he helped build the Slingbox, a television streaming device.
Levi’s Stadium is VenueNext’s first customer, and as part of developing a full-service application, the company integrated stadium vendors Micros, Ticketmaster and Centerplate onto its platform. Aruba Networks is another partner through its 1,500 Bluetooth-powered beacons installed at Levi’s Stadium.
Next month, Experience, a firm that allows fans to upgrade their seats in-venue, will have its mobile application linked to the Levi’s Stadium app.
Some of those vendors, including Micros, a point-of-sale hardware and software company, will pitch VenueNext’s services as it secures new business, Paul said.
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Micros, recently acquired by Oracle for $5.3 billion, is a dominant player in the sports facility space and has more than 330,000 locations across 170 countries.
Two years ago, VenueNext and Micros officials sat down to map out a comprehensive in-seat delivery system for all fans in Levi’s Stadium through the facility’s mobile application. Both companies had to develop further technology before they hooked the systems together to make it all work, Paul said.
“We’re looking to do the broadest platform by integrating all systems in the stadium,” he said. “We can’t do it all ourselves.”
Over the past several months, VenueNext has had talks with the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Sacramento Kings, three big league teams building new facilities. The Falcons visited Levi’s Stadium to see the app in action during a 49ers preseason game, Paul said.
In addition, the vendor has spoken with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees through the 49ers’ ties to Legends, the sales agency owned by the two teams that sold premium seats for Levi’s Stadium. No further deals have been signed, Paul said.
“They all know what we’re doing,” he said. “They basically say, ‘Hey, if you do what you say you’re going to do, we’re interested.’ This is our big coming out party. I’m hoping with the success we’re having and demonstrating to people that it works, that we’ll have our choice of customers soon.”
The 49ers are not the first big league team to jump into the business of mobile technology. Sporting Innovations, owned by Sporting Kansas City, an MLS team, has deals with the Utah Jazz and the Sydney Cricket Ground, among other sports properties.
