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Facilities: Listening to what women want

As the female fan base continues to grow, sports facilities are responding with everything from “bubble bars” to spots to snap the perfect selfie.

“Instagram-able” spots such as this one at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field cater to the desire to have more sharable moments.Seattle Seahawks

Arenas and stadiums know that when it comes to appealing to women at sporting events, they better get one thing right: the restrooms. The amount and quality of restrooms have long been the top complaint for female fans going to games.

“Many female fans cite length of queueing times at restrooms as a primary source of dissatisfaction at sports events,” said Michelle Frantellizzi, an architect and designer with NBBJ’s sports practice.

But that’s just part of the story. Sports facilities are listening to the growing female fan demographic on other fronts by rolling out a variety of new amenities including specialized food stands, bars and fan experiences.

Teams, concessionaires and architects are using analytics, fan surveys and apps to gauge the fan experience and track consumer behaviors that could decide their next moves. That includes the swath of female sports fans ranging from socializing millennials and wine lovers to moms with kids in tow.

Some of the data is low-hanging fruit — or grapes.

With women making up 59 percent of U.S. wine drinkers, according to the Wine Market Council, more venues have responded by opening wine bars. 

The Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are among the teams that have added “bubble bars” that feature wine, champagne and sparkling wine. The Seahawks also serve mulled wine at cold-weather home games at CenturyLink Field. 

The New York Yankees opened a wine bar with locally based City Winery at Yankee Stadium this past MLB season. The San Francisco 49ers have wine available at 21 bars and stands at Levi’s Stadium, and feature Napa Valley and other California wineries each week in club areas as part of a program called Appellation 49.

Other fan experience enhancements include “Instagram-able” murals and art where fans can take selfies, which caters to the desire for more sharable moments.

And venues are offering more food choices that get beyond fried fare.

Globe Life Field, the future home of the Texas Rangers, will feature a marketplace concept from concessionaire Delaware North on the lower concourse that will be highlighted by local restaurants, retail and fresh food. 

“It will feel like a farmers market,” said Loretta Fulvio, associate principal, senior vice president and design director for sports and entertainment for architecture firm HKS. “We want the area to just let people get back to their roots and how people used to socialize.” 

The Milwaukee Bucks and concessionaire Levy Restaurants have opened a locally infused Southside Market at the new Fiserv Forum. Other venues such as the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami have rolled out more vegan, vegetarian and fresh food at games.

When various research, including a study by Deloitte, revealed that female NFL fans didn’t believe they had enough team apparel options, teams and vendors responded by increasing offerings and creating larger sections in team shops and online.

In September, for example, the Dallas Cowboys opened a shop featuring women’s apparel at The Star mixed-use development in Frisco, Texas. That women’s apparel push, led by Cowboys Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones Anderson, also has pop-up shops open on game days at AT&T Stadium.

Other team shops are trying to cash in on the growing athleisure fashion trend of wearing sporty clothing, such as yoga pants and hoodies. The U.S. athleisure market — which is driven mostly by women — totaled $48 billion last year, according NPD Group. It is projected to reach $83 billion by 2020, according to Morgan Stanley. 

The Arizona Cardinals added a “bubble bar” that features wine, champagne and sparkling wine.Arizona Cardinals

Rank + Rally, the retail arm of Levy Restaurants that operates teams stores at the Staples Center, United Center, Barclays Center and other venues, sees the trend as a way to expand the retail customer base beyond diehard sports fans and reach casual fans. 

Fan data also has driven decisions to provide more diaper-changing stations at sports venues, as well as rooms and pods for breastfeeding mothers.

“Forty-six percent of the NFL audience is made up of women,” said Arizona Cardinals President Michael Bidwill. “One of the things that we heard, from moms especially, is that there were no nursing rooms, no private rooms if they want to nurse.”

The Cardinals’ stadium is among a host of sports venues — including Soldier Field in Chicago and Citi Field in New York — that offer spaces for nursing moms.

Fan surveys by architecture firm Populous found that only 25 percent of fans overall take their children with them to most games, citing both security concerns and the hassles of keeping children entertained. In response, Populous is pitching a premium space to venues called the Family Lounger Box that would feature play areas, changing stations and baby-sitting services. 

At Levi’s Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers provide private pods for mothers who are breastfeeding.San Francisco 49ers

As for making changes on the fly, the 49ers launched a real-time analytics system with SAP that can track lines at concession stands, complaints about restrooms and other aspects of the game-day experience. That allows problems and complaints to be addressed that day. The Milwaukee Bucks use secret shoppers to test out food stands and bars, and check the condition of restrooms at the team’s new arena. 

When it comes to what’s next, Delaware North, Levy and other concessionaires continue to lean more on analytics at their venues to better track consumer behavior and tastes.

Andrew Spencer, vice president of customer engagement and revenue for Delaware North, said the insight allows teams, venue managers and designers to drill down on specific demos and find out how to best serve them, whether it’s staffing, inventories, menus or whom to target with promotions.

“We can start to make smarter decisions based now on what they are buying and where they are buying it,” Spencer said.

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