Case Study: SAP Helps 49ers Hone Real-Time Stadium Operations

Name of organization: San Francisco 49ers

Industry: Professional sports

Location: Santa Clara, California

Opportunity or challenge encountered: The San Francisco 49ers are one of the most innovative and tech-savvy teams in the NFL. Heading into this season, the 49ers tapped long-time collaborator SAP to address a key challenge—the need to have more visibility across all operations in the stadium, in real-time, on game day.

At Levi’s Stadium on game day there are 3,500 employees, 70,000 fans, 15,000 parking spots, and concessions and retail stands for 600-plus points of sale, among other critical services.

The team needed a solution that would aggregate and report real-time data for the operations team, allowing them to make more informed decisions and proactively address potential issues immediately, instead of days later.

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Meeting the challenge: SAP collaborated with the 49ers to develop Executive Huddle, a first-of-its-kind sports venue management platform, which allows the team to visualize real-time data across all aspects of stadium operations, and respond in the moment during games to optimize operations and ultimately enhance the fan experience.

Within a “digital boardroom” suite at Levi’s Stadium (and on mobile devices), team officials can see and monitor real-time data visualizations on screens outlining in-venue operations spanning nine data sources, including attendance, parking, food and beverage, retail, weather, ticketing, and social media.

They can also drill down into specific areas, as well as benchmark real-time data against past games and seasons.

Benefits: The team can now call audibles throughout a game that positively impact operations, enhance fan satisfaction and drive cost efficiencies.

Real-time data and insights have already proven valuable. For example, examining ticket data has allowed the 49ers to re-direct fans entering the arena. As a result, wait times to enter Levi’s Stadium have decreased.

(Sources: SAP, San Francisco 49ers)