Top 5 Locations to Deploy Digital Signage in Sports Venues

Every year, Americans spend $56 billion to attend sports events. This cost includes tickets, transportation, drinks, and beverages at the venue. The most profitable sports stadiums use digital signage to further immerse fans in the action from the moment they enter the arena until they leave.

Sports venues were among the earliest adopters of digital signage. From the 1980s, large Jumbotron displays became a mainstay in sports arenas to offer up-close views to fans who couldn’t get a seat near the field. Today, LED billboards stream high-definition animations across sports venues, exciting fans and luring them back to subsequent games.

Deploying digital signage in locations that will maximize engagement and efficiency is equally important as the digital signage content on the screens. When your message is communicated clearly, concession lines will move faster, fans can learn more about upcoming events and players, and overall engagement and excitement will boost, which will result in higher sales and retention. Below are the top locations to place digital signage in your sports facility to ensure you are maximizing the return on your digital signage investment.

1. Concessions Menu Board

Digital menu boards are transforming how sports venues market their foods and beverages at concession stands. Essentially, a digital menu board is a visual deployment of your menu on a brightly-lit screen.

Previously, sports fans sifted through physical menus to explore their food and drink choices. But, paper menus have numerous limitations, including getting ruined easily. Moreover, people get disappointed when their favorite dish runs out, while employees frequently reprint menus to introduce new items.

In comparison, updating a digital menu board takes a few clicks on a content management system. If the ingredients for a fast-moving item run out, simply update the menu board with other choices. Further, swapping menus for different times of the day is effortless.

You can configure the digital signage menu in a multi-screen configuration, where each screen advertises one or a few products. Then, use attractive imagery to draw attention to special discounts and new items to drive higher conversions at your food stand.

Digital menu boards also keep the line moving by displaying all menu choices in a clear, readable manner. In this way, fans quickly make decisions and order, reducing crowds at concession stands. Besides, 74% of customers prioritize an easy-to-read menu in their dining experience.

2. Team Shop

Many sports fans who troop to the stadium want to go back home with gear. Indeed, the sports memorabilia market is worth $26 billion and is projected to reach $227.2 billion by 2032. As such, a team shop is an excellent retail investment to sell jerseys, hats, gloves, autographed memorabilia, and novelty items.

Digital signage has transformed the in-store shopping experience in retail stores, and your team shops can leverage the technology to drive sales. For instance, play replays on vivid in-store screens to advertise items that players wore on game day.

Embellish the content with your team colors to invoke team pride among shoppers and use beautiful imagery to trigger impulse purchases. Further, run promotions on in-store displays and create a sense of urgency on popular items. Lastly, use Point-of-Sale displays for advertising smaller items like tennis balls, gloves, hats, headbands, and bracelets.

3. Stadium Hallways

Deploying digital displays across your stadium’s hallways offers numerous interaction points with fans. Previously, sports arenas featured static directional, advertisement, and informational signs in hallways and concourse areas.

Digital signage for sports venues eliminates the printing costs associated with paper flyers. At the same time, digital signage software relieves staff from spending too much time redesigning posters since you can quickly change the content on a screen with a few clicks.

Wayfinding is a chief function of hallway screens. Spectators need directions to their seats, bathrooms, concession stands, parking, and exits. Typically, live events attract large crowds, making it easy for people to get lost in your venue.

Thankfully, digital signage screens enrich the fan experience by offering clear directional information. Interactive kiosks elevate the customer experience further by letting people search for the quickest routes to their seats or food stands with the shortest wait times.

Beyond wayfinding, digital signage solutions are excellent platforms for entertainment. For example, encourage spectators to share social media posts under specific hashtags. Then, display these posts prominently on social media walls across your stadium.

You can also install video walls to deliver immersive fan experiences. Think of how fans would be excited and proud to see their selfies, shoutouts, and tweets beside game scores, highlights, and close-ups of their favorite players.

Additionally, hallway video displays generate more revenue for stadiums through third-party advertising. Football arenas, golf courses, baseball fields, and other sports venues are prime locations for advertising because they attract crowds from all walks of life. So, sell ad space to local businesses, sponsorships, and partners and enjoy additional revenue.

4. Employee Breakroom

Usually, sports facilities employ many temporary and permanent employees to coordinate all aspects of a sporting event. Most of these workers are deskless, meaning they are on their feet most of the time and have little time to check phones or computers. For example, merchandise sellers, ticket sales staff, safety stewards, and hospitality personnel are busiest on game day.

Hence, you need an effective communication platform to reach all workers and offer timely and relevant updates. Breakroom digital signage is ideal because it attracts an employee’s undivided attention as they take a break between shifts.

Historically, employee breakrooms featured bulletin boards that employees largely ignored. Digital signage uses captivating imagery and vivid animations to engage employees.

You can use digital signage in employee breakrooms to show various kinds of content. First, share welcome messages when onboarding new employees, especially if you often hire temp workers. Each employee wants to feel like part of a team. Hence, recognize workers on their first day and share quick videos to empower them at their jobs.

Next, display shift schedules and upcoming games on breakroom signs to keep everyone updated. The ability to make real-time updates to timetables on digital signage ensures that the information on digital displays is always accurate.

Lastly, leverage digital displays to enhance employee recognition and satisfaction. Employee recognition boosts employee performance, productivity, and engagement by 14%. Therefore, celebrate employee accomplishments, birthdays, and work anniversaries with colorful digital displays.

5. Office Hallways

The office hallways in a football stadium are prime locations for vibrant digital signs. Primarily, office hallway displays provide wayfinding information to help new employees, coaches, entertainment assistants, athletes, and other parties find their way to departments and amenities.

Commonly, stadiums host different functions, including sports, conferences, music concerts, and private functions. Fortunately, digital signage is incredibly versatile, enabling you to customize the content according to the event. For example, office hallway displays can direct conference attendees to meeting rooms and coaches to the lounge before games.

Hallway digital signs are also effective mediums for distributing emergency messaging. Sports arenas face many security threats, including terrorism, fire, food contamination, extreme weather, and assault on employees and attendees. As such, you must have mitigation strategies in place, such as mass notification systems and lockdown procedures.

Digital signage in sports venues promotes safety by broadcasting real-time emergency alerts. Emergency messages override the content on office hallway displays in case of a fire, explosive devices, or another emergency. Subsequently, staff act quickly to get everyone to safety while security personnel receives the information they need to activate safety protocols.

Immerse Sports Fans in the Action with Digital Signage

Today’s sports attendees want to experience the thrills of live sports up close when they go to support their favorite sports team. Digital signage in sports venues streams action replays, player interviews, stats, and social media feeds to entertain and excite fans.

Further, digital billboards enhance visibility for partnering brands, driving revenue and attracting other sponsorships. Meanwhile, wayfinding displays reduce stadium chaos by helping people get to their seats, food stands, parking, and bathrooms. Ultimately, digital signage elevates the fan experience and drives demand for tickets.