Wearable Experiments sees its new Football Fan shirt as the fourth dimension of entertainment because fans are physically and digitally connected to their favorite teams.

The shirt uses haptic technology to connect soccer fans with game actions, such as fouls, shots on goals, and celebrations.

“Using the skin as an interface, we are able to transmit plays from the game directly to the wearer using choreographed haptic feedback,” the company said. “This creates a heightened sense of excitement blurring the lines between player and spectator. As well as connecting fans to fans and capturing the data from fan excitement.”

Fans connect the shirt via an app and they can select which teams to follow.  Wearable Experiments also unveiled a similar shirt at the 2016 Super Bowl.

I imagine this could be a good item to sell in a team store. What are your thoughts? Please share them in the comments section below.

(Image: Facebook)

IAVM is proud to announce that the Grand Ole Opry House is our 100^th Venue Group Member. It just seems fitting since both were founded in the 1920s. To celebrate, we are excited to offer our Group Members a special promotion rate for VenueConnect 2016 of $795 now through July 17. To take advantage, select the Professional Group Member option. The conference dates are July 23-26 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

If you are a decision maker for your venue and you want your employees to get involved in IAVM, we urge you to join; complete your Group Membership Application today. Group Membership is $3,000 for up to 20 employees for one venue, one address, an average of $150 per membership.

Register for VenueConnect soon. This special Group Member rate expires July 17. Contact the Meetings Department if you have any questions.

Following the January 2016 review by the IAVM Board of Directors, staff has researched the new conference strategy schedule and concept further. Please join us for a webinar on either June 24, 2016, or June 28, 2016, to review the presentation and discuss the concept and provide feedback. Feedback provided in June will then be utilized to further enhance the proposal before it is again presented to the IAVM Board of Directors as well as a final presentation to the membership in July at VenueConnect.

“The conference strategy conversation has gone from one of cautious hesitancy when we started down this road to one of excitement and great interest from our board and committee members,” said IAVM Board Chair Karen Totaro, CFE. “Be a part of this illuminating conversation regarding our future. Join one of the two webinars open to all IAVM members and hear the ideas being offered and add your own thoughts to the conversation. Together, we can create something incredible.”

Please register for one of the webinars by clicking on the date below:

• June 24, 2016 – 1 PM ET/12 PM CT/11 AM MT/10 AM PT
• June 28, 2016 – 5:30 PM ET/4:30 PM CT/3:30 PM MT/10 AM PT

This summer brings an extraordinary opportunity for the members of IAVM and The National Association of Concessionaires (NAC). In July, both trade associations will be holding their showcase events back-to-back in the city of Minneapolis. NAC will host the Concession & Hospitality Expo on July 19-22 at the Depot Renaissance in Minneapolis. IAVM will host its VenueConnect just a few days later on July 23-26 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

As part of the Alliance Partnership Agreement entered by the groups in May 2016, members of each association can attend the Trade Show portion of both shows for free. In addition, the agreement provides for mutual membership rates to exhibit or attend the full conferences.

This unique convergence in the Twin Cities allows for members of each association, who share many common opportunities and challenges, to maximize their travel and trade show budgets by attending both events.

More information and registration for the NAC Concession & Hospitality Expo can be found at naconline.org. You can also email info@naconline.org or call 312-236-3858.

About the NAC Concession & Hospitality Expo

The National Association of Concessionaires will bring together the top food and beverage concession leaders in the recreation and leisure-time industry at The Concession & Hospitality Expo on July 19-22 at the Depot Renaissance in Minneapolis.

Formerly known as the NAC Annual Convention & Trade Show, the event is an educational conference in its 34th year covering a wide range of concessions and foodservice topics. The business sessions are practical and focused on the concessions industry and provide interaction between all types of operations. In addition, exciting social functions allow for attendees to network in a less formal setting. Your full convention registration fee includes all educational sessions, food functions, social events, venue tours, and the trade show.

As part of the Expo, NAC will host its own trade show specifically for the recreation and leisure-time foodservice industry. The trade show will feature companies that provide products and services to all types of recreation, leisure-time, and public assembly facilities. The 2016 Trade Show will be held on Wednesday, July 20 (1-4 p.m.) and Thursday, July 21 (2-4 p.m.) and is open to full and tabletop displays.

Dear IAVM Friends,

Once again, our hearts break for so many touched by the act of terror in Orlando, Florida, this past weekend. The Pulse nightclub attack is so very terrifying due to the seeming randomness of how the attacker selected the venue. We all have venues we work in and sometimes live in, and it is hard to imagine the horror of something like this happening in our own spaces with the people we care about. What happened to the young artist Christina Grimmie also touched our hearts as she was just starting her career and simply signing autographs for her young fans when her life was taken. Please join me in remembering the families of all those touched by these acts of violence.

Mark Herrera, IAVM’s director of education, met over the weekend with the DHS Council regarding these recent shootings. He will be posting information on VenueNet regarding enhanced awareness for our venues and reminds us to always remain aware of our surroundings.

Our venues continue to be places that bring so much joy, a refuge to all the craziness in the world. We must stay strong and diligent for the communities we serve and ensure our teams have the training they need to help them feel prepared. The resources available to IAVM members are numerous and can be found on the IAVM website. In addition, I encourage all of you to consider sending your safety managers to the Academy for Venue Safety & Security in the future where they can collect the tools and resources that will help your teams focus on safety and preparedness in a much broader sense than ever before.

Thank you all for what you do every day.

(Image: Enrique Jiménez/Creative Commons)