The mobile app VenueNext has raised $9 million in Series A financing from Causeway Media Partners with participation from Live Nation Entertainment, Twitter, Aruba Networks, and others.

The technology made its debut during the San Francisco 49ers season this past year at Levi’s Stadium. The platform, according to a release from the company, has the ability to tie together isolated venue systems such as location services, ticketing, points of sale and concessionaire services to help venue operators make real-time, data-driven decisions, and then seamlessly surface these through a context-aware mobile app.

“The investment in VenueNext seems to imply Twitter may want to get involved with other aspects of live events, too, like ticket sales or concessions or merchandise,” Kurt Wagner wrote on Re/code. “Imagine getting an exclusive offer on Twitter for a T-shirt, which is then delivered to your seat. Or tweeting somebody a beer at an NFL game. Twitter is starting to expand its commerce offerings beyond the occasional ‘buy’ button that appears in your feed, and this is another way it might do that.”

There were some impressive results with the app at Levi’s Stadium in 2014. For example, the venue reduced its food and beverage costs by 5 percent through better inventory management; it sold more than $1.25 million in mobile in-app purchases of food, beverage, merchandise, and parking; and it expanded its unique visitor database from 17,000 to more than 200,000.

“It has been an exciting run since September, where we have received unprecedented interest from all types of venues globally, from live sporting and entertainment event locations, to hotels, transit centers and theme parks,” said John Paul, CEO and founder at VenueNext, in a statement. “The market is ready for what we are offering, and we will use the funds to expand the team and deploy our proven approach to unifying systems at over 30 different types of venues alone in 2015.”

(Image: VenueNext)

We’re back for another edition of The Venue, IVAM’s monthly call-in show about the issues you face every day. The show will take place at 2 p.m. (CST).

Follow this link to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/50090377894186342

Joe Durr, director of event services for PORTLAND’5 Centers for the Arts, was supposed to be our special guest on the first episode. However, he unable to appear, but we’re happy to say he’ll be the special guest for this edition.

Durr, Greg Wolfe, and I will be talking about a few subjects that have popped up on VenueNet, such as ideal outdoor row and aisle spacing, theatre houselights LED retrofits, staff plans for concerts (security, admissions, medical), service animals, volunteer recruitment materials, fountain drinks vs. bottles/cans, and Palcohol.

We hope you join us on Friday by calling in or listening.

We also recorded a special show at Venue Management School, and we’ll post it soon. And if you want, you can still listen to the first episode online.

Super Bowl XLIX, the 2015 Pro Bowl, and related events produced a gross economic impact of $719.4 million in the region, according to a study by the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. The 2015 Super Bowl and Pro Bowl were held at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

“This is tremendous news for our economy and a strong testament to the exceptional work of everyone involved,” said Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. “The eyes of the world were on Arizona, and we delivered in a big way. I look forward to our state hosting many more successful championship games and major events in the future.”

The study focused nine days (Jan. 24-Feb. 1, 2015) and measured the direct amount of spending by visitors and organizations from out of state, including indirect and induced impacts from the spending. Resident and local business spending was not included.

Here are some of the findings from the study:

• An estimated 121,775 visitors came to Arizona for Super Bowl XLIX and/or the 2015 Pro Bowl; those visitors stayed an average of 3.99 nights.
• An estimated 5,033 out-of-town media members came to Arizona and stayed an average of 7.1 nights (up from 4.1 nights for Super Bowl XLII in 2008).
• The $719.4 million economic impact for Super Bowl XLIX represents an increase of 30.8 percent over Super Bowl XLII in Arizona (adjusted using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, or BLS CPI, inflation calculator which expressed that the 2008 economic impact dollars have the same buying power as $550.1 million in 2015).

Previously released data relative to the success of the events include

• Broadcast by NBC, Super Bowl XLIX was the most-watched program in the history of U.S. TV and averaged 114.4 million viewers.
• More than one million people visited Verizon Super Bowl Central in downtown Phoenix and 500,000 people enjoyed events in downtown Scottsdale during the week.
• Verizon Super Bowl Central was the first reduced waste event of its size at a Super Bowl; the Kick the Waste Initiative resulted in 73 percent diversion rate from landfill to recycling.
• 177,000 people attended the NFL Experience, a record attendance at the Phoenix Convention Center.
• On the day before Super Bowl XLIX, 126,000 people rode Valley Metro Light Rail, doubling the previous single-day high. Throughout the week, Light Rail ridership totaled 389,500 (also a record).
• Sky Harbor Airport served 175,000 passengers the day after Super Bowl, a single day record for Sky Harbor.
• Super Bowl XLIX was televised live in more than 170 countries and territories. More than 23 countries provided onsite coverage from Arizona and the game was broadcast in nine languages from University of Phoenix Stadium (Mandarin Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish).
• Arizona was the first host community to offer a website and social media in Spanish and to create cross-border partnerships with Mexico business and tourism entities.
• More than 100 stations broadcast live from Radio Row at the Super Bowl Media Center in downtown Phoenix.
• Legacy Grant Funds in excess of $2 million were awarded to 27 Arizona non-profits to benefit over 400,000 kids; this was made possible by sponsors of the Super Bowl Host Committee, the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL.

(Image: Super Bowl 50/Creative Commons)

The Mobile Sports Report recently published a story about how Levi’s Stadium San Francisco, California, received $802,791 in revenue from having a mobile app for in-seat food and beverage delivery. Over in Oakland, Golden State Warriors go-owner Peter Guber is working on way to put millions of people courtside at a basketball game via virtual reality.

“It doesn’t replace being here,” Guber told CNBC. “That’s still a different experience. But it is a phenomenally new and exciting method to bring basketball to disparate communities all over the country.”

We could then talk about drones, live streaming, or any number of new technological advancements that are currently—or will—affecting venues and the guest experience. And that’s just what we’ll do at this year’s VenueConnect in Baltimore, August 1-4.

For example, there will a technology showcase during the conference trade show where companies will present seven-minute quick demos of a new or existing product. Companies participating in the showcase include Daktronics, Eventbooking, and Sherpa Solutions, among others.

We’re offering several sessions, too, on new technologies and trends. Here are some of the highlights:

Understanding the Right Mobile Mix for Your Venue
This session will cover the differences between DAS, Wi-Fi, microcells, picocells, other small cells, and which technology is best suited for your venue environment.

Wi-Fi Expectations, Bandwidth, and Regulations
IAVM, IAEE, and the IAVM Wi-Fi Coalition dive into current issues centering on high-density Wi-Fi environments and how recent collaborative efforts to standardize how Wi-Fi performance can be effectively measured and maintained by venues.

Tweets From the Top: How Venue Executives Are Excelling in the Social Stream
Learn the 101 of not just sending a tweet, but leveraging your role in the organization in creative ways that builds new audiences and helps grow your business.

Revenue Generating Technology for Convention Centers
Understand how business strategy and technology can best sync with each other, and review new technologies, with a focus on venue-wide geolocation, iBeacon, and location analytics.

Big Data: How to Measure Success
Explore the world of big data as it applies to more effectively managing venues—everything from marketing and ticketing to risk management, human resources, and HVAC maintenance.

We hope to see you at VenueConnect, where we call experience new technologies together and consider how they will influence the venue management industry.

The annual Green Sports Alliance Summit quickly approaching. This year, the wonderful McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, plays host to the event, June 29-July 1.

In addition to all the great speakers and sessions offered, attendees are provided the opportunity to tour some of the city’s iconic sports venues. This year’s tours include

• Soldier Field
• DePaul University
• Allstate Arena
• Toyota Park
• The University of Illinois at Chicago
• Loyola University Chicago – Lake Shore Campus
• U.S. Cellular Field

Please visit the Green Sports Alliance Summit’s tours page to learn more about the tours.