There’s a new game in town, and the San Jose Earthquakes just completed its inaugural season by selling out every game. The team’s new home, Avaya Stadium also received the Product Innovation Award at TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2015 for being the first cloud-enabled stadium in Major League Soccer.

Dave Kaval, president of the San Jose Earthquakes, joined John Furrier and Jeff Frick, cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA, for SportsDataSV 2015, to talk about the stadium and creating an exceptional fan experience.

Built to engage

Commenting on the keys to the successful first year, Kaval said, “One of the key things was partnering with Avaya, who also has naming rights to the stadium, but it was more than just a name on the stadium. They integrated their technology into the building, created the first cloud-enabled stadium and built a platform to build other applications on top.”

He explained that this combination drove a great deal of social media activity through free Wi-Fi and created fan interaction throughout the stadium using video boards to post fan content.

Scaling for the future

The appeal of the cloud-enabled stadium for Kaval was the scalability over years and the ability to add apps. One of the first apps on the platform was the Avaya Stadium App, which allows ticket holders to enter the game without paper tickets by using a barcode on their cell phone.

The organization also uses data analysis of various movements in the stadium to increase operational efficiency. The app provides information such as when people are arriving, where they are moving throughout the stadium, and enabling management to strategize and deploy resources accordingly.

An American spin

The Earthquakes want to take this “serious” worldwide game and give it an American spin with behind-the-scenes, viral content and a playful Twitter voice and handles. Kaval feels that the cloud-enabled stadium will provide a lifetime of value and opportunity to get fans “off the couch” while engaging the base within the stadium.

Photo by SiliconANGLE