When a professional sports team strikes gold with three championship wins in the past four years, a lot of things can change for the better.

As the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association prepare to close out their decades-long tenancy of an arena in Oakland, California, and move into the Chase Center in San Francisco later this year, the new facility will mean more to the team than just a fancy scoreboard and enhanced fan amenities. The NBA franchise itself will now become the owner/operator of a major entertainment venue with the latest technology to drive it.

“It’s a transformation from a basketball team that leases a building 50 nights a year to an entertainment company that owns and operates a world-class facility,” said Jeremy Thum (pictured, left), senior director of digital experience for the Warriors. “It’s a really exciting time in the organization.”

Thum spoke with Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during Accenture Technology Vision 2019 in San Francisco. He was joined by Greg Jensen (pictured, right), senior manager within Accenture PLC’s CXO advisory consulting practice, and they discussed Accenture’s work with the Warriors, the team’s past track record of innovation, and the role of a mobile app in enhancing the overall fan experience.

More than just NBA games

As the Warriors’ technology innovation partner, Accenture has worked with the team to develop a mobile app that will enhance the fan experience not just at NBA games, but during any of the expected 200-plus additional events that will be held in the newly constructed venue.

The Warriors have not been shy about building experiences for fans using the app it already has. The current version offers everything from providing an interactive arena map to synching home lighting systems that flash the team’s colors at the start and end of every game.

“The thing that the Warriors have done really well is they’ve positioned technology as an enabler of the overall end-to-end experience,” Jensen said. “Think of the mobile app as the gateway that ties a lot of that experience together.”

Through its partnership with Accenture, the Warriors have developed a program called “Fannovate,” a way to engage fans in the design of the technology experience at the new center. The Warriors want the ultimate implementation of technology to ensure a great experience without upstaging what its fans are there to see.

“We don’t want technology to be the story,” Thum said. “We want it to live in the background and help enhance the fan experience rather than being the headline.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Accenture Technology Vision 2019.

Photo: SiliconANGLE