It is not news that technology has been embraced by professional sports organizations to aid in the selection of players and improve team performance. But leveraging technology has also been a way of improving fan experiences and, thus, expanding the business for more efficiencies, according to Brian Shield (pictured), vice president of information technology for the Boston Red Sox.

“It is not just baseball and analytics, and how we do scouting, which continues to evolve at a very rapid pace, but also running a better business, understanding our fans, understanding fan behavior, understanding stadiums,” Shield said. “There’s a lot of challenges around running an effective stadium.”

Shield spoke with John Furrier (@furrier), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Acronis Global Cyber Summit event in Miami Beach, Florida. They discussed the various ways in which the Red Sox organization is using technology and the growing need for cyber protection (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

From live games to other entertainment opportunities

Known as a pioneer in using data-driven methods, the Red Sox seeks to make Fenway Park as a destination for people who want to enjoy sports and other entertainment opportunities, according to Shield. As part of this strategy, the club is creating a new 5,400-seat theater that will offer more in the way of esports, in addition to 200 live performances a year.

“That bowl game, we are really trying to use that as an opportunity to make it kind of a high-tech bowl,” Shield said. “So, we are looking at ways of maybe doing everything, from hack-a-thons to a pregaming sort of event, to some interesting fan experiential opportunities.”

Another goal is to use technology to simplify people’s relationship with the historic Fenway Park. Activities such as getting to the stadium, parking, and buying concessions or merchandise can be easier and simpler, according to Shield. The club also looks at how to complement the services offered using data and tools not previously available.

“We’re doing a lot of different testing right now, whether it’s 4D technologies, or how we can understand and watch a play from different dimensions, or how [artificial intelligence] can be able to perhaps see the skyline of Boston since 1912, when Fenway Park launched,” Shield said. “And we see all these technologies as supplemental materials, really kind of making it a holistic experience for fans.”

To handle the large amount of data involved in an environment as dynamic as a stadium, attention needs to be paid to cybersecurity, Shield added. Major League Baseball has a cyber program for all 30 clubs that helps create a toolkit alongside the ability to better monitor data. The Red Sox complements this with the cyber protection solution provided by Acronis International GmbH.

“For us, it represents the ability to be able to respond to certain potential threats like ransomware and other things … and to solve other problems, making our scouts more efficient,” Shield pointed out. “When they have a problem, if they’re in Venezuela or someplace else, in Southeast Asia, getting them up and running as quickly as we can, being able to consume their video assets and other things as they’re scouting prospects.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Acronis Global Cyber Summit event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Acronis Global Cyber Summit. Neither Acronis International GmbH, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE