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Yankee Stadium offers food ordering and delivery via VenueNext app

April 18, 2016 by 2 Comments

Home screen for VenueNext app for Yankee Stadium. Photo: Paul Kapustka, MSR

Home screen for VenueNext app for Yankee Stadium. Photo: Paul Kapustka, MSR

Fans in some areas of Yankee Stadium this year can now order food and beverages for in-seat delivery, thanks to a new stadium app developed with technology from VenueNext, the app developer behind the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium app.

Though the app isn’t part of the Major League Baseball official and approved game-day and stadium apps, it does offer most of the bells and whistles VenueNext developed for the Levi’s Stadium app, including digital ticketing, live wayfinding maps and public transit information. According to John Paul, the CEO of VenueNext, the food ordering option is now available to approximately 10,000 seats in the 54,251-seat Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees and also the home to Major League Soccer’s New York City Football Club, which also uses the new app.

The VenueNext app comes courtesy of a deal struck last year between Legends Hospitality and VenueNext, to use VenueNext app technology at Yankee Stadium and at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The Yankee Stadium app from Legends is the third major-league sport to use VenueNext technology to support in-seat food and beverage delivery, following the Niners’ app at Levi’s Stadium and an app for the Orlando Magic at Amway Center that debuted during the present NBA season.

App page showing in-seat food ordering and delivery option

App page showing in-seat food ordering and delivery option

In a phone interview with VenueNext’s Paul, he said that in Orlando the Magic started out with limited in-seat delivery, ramping up to offering it in the full lower bowl of Amway Center by the end of the regular season. According to Paul, the Yankees are using Aruba beacons to facilitate the wayfinding feature of the VenueNext app maps, and are using VenueNext’s Kezar ticket scanners to support digital ticketing. The Yankee Stadium app, however, does not yet support the ability to order food for express pickup at concession stands, Paul said.

No official word on Wi-Fi or MLBAM apps

The emergence of a VenueNext app that delivers capabilities not found in the so-called Official Yankee Stadium App raises some questions about whether or not the Yankees are playing ball with Major League Baseball Advanced Media’s strategy of having one single app for every MLB ballpark. MLB’s Ballpark app, for example, at Yankee Stadium offers “mobile check-in, social media, offers, rewards and exclusive content,” according to MLB. That’s a little bit different than the version of At Bat offered for the San Francisco Giants, which offers mobile ticketing support, seat upgrade options, and mobile food ordering. Other versions of Ballpark, for example for the Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals, offer fewer options. But as far as we know, there are no other MLB teams with a companion app like the VenueNext app for Yankee Stadium.

For both the Yankees and the Giants and all other teams, the MLB’s At Bat app offers live MLB content for a fee.

Yankee Stadium stadium map in the app

Yankee Stadium stadium map in the app

There is also no link to the new VenueNext app from the Yankees’ team website, and the VenueNext app does not contain any live content or replay options, features found on both the Niners’ and Magic’s apps from VenueNext. The Yankees have not yet replied to requests for information about the app and whether or not there is any public-facing Wi-Fi yet in Yankee Stadium.

Though MLBAM spent some $300 million last year to bring Wi-Fi and cellular DAS deployments to all MLB stadiums, Yankee Stadium was never confirmed to have had public Wi-Fi installed. Repeated requests to MLBAM asking about the Wi-Fi situation at Yankee Stadium have also not been returned.

Filed Under: Apps, Baseball, Chicago Cubs, DAS, Levi's Stadium, Major League Baseball, NBA, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, VenueNext, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

VenueNext adds Yankee Stadium, AT&T Stadium as app clients

November 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Niners CEO Jed York, left, and VenueNext CEO John Paul, center, announce new clients for VenueNext at the Web Summit in Dublin. Photo: Louise Callagy, VenueNext

Niners CEO Jed York, left, and VenueNext CEO John Paul, center, announce new clients for VenueNext at the Web Summit in Dublin. Photo: Louise Callagy, VenueNext

VenueNext, the company built to develop the Levi’s Stadium app for the San Francisco 49ers, announced two new customers today, venues that are leading icons in their respective sports: Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees, and AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Details are a little slim right now, but the formal announcement was made on stage at the Web Summit Tuesday in Dublin, Ireland, where VenueNext CEO John Paul and Niners CEO Jed York (who is also the chairman of VenueNext) jointly announced the news. According to a blog post on its site, VenueNext is now a “strategic partner” with Legends Hospitality, a provider of turnkey venue operations whose clients include the Yankees and the Cowboys. VenueNext said some elements of its technology are already being used in the AT&T Stadium app this season, including parking directions and instant replays of on-field action. In-seat food ordering and delivery, one of the more innovative features developed by VenueNext for the Levi’s Stadium app, is not yet available at AT&T Stadium, however.

More details to come, including whether or not this means that Yankee Stadium will finally be getting Wi-Fi, since the Bronx icon was one of just two MLB venues (Baltimore is the other one) without fan-facing Wi-Fi.

Filed Under: Apps, Levi's Stadium, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Stadium Tech Report: MLB stadium technology reports — AL East

August 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Editor’s note: The following team-by-team capsule reports of MLB stadium technology deployments are an excerpt from our most recent Stadium Tech Report for Q2 2014, which focuses on Major League Baseball. To get all the capsules in one place as well as our featured reports, interviews and analysis, download your free copy of the full report today.

AL EAST

Reporting by Chris Gallo

Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park
Seating Capacity: 37,493 (night), 37,065 (day)
Wi-Fi: Yes
DAS:Yes
Beaconing: Yes

Fenway Park is one of the iconic ballparks in all of sports. It first opened more than 100 years ago, but today it remains a great place to catch a ballgame. Meru Networks outfitted the historic park with Wi-Fi in 2012. Combined with Verizon DAS antennas, Red Sox fans can connect at once while watching the reigning World Series Champions.

Thanks to the solid network, fans can stroll down Yawkey Way using the MLB At the Ballpark app to receive discounts on Red Sox gear and stream video from the Green Monster. This makes the Fenway Park experience even more memorable.

New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium
Seating Capacity: 49,642
Wi-Fi: No for full park; Yes for luxury suites
DAS:Yes
Beaconing: No

Despite opening in 2009 and with money to finance a monster payroll every year, the New York Yankees have yet to bring free Wi-Fi to fans in the new Yankee Stadium. It’s somehow fitting that Wi-Fi is available to fans in luxury suites and to employees. Call Costanza! We want Wi-Fi!

For a team that once banned iPads at its stadium, the Yankees are still behind in the division when it comes to stadium connectivity.

Toronto Blue Jays
Rogers Centre
Seating Capacity: 48,282
Wi-Fi: No for full park; Yes for luxury suites
DAS:Yes
Beaconing: Yes

The Toronto Blue Jays call the Rogers Centre home, but do not benefit from the sponsor’s service. Rogers is one of the largest telecommunications providers in all of Canada, but the Blue Jays do not deliver free public Wi-Fi to all fans.
Wi-Fi is available only in limited seating areas. There are DAS antennas installed and the Rogers Centre is experimenting with iBeacons. But Blue Jays representatives said that fans can expect an expansion of the network throughout the stadium in the near future.

Tampa Bay Rays
Tropicana Field
Seating Capacity: 31,042
Wi-Fi: Yes, 250 access points
DAS: Yes, 680 antennas
Beaconing: No

Lightning struck a transformer near Tropicana Field earlier this year causing a 19-minute delay between the Orioles and Rays. From catwalks that remain in play to blackouts, the stadium has a colorful history. Despite the odd quirks, the indoor stadium does offer free Wi-Fi. Rays’ fans are greeted with 250 Wi-Fi access points and 680 DAS antennas at the Trop.

Baltimore Orioles
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Seating Capacity: 45,971
Wi-Fi: No
DAS: No
Beaconing: No

Opened in 1992, Oriole Park
at Camden Yards does not yet provide free Wi-Fi or DAS to fans. The Maryland Stadium Authority, who owns the ballpark, assures us that the organization is in discussions about how to proceed. A ball- park that’s been to home to historic games, Camden Yards would be a great place to share memories with increased connectivity.

To get all the capsules in one place as well as our featured reports, interviews and analysis, download your free copy of the full report today.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, DAS, Major League Baseball, New York Yankees, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

TE Connectivity reveals several big-league DAS deals

October 14, 2013 by 2 Comments

When it comes to stadium networking deals, there are often a lot of names and companies behind the scenes that don’t get the headlines when services are initially deployed. But now that claiming project wins is seen as an important point of reference for future business, you may start to see more of the type of news releases that crossed our desk today: One from DAS supplier TE Connectivity, naming the company as the DAS provider for four major-league ballparks, including Yankee Stadium, Target Field in Minneapolis, The Ballpark in Arlington, and Citi Field.

Fans going to those stadiums may never know what or who TE Connectivity is, but the people responsible for making cellular networks work better inside arenas know TE Connectivity, a communications infrastructure supplier that did more than $13 billion in sales during 2012. According to its press release TE Connectivity’s DAS gear is inside “more than 50 baseball, football, and soccer stadiums around the world,” so we will probably be hearing more from TE Connectivity as the “inside baseball” of stadium networking space becomes more well-known.

Likewise, TE Connectivity’s third-part neutral host operator partner in Minneapolis, InSite Wireless Group, will probably start talking more soon about its third-party DAS hosting skills, which include not just stadiums but “convention centers, hotels and casinos, airports, and transit systems like the MBTA Boston subway system,” according to the company. We have calls scheduled with both companies this week, so look for more details here soon.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, DAS Tagged With: , , , , , , ,