Create Elevated Game Day Experiences with the Help of AI

As AI technology continues to advance, fans are expecting their game day experiences to be more personalized, dynamic, and seamless than ever before. The integration of artificial intelligence into sports venues opens up new possibilities for enhancing fan engagement—from pregame to postgame, every aspect of the experience can now be optimized to deliver unforgettable moments.

To meet these rising expectations, sports organizations, teams, and stadiums need to invest in AI-driven solutions that personalize interactions, streamline operations, and provide real-time insights. By incorporating AI into fan engagement strategies, teams can create experiences that feel tailored to individual preferences, from personalized ticket offers to interactive in-game entertainment.

While data analytics has long been a competitive advantage in sports, teams are now using AI to optimize fan engagement, create personalized experiences, and drive lifetime fan value.
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In this blog, we’ll explore:

• How AI is transforming the pregame, in-game, and postgame experiences for fans.
• Practical AI applications that enhance fan engagement and create new revenue opportunities.

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The Pregame Experience—Building Excitement Before Kickoff

In a large-scale study commissioned by IBM, 63% of respondents said data analytics has the most positive impact on the sports experience, while 50% of respondents thought AI would also have a positive impact. Let’s take a look at a few ways AI technology can start spinning the wheels well before the coin toss.
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AI-Powered Ticketing and Parking Management‍

With dynamic pricing algorithms, AI can adjust ticket prices in real time based on factors such as demand, team performance, or even weather conditions. This allows teams to optimize revenue while providing fans with the best possible deal. AI also offers personalized recommendations for parking passes, family-friendly seating, or premium experiences like suites, based on previous fan engagements. For example, if a fan frequently attends home games, AI can offer loyalty discounts or early access to exclusive seating options.
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Personalized Tailgating Experiences

Tailgating has long been a beloved part of the game day experience, and AI is enhancing this tradition with a more customized approach. AI can analyze fan preferences and behaviors to offer personalized recommendations for tailgating experiences. For instance, AI-based systems can recommend nearby food trucks or merchandise stands, as well as optimize parking based on whether fans are looking for family-friendly zones or more festive areas. For major events like the Super Bowl, parking lot logistics are a big challenge due to high demand. AI solutions like the ParkWhiz and ParkMobile help fans locate and book available parking spots quickly by analyzing real-time data on lot availability and traffic flow.

Pre-Game Content Delivery

Building excitement before kickoff is key to getting fans engaged early, and AI plays a major role in delivering personalized content that fans care about. AI-driven platforms can push out video clips from past home games, player stats, or even pregame interviews. For example, AI can send fans personalized hype videos featuring their favorite players, stats breakdowns of key matchups, or sneak peeks of the upcoming halftime show. This increases fan engagement long before they enter the stadium, keeping them connected to the game even in the days or hours leading up to kickoff​.

The In-Game Experience—Boosting Real-Time Engagement

It’s game time! Now that your fans are hyped up for the first whistle, let’s take a look at some ways to keep the engagement flowing all game long.

Improved Fan Services via AI Chatbots

AI chatbots embedded in stadium apps can significantly improve the in-game experience by addressing common inquiries like directions to the nearest restroom, information on food trucks or autograph opportunities, or updates on parking pass statuses. These AI-powered assistants reduce congestion at service desks and allow fans to focus on enjoying the game rather than worrying about logistics. One of the most technologically advanced venues in the world, Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, has seen great success with its chatbot, Ask Arthur, which provides fans with real-time assistance for common concerns like finding seats, locating food stands, and accessing parking information.

Real-Time Analytics

AI's real-time data analysis capabilities allow teams to track fan sentiment and measure the effectiveness of partnerships or in-game promotions. By analyzing fan behavior during the game, including engagement with sponsorships, QR code scan, fan submitted content, and crowd reactions, AI can help teams adjust their strategies on the fly. For example, if a particular promotion isn’t resonating with the crowd, AI can prompt teams to tweak the promotion or focus on more effective fan engagement methods, like giveaways.

Gamification and AR-Enhanced Engagement

Gamification is a great way to engage your fans whether they’re participating from the stadium, their living room, or their local sports bar.

CUE’s Fanatic Filters bring a whole new level of engagement to the game day experience by offering fans interactive, augmented reality (AR) filters. In-stadium cameras track facial movements and expressions and fans' smiles, winks, and cheers trigger fun filters that overlay colorful emojis, effects, and team-themed graphics onto their live footage. Teams can also design their own branded filters.

For fans who want to recreate the experience in the palm of their hand, new AI Filters incorporated into PostUP offer the same fun, allowing fan to access AI-powered filters directly from their smartphones. Whether they’re in the stadium or watching from home, fans can engage with these interactive features, sharing the excitement on social media, and extending the game day experience beyond the arena.

CUE’s AR Prize Drop is the new t-shirt cannon, turning game day into a continuous prize party by distributing rewards via SMS, email, or directly to fans’ mobile wallets. Fans can participate in interactive games throughout the event, engaging with brand-sponsored contests to win coupons, freebies, and other rewards. Teams and sponsors can customize the prize distribution, offering unlimited coupons to promote sponsor businesses while limiting more exclusive rewards to increase their value. Games can be hosted live, involving the entire stadium, or played on-demand via mobile devices.

The Postgame Experience—Keeping the Energy Going

Post-game is a great time to distribute highlights, collect data on the fan experience, and keep your fans coming back for more. Let’s explore different ways AI can help you rev up the post-game after-party.

Postgame Content & Highlights

After the game, AI-driven algorithms can personalize the postgame experience by delivering highlight reels tailored to each fan's preferences. For example, if a fan consistently follows a specific player, AI can generate a custom video recap featuring that player's top moments from the match. AI can also analyze fan engagement throughout the game, using this data to send personalized offers for future home games, merchandise, or exclusive postgame content.

Loyalty Programs and Future Engagement

One of the most powerful applications of AI in the postgame experience is its ability to increase fan retention through loyalty programs and future engagement opportunities. AI can analyze a fan’s behavior during the game and recommend personalized next steps like purchasing tickets for upcoming football games, signing up for exclusive giveaways, or joining team-specific fan clubs.

Ready to take your fan engagement to the next level? Learn more about CUE’s tech-driven engagement tools that keep fans excited and connected all year long. From in-stadium experiences to personalized mobile interactions, CUE is your partner in delivering the future of sports entertainment. Learn more about how our AI-driven solutions can elevate your game-day experience and keep your fan base coming back for more!

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