A Whole New Ballgame

From The Globe and Mail - Technology News:

There was a time when sports fans who wanted more out of live events would carry radios to listen to the play-by-play or binoculars so they could watch the action from the nose-bleed seats. But thanks to advancements in stadium technology, some of those practices now seem quaint. Gridiron fans in four National Football League cities, for example, can rent handheld televisions to keep tabs on games going on around the league; baseball fans in some stadiums can order concession items on their cellphones and have the items delivered to their seats; and Canadian Football League fans don't even need to be in the stadium - they can watch games for free online. The sporting world's enthusiastic embrace of new technology and digital media isn't hard to figure out. Pro leagues, which traditionally generated revenue through ticket and concession sales and advertising, now have broad new avenues with which to promote their sports and increase league revenue. Some leagues have concentrated efforts on expanding their presence online, while others have used emerging technologies to enhance the stadium experience - all of them with an eye on building a diverse and increasingly devoted following.

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