Pacers leverage technology to improve the fan experience

When fans come to watch an Indiana Pacers or Fever game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Pacers Sports & Entertainment aims to provide the best experience possible—and technology is a key way to accomplish that, said Todd Taylor, PS&E’s president and chief commercial officer.

“We’re in the business of trying to have people have really good, fun experiences,” Taylor said Tuesday morning during IBJ’s Tech Exec of the Year event. Taylor was the keynote speaker at the gathering, which also included a panel discussion and an awards presentation for 10 honorees.

Improving the fan experience means integrating technology into the venue itself, Taylor said. The Pacers organization recently completed a $400 million upgrade to Gainbridge Fieldhouse that included adding or upgrading digital signage and displays.

“The technology itself is really to create an experience that you can’t get at home,” Taylor said.

But the organization is also working to collect and analyze data to help customize the game experience for fans.

Taylor said the use of digital ticketing, which the Pacers organization adopted during the pandemic, helps because it allows the organization to gather information about those buying tickets and when they arrive at the venue.

Eventually, Taylor said, the Pacers might be able to leverage that fan data in real time, creating what he called “mass customization” during a game.

“Could the video boards change with content based on the makeup of your audience, for example?” he said. “Either by gender, by age, by ethnicity?”

Or perhaps, Taylor said, fans would be willing to share data from their Spotify digital music accounts, which could influence the music that the venue plays during games. “I think all those things would be really amazing from a fan standpoint,” Taylor said.

Taylor also talked about ways the organization uses technology to help fans make memories and connect with both the Pacers and the Fever.

In January, the Pacers signed a sponsorship deal with Fishers-based tech company Spokenote, which offers customers a way to record and share personalized videos using QR codes. As part of the deal, Pacers jerseys sport a shoulder patch with a Spokenote QR code that fans can scan to access special video content.

The Pacers organization has also distributed special souvenir paper tickets at select Fever and Pacers games. The tickets were printed with Spokenote codes on them, allowing fans to create personal videos that capture a memorable game moment. In this way, the ticket becomes both a physical and digital souvenir.

But Taylor also said not every technology will be worth adopting.

“You can spend a lot of time, effort and energy for things that maybe are ahead of their time,” Taylor said.

Taylor said the Pacers learned that lesson with Google Glass, a now-discontinued brand of smart eyeglasses that were meant to function as a sort of wearable computer.

In 2014, the Pacers announced they were using Google Glass to provide fans with first-person views during the game from announcer Michael Grady, members of the Pacemates dance team and others. The experiment didn’t work out as planned.

“We had [Pacers mascot] Boomer drop from the scoreboard wearing it, and it was a terrible experience because it just wasn’t quite ready for prime time,” Taylor recalled. “So I think our biggest challenge is making sure that we don’t jump on something too early.”

Also at Tuesday’s event, attendees heard a panel discussion featuring Indiana Chief Information Officer Tracy Barnes, as well as Todd Pedersen, chief strategy officer at Indianapolis-based tech company Authenticx; John Qualls, managing director at Indianapolis-based Blaizing Academy; and Charlene Tay, senior director of artificial intelligence and data science at Indianapolis-based Engineered Innovation Group.

The event also recognized IBJ’s 2024 Tech Exec of the Year honorees:

• Robert Kariuki, director of technology at the Court of Appeals of Indiana
• Amar Nagaram, associate chief information officer at Indiana University Health
• Emily Webber, chief medical information officer at IU Health and professor of clinical pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine
• Gopinath Jaganmohan, chief technology officer and co-founder of ConverSight
• Jeremy Miller, CEO of Lionfish Cyber Security
• Kevin Schatz, chief technology officer at Sharpen
• Drew Westrick, chief technology officer and co-founder of Glassboard Product Development
• Paul Kilroy, chief information officer at Old National Bank
• Scot Lindsey, senior vice president, information officer, manufacturing and quality at Eli Lilly and Co.
• Vincent M. Wenos, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Allegion

Profiles of each of the honorees can be found online here. A special section will also be distributed with Friday’s print edition of IBJ.