Major League Soccer’s Austin FC has selected leading sports venue app provider YinzCam as the developer of the team’s app, which will serve both as a game-day information and interaction center as well as a place where fans can view remote action of live games and other video.
According to Austin FC President Andy Loughnane, the choice of YinzCam as app provider was an easy one, given the firm’s long history of providing game-day and stadium apps for many sports teams and venues. In addition to providing an app for six other MLS clubs, YinzCam also has a long list of clients in La Liga and the English Premier League, as well as customers in the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, and several major U.S. colleges.
“The flexibility of the YinzCam platform and the trusted skill set of their development team made it an easy choice,” said Loughnane in a recent phone interview about the new app. And even though fans won’t be able to use features like the digital ticketing support and the ability to pay for concessions via an in-app wallet until the team’s new Q2 Stadium opens in June, Loughnane said fans are already downloading and using the app’s content features to watch away games live.
“We’re already seeing high levels of usage on the streaming,” Loughnane said.
Contactless concessions a priority
One interesting twist on the stadium app front that is becoming more common is having a front-end app developed by one provider (in this case, YinzCam) working with behind-the-scenes point-of-sale software from another provider. For Austin FC, the club selected VenueNext for POS services, which will help the stadium have greater choice when it comes to supporting mobile transactions for concessions and other payment interactions.
“Contactless [transactions] is a priority for us,” said Loughnane, who said the stadium will support payment via services like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and directly through the app’s wallet feature. Mobile ticketing will be supported via a SeatGeek integration. The team app will also have 3D views of the seating chart, so fans can see what the view looks like from a seat before purchasing. As reported earlier, the stadium will have Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity provided via a deal with Boingo.
“Austin is a tech-forward city, and our fans will have certain expectations” about connectivity and the speed of transactions, Loughnane said.
