SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Justo Gutierrez and Stuart Reynolds on Developing the Surrounding Live Entertainment District Getting the fans to arrive earlier, stay longer drives success By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, September 26, 2019 - 9:00 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Avid fans love to get to the ballpark, arena, or stadium early. Whether it's to watch batting practice, tailgate with a juicy hotdog, or relax in the warm summer sun, fans enjoy making their time at the game an all-day affair. More recently, teams have taken notice and are building a complete fan experience that includes shops, restaurants, museums, bars, and interactive exhibits before stepping foot inside the main building.
SVG sat down with Stuart Reynolds, director, sports and live events, Diversified and Justo Gutierrez, director, AV & sound, Diversified to discuss the increasing efforts in creating a playground for fans outside of the venue.
Stuart Reynolds
Who are some teams that are pushing the immersion envelope?
SR: We're starting to see the joining of primary sports facilities to what I might call live entertainment adjunct facilities. For instance, a Ballpark Village at Busch Stadium, Wrigleyville at Wrigley Field, Texas Live for the new Globe Life Park. These adjunct facilities are meant to extend the fans stay within the ballpark or stadium environment. Teams are trying to find a way to get the fan to the venue earlier, give them a reason to stay longer, and keep them connected to what's going on at the main venue. When we were working with the St. Louis Cardinals on Busch Stadium's production room, we were also working on all of the fiber transmission gear to get a signal over to the Ballpark Village [in order to] encompass all of the real-time data going on at the ballpark.
In the past it was, No, we want you to get up, come on over to the venue, and then you can come back for the post game entertainment.' Now, it's, Hey, if you want to stay there, we'll give you everything you need. We're glad to have you here.' [This idea] brings in some large LED screen displays - digital signage, digital menus, etc. - for all of the activities surrounding the ballpark as well.
How are these entertainment districts capturing the different interests of fans?
Justo Gutierrez
SR: Since fans come for the social experience as much as they do for the game experience, we began to look at [venues] as an overall entertainment space. For instance, the new Atlanta Braves facility is designed to be so friendly to various demographics. They're there for the ballgame, but you've got a zip line and so many cool things to do from a family perspective. There's something to engage everybody.
JG: On another side, all of the major sports are contending with all of the entertainment options that everybody has outside of sports. Organizations are also trying to create environments that will actually draw people to the stadiums. I'm one of those traditional fans that just want to sit with a beer and a hot dog and keep score at a baseball game because that's what I love doing. There's still a segment of fans across all sports that are like that, but there are many more now that are going to be distracted by other things. They would rather go do [some other activity] than pay money to go to a stadium, unless there's a concert on the entry plaza before the game, or there's fireworks night, and there's all these bars, clubs, and restaurants that you can go to right after you leave the stadium. So, that's the other piece of this. Team owners are trying to figure out how to get people there and keep them there for the dollars that go beyond just the tickets of the game.
How will teams further engage the younger demographic in the future?
SR: Some fans are just not going to put down their handheld device, so we're finding new and interesting ways to engage that. How do we let you know that hot dogs are on sale or that beer just went on sale? How do we engage you to come back for the next concert in a month, and allow you to buy tickets while you're onsite? [The goal now is to] digitally market to people in their seat through their device and acquire the metadata that comes along with that.
JG: Everybody's trying to find the right formula. With AV, new technologies, all of the digital signage, and addressing both cellularly data and WiFi [concerns], sports franchises are trying to capture the fan the whole time they're within that geo fenced area. Knowing who [their fanbase] is, where they are, and how to serve them is the rage.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Justo Gutierrez and Stuart Reynolds on Developing the Surrounding Live Entertainment District Getting the fans to arrive earlier, stay longer drives success By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
