Got Game? Venuetize Platform Lays Groundwork for In-Venue Mobile Experiences That Engage, Inform District Detroit Mobile App handles ticketing, food pickup, navigation By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, June 11, 2019 - 11:07 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
One of the major trends in sports-venue design is that the day of simply dropping a venue into a neighborhood and seeing what happens is giving way to an era of creating a district from scratch, complete with housing, restaurants, shopping, and other entertainment offerings. And such districts are creating the need for digital services like apps that can help visitors more easily engage. The role that Venuetize played in District Detroit shows the opportunities that await.
Venuetize's Craig Duncan: The goal is to communicate with patrons, so they come earlier and stay later.
The teams and venues want to have the fans engaging through their application and their brand because there is a tie to loyalty, says Craig Duncan, chief revenue officer, Venuetize. With a single application where everyone works together, all parties benefit.
District Detroit, for example, is home to Ford Field, Little Caesars Arena, Fox Theater, Comerica Park, Detroit Masonic Temple, and more. It hosts more than 240 live events per year, and the District Detroit Mobile App handles event and parking ticketing, express pickup for food and beverages, and navigation. Connecting via Bluetooth improves wayfinding and ensures that visitors can find the shops, restaurants, and activities they want. And an interactive chat box makes it even easier for consumers to use.
How do we use technology to improve traffic or ticketing and not just for the games but also for retail and hospitality? says Duncan. The goal is to communicate with patrons, so they come earlier and stay later. We want them to spend more money.
Venuetize provides a platform as a service that is below the application layer and, thus, can give cohesion to multiple apps and backend systems. The goal is to integrate what were previously fragmented technology silos that could require consumers to use multiple apps and create multiple accounts. The Venuetize team helps with the strategy, design, and development of an app and mobile environment that meets the needs of teams and the venue.
We stay involved post-launch as it is a multi-year iterative process, Duncan says. You aren't just launching an app. It has a life and will continue to evolve, and there may also be new integrations you will want to do. So we provide the services and support to augment the technology you build your applications on.
The key to a district-wide digital strategy is making sure that connectivity is robust across the entire location. With that in place, the Venuetize platform and team integrate all the digital entities and parties.
Unified app experiences make it easier for fans in the stands to purchase food and merchandise, embrace electronic ticketing, and locate the experiences that are most relevant.
There are dozens of technology integrations that need to happen as we extend the platform out and bring in other ecosystems so that they can tie together seamlessly and the visitor has a seamless experience, says Duncan. You want the consumer to have an easy experience doing things like parking and buying food: if it is more enjoyable, they will be more apt to share more data and trust it so that they can enhance their experience.
One problem with trying to create a one-off app solution that doesn't evolve over time is that corporate sponsors and partners that ideally will be integrated with the app might change. The Venuetize team manages those relationships and swaps out technology components as needed to best meet everyone's needs.
It may seem like a small thing, Duncan says, but there can be dozens of partners, or something like the ticketing partner can change two months before the season. We handle those integrations seamlessly to reduce the risk, the costs, and the possible loss of revenue.
Venuetize also ensures that new types of offerings, such as those that use augmented reality, can more easily be integrated within an app. At Little Caesars Arena, for example, the use of AR allows fans in the entire arena to take part in things like pizza tosses, with those in the upper levels catching virtual pizzas.
You can do gamification and reach the younger audience, Duncan explains. There are multiple benefits that come through gamification driven by AI.
He adds that any efforts around the launch of an app, especially one used in multiple venues and by multiple teams, requires that all the stakeholders be involved in the decision-making process from the beginning.
Mobile engagement touches every part of the organization, he notes. You also might want to bring in fans and corporate partners to be part of the design phase.
Leaving it to the digital and marketing teams can often result in an app or offering that is out of step with what management or even ownership is looking to offer.
Increasingly, Duncan adds, data-privacy experts are important and are playing key roles in ensuring that the best decisions are made to protect data and keep fans on board.
If you go wrong with things like GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation], it can impact the entire business, he says, and the trust that you worked so hard to build will go away very quickly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
27/01/2026
Click for Japanese version
Tokyo, Japan - January 27, 2026 - Akamai Technolo...
27/01/2026
L-R: Jonathan Cuchacovich, Sonia Kennebeck, Alan Fischer, Daeil Kim, Andrew Sta...
27/01/2026
Today, Spotify is proud to support our partner Backline, an industry-leading men...
27/01/2026
With nearly 29 million monthly listeners and clear momentum on Spotify, Net n Ve...
27/01/2026
January 14, 2026
We are proud to share that 25 Ontario, First Gulf's commercial project located just two minutes from our head office, has been recognized ...
27/01/2026
January 22, 2026
First Gulf is excited to share that a full-building lease has been secured at 625 Bronte Rd in Oakville, part of Bronte Station Business Park,...
27/01/2026
January 23, 2026
First Gulf continues to demonstrate its commitment to high-performance, sustainable real estate with 351 King Street East achieving BOMA BEST ...
27/01/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited, the only cloud-native SaaS provider offering end-to-end solutions across live production, content preparation, distribution, and monet...
27/01/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. today unveiled its V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP distribution. Designed ...
27/01/2026
The Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Massachusetts has chosen Ikegami cameras for incorporation into its broadcast-quality television production facili...
27/01/2026
SipRadius, specialists in secure, low latency media transport, will show the pro AV community its end-to-end solution for high quality content distribution and ...
27/01/2026
Hiltron will highlight the fruits of its 45-plus years of experience in satellite communications system integration and product development at the annual GovSat...
27/01/2026
Klvr will demonstrate how its Charger Pro solution is delivering cost reduction and performance benefits for live entertainment and pro AV markets at ISE 2026 (...
27/01/2026
Amino, a global media technology leader in enterprise video and digital signage, today announced that its Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 booth (4N700) wil...
27/01/2026
ANI, India's leading news agency and a major content provider across the Asia Pacific region, today announced a significant expansion of its long standing p...
27/01/2026
Independent analysis confirms faster encoding, lower CPU usage, and improved perceptual quality compared to CBR and CRF
VisualOn, a leader in multimedia playba...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
New agreement for uninterrupted UHF connectivity for Australian Defence Force through 2033, With Options Extending to 2041
Luxembourg, January 13, 2026 - Satel...
27/01/2026
Tuesday 27 January 2026
SNL UK creative team expands as Pauli Lovejoy, Annie Ha...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
When It Feels Real, Is It Still a Lie? The Art of Sarah' ...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
That Night premiering on Netflix March 13
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DOWNLOAD THE KEY ART
DOWNLO...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Revealed the Future of Mexican Stories Coming in 2026
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalMexico
Link copied to clipboard
Among t...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Four New Japan Titles Announced for 2026: Viral Hit', On...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
What's Next on Netflix from Japan: Expanding the Possibili...
27/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities...
27/01/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to support a dynamic programme of cultural events taking place across Ireland this February. From visual art, film, music, ...
26/01/2026
Music videos play a huge part in how fans connect with their favorite songs, but...
26/01/2026
NAIDOC launches 2026 theme 50 Years of Deadly , marks major milestone
25 January, 2026
Media releases
The National NAIDOC Committee has today unveiled its...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) today announced an exclusive partnership with Nu Studio, the company behind the first modular, portable studio designed for immersi...
26/01/2026
OpenDrives, the leader in high-end video data management and workflow solutions, today announced an add-on investment to its previous funding rounds, led by IAG...
26/01/2026
SmallHD today announced a major update to its award-winning PageOS software, introducing Fleet Control, Portrait Mode, expanded Camera Control features, and Dow...
26/01/2026
Whether rigging a PTZ on a truss, sliding a Blackmagic camera across a mezzanine railing, or capturing the mayhem from inside a drum, Filipic delivers visuals t...
26/01/2026
Wuppertal January 26, 2026
Riedel and Media Tailor Deliver Unified Broadcast a...
Got Game? Venuetize Platform Lays Groundwork for In-Venue Mobile Experiences That Engage, Inform District Detroit Mobile App handles ticketing, food pickup, navigation By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
