SEAT Global Magazine - Exclusive Interviews of Global Sport Executive Issue 02 February 2017 | Page 29

Case Study

Fan Frequency: 71% of fans attended just one game during 2016 season

Approximately 100,000 devices connected to Wi-Fi during the season, so our sample size is 30% of all fans. 71% of these devices were seen at only one game, and just 2% were seen at all six. 216,500 unique fans attended a single game. Just 6,100 attended all six home games.

Attendance Volume: 300,000 unique visitors attended games in 2016

The reported attendance for the season was 500,000[2]. Using Wi-Fi frequency data filters, we were able to determine the net number of unique visitors to the stadium. The average fan attended 1.6 games during the six game season

Student Section: at least 11% of all Wi-Fi users were current college students

6% of students attended all six games (compared to 2% for other fans) . Just 34% of students came to only one game

(compared to 75% of “other” fans who attended just one game).

UNDERSTANDING THE DATA

Where did this data come from?

The data depicted in the infographic was gathered from a university owned Wi-Fi network inside the football stadium. Every Wi-Fi enabled device (i.e. smart phone) has a unique identifier that can be detected by the local Wi-Fi network when the device’s radio is on.

Even if the device owner never decides to use Wi-Fi, the presence and specific location of the device is known as long as the Wi-Fi radio is enabled. Each unique device is a proxy for a fan.

How were students identified?

To identify student devices, Wi-Fi login data was used to enhance our data set. The login process is managed via an HTML5 landing page where users submit their names and email addresses and accept Terms and Conditions before gaining access to the Internet.

We identified students by filtering the login data for university-provided (.edu) email addresses. Overall 11% of all Emails collected contained the university domain, and over 95% of these were in standard student format (as opposed to faculty or staff sub domains). Our university client tells us that 18% of all ticket holders are students, so It’s not surprising that we saw just 11% student email addresses. Some students probably logged in using other personal email addresses.

Keep reading.........

.. Beyond measuring fan presence, with Wi-Fi we can capture the time a fans enter a venue, recognize if they are a new or returning visitor, track the paths they walk within the venue, and where they dwell.