Tech
Inside N.C. State's tech upgrades to Carter-Finley Stadium, including a digital stadium map for fans
The new features and partnerships were aimed at improving the fan experience on gamedays.
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N.C. State’s athletics department focused on an improved fan experience around Carter-Finley Stadium this year, and it resulted in a significant tech infusion to the home of the Wolfpack football program since 1966.
Colin Hargis, N.C. State’s senior associate A.D. for external relations, walked SBJ through some of the enhancements and the partnerships that foster a better game day for visitors.
Fan survey yields new platform usage
Over the last few years, Hargis said that N.C. State has used end-of-season surveys to gather fan feedback. That has yielded simple fixes such as refreshing the aesthetics of bathrooms around the venue.
Enough fans mentioned that they struggled to find certain concession offerings. To address that, N.C. State now utilizes Paranoid Fan, a web-based platform that maps out professional and college venues. The school has access to the platform from its partnership with Learfield and SIDEARM Sports. The Carter-Finley map shows different parking areas, F&B locations, merchandise sales points, bathroom locations and other essential information. It also highlights VIP spaces too.
“A lot of detail went into that Paranoid Fan app and that map,” Hargis said. “I think the beauty of that is it's real-time. It's not static. We can update it and tweak it as things evolve.”
That survey also preceded the creation of premium seating experiences like Tuffy’s Terrace, an outdoor area at the stadium’s north end zone. “There was an appetite from our fans to have another premium experience -- kind of a mid-level premium experience -- inside the stadium.”
Adapt and thrive
Hargis said that just before the COVID-19 pandemic, N.C. State had planned a new strategic vision that focused heavily on investment in innovation and technology. As the world emerged from the pandemic, the athletics department could finally start putting that plan into action.
The most notable component is the new Daktronics video board at Carter-Finley Stadium, a 166 foot-by-43-foot board that cost $15 million. But it also consisted of improvements to the stadium's audio system and the reinstalment of TVs around the concourse.
“There really has been a focus over the last two-to-three seasons of what are some forward-thinking -- whether it be innovative, tech-facing -- but I think most importantly, fan-facing and fan experience-friendly initiatives that we could implement?” Hargis said.
Hargis mentioned that some key partnerships have allowed for these fan experience innovations. Working with Aramark, Wolfpack fans can now use a QR code for mobile beverage pickup. And being near the Research Triangle Park, a tech hub of the southeast, doesn’t hurt, either.
Lenovo supplied the tablets for gameday staff to use. Hargis said that N.C. State has also held initial conversations with Lenovo about AI and potential future-use cases in Carter-Finley for queue management and wait-time management.
SAS, based in Cary, is also a longtime partner of the university and has been instrumental for the athletics department with fan-modeling, fundraising, sales and revenue generation. Hargis said during the football seasons with COVID-19 seating restrictions, SAS ran models that helped N.C. State safely host as many people as possible while staying within health and safety guidelines.
