{"id":252,"date":"2006-09-09T10:39:11","date_gmt":"2006-09-09T15:39:11","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-06-02T11:24:24","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T16:24:24","slug":"sports-2-0-a-look-at-the-future-of-sports-in-the-context-of-rfids-weird-new-media-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/sports-2-0-a-look-at-the-future-of-sports-in-the-context-of-rfids-weird-new-media-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports 2.0: A Look at the Future of Sports in the Context of RFID\u2019s \u201cWeird New Media Revolution\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"submitted\">Submitted by: David C. Wyld<\/div>\n<div class=\"submitted\"><\/div>\n<div><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/div>\n<p>This article examines the myriad ways in which RFID (Radio Frequency<br \/>\nIdentification) technology will impact the world of sports. In this paper,<br \/>\nwe look at how this \u201cweird new media revolution\u201d will have<br \/>\na transformative impact both on the games themselves and the fans\u2019<br \/>\nexperience at the stadium. We will examine how RFID is being used in sport<br \/>\napplications from golf to soccer to racing of all forms to add previously<br \/>\nunimaginable real-time richness and accuracy to the sports. We will also<br \/>\nlook at the use of RFID in ticketing and payment applications that will<br \/>\nadd security, control, and new revenue streams to sports operations, while<br \/>\ngiving enhanced value and services to the fan. We will conclude with a<br \/>\nlook at what this new version of Sports 2.0 will mean in the future both<br \/>\nin and out of the sporting arena.<\/p>\n<p><!--break--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, and it is poised to be<br \/>\nthe successor technology to the bar code in identifying \u201cthings\u201d<br \/>\nin our economy. Using small microchips embedded in objects, RFID can create<br \/>\nunimaginable levels of control and visibility in a whole host of applications.<br \/>\nEvidence of such can be seen in the mandates of major retailers, such<br \/>\nas Wal-Mart, Target, and Albertson\u2019s, along with the U.S. Department<br \/>\nof Defense, to have their suppliers begin affixing RFID-enabled labels<br \/>\nto shipments of goods to their distribution centers (Morphy, 2005, n.p.).<br \/>\nAs outlined in Table 1, RFID is currently being employed in a whole host<br \/>\nof areas.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Table 1 &#8211; RFID Applications<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Traditional RFID Applications<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Emerging RFID Applications<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Security\/Access Control<\/li>\n<li>Electronic Article Surveillance<\/li>\n<li>Asset\/Fleet Management<\/li>\n<li>Mass Transit<\/li>\n<li>Library Access<\/li>\n<li>Toll Collection<\/li>\n<li>Animal Identification<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Warehouse Management<\/li>\n<li>Supply Chain Management<\/li>\n<li>Reverse Logistics<\/li>\n<li>Shipment Tracking<\/li>\n<li>Asset Tracking<\/li>\n<li>Retail Management<\/li>\n<li>Document Tracking<\/li>\n<li>Anti-counterfeit<\/li>\n<li>Advance Access Control<\/li>\n<li>Mass Transit\u2013 Monthly and Single Trip<\/li>\n<li>Airline Baggage Handling<\/li>\n<li>Aircraft Parts and Tools<\/li>\n<li>Health Care Applications<\/li>\n<li>Regulatory Compliance<\/li>\n<li>Payments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><em>Source: Wyld (2006, p. 159)<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>While creating new efficiencies in distribution and new opportunities in<br \/>\nretail may mean billions of dollars and while the application of RFID in<br \/>\npharmaceutical and animal tracking applications may save thousands of lives,<br \/>\nthe wide world of sports is no doubt one of the sexiest applications for<br \/>\nRFID on the horizon. It is also an area where RFID can enhance both the<br \/>\nparticipant and the spectator experience, impacting people\u2019s lives<br \/>\nin a positive manner. As such, innovative companies across the globe are<br \/>\nrushing into sports applications for the technology.<\/p>\n<p>Take golf balls for example. Anyone who has picked-up a golf club has<br \/>\nbeen there. You hit your drive off the 1st tee, and it goes, and goes,<br \/>\nand goes \u2013 where? All golfers have spent countless hours combing<br \/>\nthe banks of creeks, looking in crevices, and pouring through thickets<br \/>\nin often fruitless searches for their wayward shots. But what if there<br \/>\nwas a high-tech way for the ball to tell you where it was and guide you<br \/>\nto it? Radar Golf is a small company, based in Roseville, California,<br \/>\nseeking to RFID-enable the game of golf with its Radar Golf System. Such<br \/>\na prospect led Stephanie Stahl (2005), the editor of InformationWeek,<br \/>\nto say that finding lost golf balls may be the \u201ckiller app\u201d<br \/>\nfor RFID in the consumer world.<\/p>\n<p>Radar Golf has developed a golf ball that is manufactured by a Chinese<br \/>\ncontractor that has an RFID tag embedded inside its core. The ball has<br \/>\nbeen certified as conforming to the rigorous standards of the United States<br \/>\nGolf Association (USGA), enabling it to be used in tournament play. The<br \/>\ncompany\u2019s patented Ball Positioning System (BPS) is built into a<br \/>\nhandheld unit, which is essentially an RFID reader that transmits a specific<br \/>\nradio frequency signal to search for the lost ball. It provides a visual<br \/>\nLCD signal strength display and pulsed audio tone feedback to the golfer<br \/>\nlooking for his\/her ball, with the beep increasing (like a Geiger counter)<br \/>\nas the golfer nears the location of the wayward ball. The BPS presently<br \/>\nhas a detection range of up to 100 feet (LaPedus, 2005). The company began<br \/>\nmarketing the system in mid-2005. The Radar Golf System retails for $249,<br \/>\nwhich includes a dozen golf balls (additional dozen balls sets retail<br \/>\nfor $39). It plans to license the technology to other golf ball manufacturers<br \/>\nto equip their branded balls with RFID tags (LaPedus, 2005).<\/p>\n<p>We are seeing that, as with the golf ball example, games themselves can<br \/>\nbe enhanced through the use of RFID technology. We are also seeing that<br \/>\nRFID can be used to secure ticketing and enhance the in-stadium spectator<br \/>\nexperience. RFID can also create new metrics \u2013 and new gambling<br \/>\nopportunities \u2013 in the sports world. In this article, we will take<br \/>\na look at Sports 2.0, as RFID helps reshape the sporting life and experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RFID on the Field<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>RFID is fast getting \u201cin the game,\u201d as we are seeing exciting,<br \/>\nin-event applications of RFID technology in sports ranging from the \u201cbeautiful<br \/>\ngame\u201d to road racing of every form.<\/p>\n<p><em>Football (Soccer)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the most noteworthy in-game example to date comes in the world\u2019s<br \/>\nmost popular sport \u2013 football (or soccer as we in the U.S. know<br \/>\nit). The Erlangen, Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits<br \/>\nhas developed an RFID-based system to give complete visibility to the<br \/>\nsoccer field. Both the ball and a shin-guard on each of the twenty-two<br \/>\nplayers are outfitted with RFID-chips, and readers positioned to scan<br \/>\nthe entire field can read the position of both the players and the \u201cSmartball\u201d<br \/>\nup to two thousand times each second. The Fraunhofer system will not only<br \/>\nallow for referees to consult the data to potentially aid in correctly<br \/>\ncalling disputed goals and troublesome off-sides penalties, but it will<br \/>\npermit soccer clubs and their fans to access performance metrics on their<br \/>\nteams and individual players. Although FIFA (F\u00e9d\u00e9ration<br \/>\nInternationale de Football Association), soccer\u2019s world governing<br \/>\nbody, passed on using the technology for the 2006 World Cup, the system<br \/>\nis likely to be approved for tournament use later this year (Collins,<br \/>\n2005).<\/p>\n<p><em>Racing<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We have also seen that RFID can add value and visibility to racing events<br \/>\nof all types. One of the longest standing applications of RFID has been<br \/>\nin the area of marathon racing. The ChampionChip Company pioneered the<br \/>\nuse of RFID-chips attached to runners in the Berlin Marathon in 1994.<br \/>\nSince then, the firm\u2019s namesake tracking device has been worn by<br \/>\nmillions of road racers, cyclists, in-line skaters, cross-country skiers,<br \/>\nand triathletes in thousands of events worldwide. The tracking device,<br \/>\nwhich uses passive RFID technology with antennas built into specially-designed<br \/>\nmats over which the athletes must pass, allows for the racers\u2019 real,<br \/>\nnet times to be recorded as they pass the start-finish and other intervals<br \/>\nalong the course, as well as the \u201cvalue-add\u201d of for real-time<br \/>\ntracking via the Internet for friends, fans, press, and family members.<br \/>\nIt has been used in the New York City Marathon, where five thousand runners<br \/>\nper minute crossed the thirty-six meters-wide starting line at the Verrazano<br \/>\nNarrows Bridge. And in the June 2000 Broloppet Half Marathon, in which<br \/>\nrunners raced across the new bridge connecting between Denmark and Sweden,<br \/>\na record 79,837 competitors were tracked using the ChampionChip (ChampionChip,<br \/>\n2006). Commenting on the state of marathon technology, Judith Donohue,<br \/>\nmanager of the HP\u2019s New England Initiative, whose firm has worked<br \/>\nwith the Boston Marathon for over a decade, observed: \u201cWe&#8217;ve come<br \/>\na long way from when we used to draw a line in the street with chalk\u201d<br \/>\n(quoted in Ewalt, 2004, n.p.).<\/p>\n<p>RFID has moved into a motor racing. Texas Instruments has developed the<br \/>\nRace Timer system for motorcycle racing, in which an RFID transponder<br \/>\nis placed either on the motorcycle\u2019s front fender or in the rider&#8217;s<br \/>\nchest protector. The system is a quantum improvement over the former use<br \/>\nof single-file gates and either manual recording or scanning bar codes<br \/>\nattached to riders\u2019 helmets. With the TI system, the size of motorcycle<br \/>\nevents can grow significantly, supporting up to one thousand riders in<br \/>\na single event (Texas Instruments, 2005). RFID has also been adopted by<br \/>\nthe IRL (Indy Racing League), with active transponders being positioned<br \/>\nin the same point in the nose of the Indy Car and with antennas positioned<br \/>\naround \u2013 and in \u2013 the track. With speeds of over two-hundred<br \/>\nmiles per hour, the system can distinguish between two or more racecars<br \/>\npassing the same point within 10,000ths of a second of each other. The<br \/>\nsystem allows for real-time race tracking via the Internet for all IRL<br \/>\nraces, including the Indianapolis 500, where antennas are installed in<br \/>\nthe track surface in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway\u2019s famous Yard<br \/>\nof Bricks at the start-finish line of the \u201cOld Brickyard\u201d<br \/>\nas the track is known (Karle, 2004).<\/p>\n<p>While NASCAR has not announced a similar in-race system, the fast-growing<br \/>\nracing circuit is employing RFID for tracking tires used by all racing<br \/>\nteams in its three racing circuits. The system will enable for centralized<br \/>\ncontrol over the Goodyear tires used in NASCAR events, in order to allow<br \/>\nfor an even playing field between the race teams and better control over<br \/>\ntire stock (Anonymous, 2005). RFID also presents a very practical advantage<br \/>\nover the former bar-code based labeling of tires for NASCAR events. Goodyear<br \/>\nhad in the past attempted to track tire inventory for race teams by applying<br \/>\nbar code labels to the sidewalls. However, they quickly found that the<br \/>\nbar code labels could be intentionally rubbed off or smudged when in use<br \/>\n(Sullivan, 2005). With the new system, the tire inventory is centralized<br \/>\nby NASCAR, and race officials can use handheld readers to quickly scan<br \/>\nboth cars and the pits to make sure they have the proper quantity and<br \/>\ntype of tires in their possession before, during, and after the races<br \/>\n(Swedberg, 2005).<\/p>\n<p>Finally, in a slower speed form of racing, RFID has been introduced in<br \/>\nthe ancient sport of pigeon racing. In the past, to determine timing and<br \/>\nranking in pigeon races, handlers had to catch pigeons one-by-one and<br \/>\nread an identification number from metal rings attached to their legs.<br \/>\nToday, the standard practice for almost a decade has been to attach RFID-enabled<br \/>\nplastic bands to the birds\u2019 legs with the positioning of antennas<br \/>\nat points along the course from the release point to the home loft (Anonymous,<br \/>\n1997).<\/p>\n<p>RFID in the Arena<\/p>\n<p><em>RFID-enabled Paper Ticketing<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There have been exciting developments recently to integrating RFID chips<br \/>\ninto a paper-form ticket. Doing so has several advantages, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Preventing counterfeiting<\/li>\n<li>Promoting security<\/li>\n<li>Inhibiting the secondary \u201cblack market\u201d for prized tickets<\/li>\n<li>Facilitating faster patron entry into sports venues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The recently concluded FIFA World Cup in Germany was the largest use<br \/>\nof RFID in sports ticketing to date, with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Twelve venues<\/li>\n<li>Sixty-four games<\/li>\n<li>3.5 million tickets (Blau, 2006a).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>FIFA had previously employed RFID-equipped tickets in its \u201cdry<br \/>\nrun\u201d for the 2006 event in staging its Confederations Cup in Germany<br \/>\nin 2005 (Blau, 2006b).<\/p>\n<p>The World Cup ticketing was based on Philips Electronics MIFARE technology,<br \/>\nenabling ticket-holders to gain entrance to the venues by sliding their<br \/>\ntickets into fixed scanners, positioned at the entry gates to the stadiums.<br \/>\nAs can be seen in Figure 1, the tickets are personalized with the name<br \/>\nof the ticket buyer. While FIFA collects identification information on<br \/>\nall ticket buyers, the RFID tag does not contain info on the ticket holder,<br \/>\nonly access information for the FIFA ticketing system (Stensgaard, 2006).<\/p>\n<p>Figure 1 \u2013 World Cup Tickets<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/fig110.jpg\"><img data-attachment-id=\"2679\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/sports-2-0-a-look-at-the-future-of-sports-in-the-context-of-rfids-weird-new-media-revolution\/fig1-8\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/fig110.jpg?fit=506%2C339&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"506,339\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Erin Bosarge&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1427465514&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"fig1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/fig110.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/fig110.jpg?fit=506%2C339&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2679\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/fig110.jpg?resize=506%2C339\" alt=\"Figure 1\" width=\"506\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/fig110.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/fig110.jpg?fit=506%2C339&amp;ssl=1 506w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 506px) 100vw, 506px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Besides security concerns, one of the principal reasons FIFA chose to<br \/>\nemploy RFID-based security in its ticketing for the World Cup was out<br \/>\nthe organizer\u2019s desire to significantly cut down on the secondary<br \/>\nor \u201cblack market\u201d for these highly coveted tickets, which<br \/>\nFIFA prohibits from sale or transfer outside of family members except<br \/>\nin cases of undue hardship (Blau, 2006b). According to Carrie Johnson,<br \/>\nan e-commerce analyst for Forrester Research, the size of the global secondary-ticket<br \/>\nmarket is difficult to precisely pin down, with projections ranging anywhere<br \/>\nfrom $2 to $25 billion annually (cited in Sandoval, 2006). While World<br \/>\nCup tickets for this year\u2019s event averaged approximately a $180<br \/>\nface value, one estimate from the United Kingdom projected that FIFA leaves<br \/>\nas much as $3.6 billion (US) on the table by not charging market rates<br \/>\nfor tickets (Blau, 2006a). FIFA\u2019s prohibition on illegal ticket<br \/>\nsales, whether by what are known as \u201cticket brokers,\u201d \u201cscalpers,\u201d<br \/>\nor \u201ctouts\u201d by region, has not stopped those engaged in the<br \/>\nbanned practice from trying to sell tickets. In fact, bids rose to $3000<br \/>\nor more per seat on eBay for World Cup tickets, even though the buyer<br \/>\nhad no assurance they could actually enter the venue with a ticket, the<br \/>\nname on which could not possibly match the ticket holder (Kelly, 2006).<br \/>\nBuyers were betting on the fact that gate personnel would not bother checking<br \/>\nthe ticket holder\u2019s ID to match the name on the ticket to the person<br \/>\npresenting it at the turnstile \u2013 a bet lost by some fans, according<br \/>\nto media reports from the game sites. One sports industry analyst stated<br \/>\nthat better control over the pricing of tickets brings FIFA additional<br \/>\nworldwide revenues in areas such as licensing, sponsorship, and broadcast<br \/>\nrights through marketing the World Cup as a \u201cpeople\u2019s game,\u201d<br \/>\nrather than as entertainment for the wealthy and powerful (Higgitt, 2006).<br \/>\nStill, it is not a fool-proof system, as even one member of the FIFA Executive<br \/>\nCommittee, Ismail Bhamjee of Botswana, was asked to leave Germany during<br \/>\nthe World Cup when it was discovered that he had sold match tickets for<br \/>\nthe England versus Trinidad and Tobago game for more than three times<br \/>\ntheir face value (Anonymous, 2006a).<\/p>\n<p>Certainly, preventing counterfeit tickets from being presented at the<br \/>\nturnstile is a concern of any promoter of a sporting event \u2013 from<br \/>\none as large as the World Cup, as pricey as the Super Bowl, or for hosts<br \/>\nof professional sports events and even prestigious amateur competitions,<br \/>\nsuch as college football games and skating championships. For instance,<br \/>\nat this year\u2019s Super Bowl XL in Detroit, local police arrested twelve<br \/>\npeople on felony charges for selling counterfeit Super Bowl tickets, and<br \/>\nseventy-three bogus tickets were confiscated from people who tried to<br \/>\nenter Detroit\u2019s Ford Field on the day of the game (Anonymous, 2006b).<\/p>\n<p>How can RFID help to curb counterfeiting? In November 2005, Texas Instrument\u2019s<br \/>\nTag-It RFID inlays were embedded into all 100,000 tickets for the Tennis<br \/>\nMaster\u2019s Cup 2005, held in Shanghai, China. The event organizers<br \/>\nused sixteen stationary readers at the entrance gates to Shanghai\u2019s<br \/>\nQi Zhong stadium, which is slated to host the event for three consecutive<br \/>\nyears through 2007. As Yang Yibin, Deputy General Manager of New Sports<br \/>\nand Entertainment (Shanghai) Ltd., a subsidiary of the Ba-Shi Group, explained:<br \/>\n\u201cPrior to using RFID, spectators were required to purchase a pre-event<br \/>\nticket holder and then exchange it for the physical ticket at the stadium<br \/>\nbox office. This new system not only offers peace of mind that the tickets<br \/>\npurchased are genuine, it puts tickets in the purchaser&#8217;s hands faster<br \/>\nand provides more efficient entry come event time\u201d (quoted in O\u2019Connor,<br \/>\n2005b, n.p.). In addition to the gate verification of the ticket, New<br \/>\nSports and Entertainment outfitted event staff members with handheld RFID<br \/>\nreaders to spot check tickets inside the stadium for an added level of<br \/>\nsecurity (O\u2019Connor, 2005b).<\/p>\n<p>Many of the best practices and lessons learned emerging from the FIFA<br \/>\nWorld Cup and other high profile events will be employed at the next global<br \/>\nsports event on the horizon at which organizers plan to use RFID-based<br \/>\nticketing &#8211; the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics (Campbell, 2005).<\/p>\n<p><em>RFID-enabled Smart Cards &#8211; The \u201cGolden Ticket\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The hybrid solution of RFID-enabled, paper-form tickets may be a short-term<br \/>\nsolution to the problems of crowd control, security, and resale prevention.<br \/>\nIndeed, the longer-term solution may be a move away from hard copy tickets<br \/>\nentirely to an electronic \u201cGolden Ticket,\u201d \u2013 a smart<br \/>\ncard solution that offers benefits in both ticketing and payments.<\/p>\n<p>That is the vision of a number of competing firms today. Stadiacard,<br \/>\na division of the UK-based TelCo Management Limited, is working with several<br \/>\nleading football clubs in the UK in proving the viability of such a contactless<br \/>\ncard solution. Most notably, there is the example of the Liverpool Football<br \/>\nClub, which has been at the forefront of using contactless technology<br \/>\nin its stadium since 2003. For the upcoming 2006\/2007 season, the Liverpool<br \/>\nClub, winners of the 2006 FA Cup, will be shifting its season ticket buyers<br \/>\nentirely to Stadiacard\u2019s contactless solution, providing them with<br \/>\nwhat they are branding as the Fan Card. Liverpool has now equipped its<br \/>\nhistoric Anfield Stadium, which dates back to 1884, with readers at all<br \/>\nof its entry gates. The Liverpool Club believes that the system will not<br \/>\nonly speed entry of season ticket holders into the stadium, but also eliminate<br \/>\nthe possibility that these buyers could resell individual game tickets<br \/>\nfrom their season-long package or provide them to \u201cticket touters.\u201d<br \/>\nThis is because the Fan Card will be required for entry throughout the<br \/>\nseason. If sold, the season ticket purchaser would lose the right to enter<br \/>\nthe stadium for not just a single match or series of games, but the remainder<br \/>\nof the season. While Anfield only has a capacity of 45,400 seats, the<br \/>\nLiverpool club has issued over 130,000 Fan Cards to date. Supporters who<br \/>\nare not season ticket holders can use their Fan Cards as ID when purchasing<br \/>\nindividual game tickets via the phone or the Internet (Stadiacard, 2006).<\/p>\n<p>A similar solution, also aimed for the football market, is being marketed<br \/>\nby the St. Andrews, Scotland-based Scotcomms Technology Group. Scotcomms<br \/>\nTeamCard contactless solution is being employed by several leading football<br \/>\nclubs in the UK, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bolton Wanderers<\/li>\n<li>The Celtic (Glasgow)<\/li>\n<li>Chelsea<\/li>\n<li>Crystal Palace<\/li>\n<li>Everton<\/li>\n<li>Ipswich Town<\/li>\n<li>Millwall (Scotcomms Technology Group, 2006).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One of the significant benefits of such contactless ticketing is the<br \/>\nability of the sports\u2019 team\/club to derive incremental revenue from<br \/>\nwhat would have been unused tickets by season ticket holders. One of the<br \/>\nBritish football clubs making use of the TeamCard, the Bolton Wanderers,<br \/>\nhas turned a season ticket holder\u2019s inability to attend a game into<br \/>\na \u201cwin-win\u201d for all parties. Gareth Moores, a director of<br \/>\nthe club, estimates that 5-8% of season ticket holders can not attend<br \/>\na given game. The Bolton Club rewards season ticket holders who notify<br \/>\nthe organization in advance of their inability to attend a game with \u00a310<br \/>\nworth of points loaded onto their TeamCard. These points can then be used<br \/>\nfor purchasing either refreshments in the club\u2019s stadium or team<br \/>\nmerchandise from the club. The club is then able to resell that unused<br \/>\nseat \u2013 for an average profit of \u00a315. Likewise, football clubs<br \/>\nhave begun to offer seating upgrades to better sections on an availability<br \/>\nbases to card holders, with the ability to charge their registered payment<br \/>\noption immediately should they choose to sit in a better seat for an event<br \/>\n(Thomas, 2004).<\/p>\n<p>There is also a significant security benefit to the use of contactless<br \/>\ntickets for sporting events in general and for football specifically.<br \/>\nUnlike with paper-form tickets, if a fan\u2019s ticket card is lost or<br \/>\nstolen, the team can simply issue a replacement and cancel out the original<br \/>\nlost item. Also, the team retains significant control over the use of<br \/>\nthe card, which is especially important in venues such as football in<br \/>\nEngland, where crowd rowdiness and hooliganism has been of paramount concern<br \/>\nin recent years. If a team can identify trouble making fans, they can<br \/>\nsimply deactivate that person\u2019s contactless ticket card and ban<br \/>\nthem from the grounds. In the same fashion, as has been done in Liverpool<br \/>\nsince the 2003\/2004 season, stadium security and support personnel have<br \/>\nthemselves been issued contactless cards, allowing for the club to maintain<br \/>\nrequired staffing levels throughout the stadium and monitor staff movement<br \/>\nfor both management and payroll purposes. Finally, since the fan\u2019s<br \/>\ncard also operates as a form of payment in the stadium, the benefits of<br \/>\ncontactless payments at concessions and merchandise sales locations can<br \/>\nbe reaped. And, in the United Kindgom, unlike at sports venues in the<br \/>\nUnited States, where sports betting is not legal in the stadium setting,<br \/>\nfans can place wagers before and even during games using the same contactless<br \/>\nticket card (Scotcomms Technology Group, 2006; Stadiacard, 2006; and Thomas,<br \/>\n2004).<\/p>\n<p>Michael Richardson, Chief Technology Officer of New York-based Smart<br \/>\nSystem Technologies (SST), points to the fact that professional sports<br \/>\nteams \u201chave to look for new ways to raise incremental revenues beyond<br \/>\nselling seats\u201d (quoted in Collins, 2004, n.p.). Contactless payment<br \/>\ntechnologies, integrating RFID into either credit cards or key fobs, may<br \/>\nindeed be the key to unlocking more revenue potential from fans inside<br \/>\nthe stadium. Early trials of such systems have been promising. In one<br \/>\npilot, fans using the PowerPass system of New York-based Smart System<br \/>\nTechnologies (SST) consistently bought double the amount of brewskis,<br \/>\nhot dogs, foam fingers, and other concession items, while speeding the<br \/>\ntransactions (between two and six times faster than cash or credit card)<br \/>\nand taking cash-handling out of the equation (Collins, 2004).<\/p>\n<p>This season, Major League Baseball\u2019s Texas Rangers have worked<br \/>\nin partnership with Chase to provide their fans with the convenience of<br \/>\ncontactless payment technology. During the 2005 season, only one concession<br \/>\nstand at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Texas was even equipped to accept<br \/>\ncredit-card payments. For this season, the Rangers have installed more<br \/>\nthan two-hundred contactless credit-card terminals throughout the ballpark,<br \/>\nat a cost of approximately $150 each. According to Scott Rau, a Senior<br \/>\nVice President for Chase, contactless cards can take thirty seconds off<br \/>\nthe time required for each cash transaction. Thus, fans can speed through<br \/>\nthe process of buying concessions and souvenirs in the stadium, enhancing<br \/>\nthe spectator experience by reducing their time waiting in lines and not<br \/>\nenjoying the event. Rangers Vice President Brad Alberts is excited about<br \/>\nthe new technology, believing \u201cit&#8217;s easier for the fans, it&#8217;s quicker<br \/>\nfor the fans, and people will probably spend more money\u201d (quoted<br \/>\nin Koenig, 2006, n.p.). The system is expected to grow in use as Chase<br \/>\ndistributes more of its branded credit cards with contactless payment<br \/>\ncapabilities. As of June, the company has distributed over seven-million<br \/>\nof their \u201cblink\u201d cards in major metropolitan areas in the<br \/>\nU.S., including the Dallas\/Fort Worth Metroplex, home of the Texas Rangers<br \/>\n(Koenig, 2006).<\/p>\n<p>At present, MasterCard is undoubtedly the leader in the field. MasterCard\u2019s<br \/>\nPayPass technology has been implemented to date in a total of nine Major<br \/>\nLeague Baseball ballparks and seven National Football League stadiums<br \/>\n(Anonymous, 2006c). These current installations are detailed in Table<br \/>\n2 below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Table 2 &#8211; Stadiums in the United Stateswith PayPass Installations<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Major League Baseball<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>National Football League<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Atlanta Braves (Turner Field)<\/li>\n<li>Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park)<\/li>\n<li>Cincinnati Reds (Great American Ballpark)<\/li>\n<li>Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodger Stadium)<\/li>\n<li>New York Mets (Shea Stadium)<\/li>\n<li>New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium)<\/li>\n<li>Philadelphia Phillies (Citizens Bank Park)<\/li>\n<li>San Diego Padres (PETCO Park)<\/li>\n<li>St. Louis Cardinals (Busch Stadium)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Baltimore Ravens (M&amp;T Bank Stadium)<\/li>\n<li>Detroit Lions (Ford Field)<\/li>\n<li>Kansas City Chiefs (Arrowhead Stadium)<\/li>\n<li>New York Giants\/New York Jets (Giants Stadium)<\/li>\n<li>Philadelphia Eagles (Lincoln Financial Field)<\/li>\n<li>Seattle Seahawks (QWEST Field)<\/li>\n<li>Washington Redskins (FedEx Field)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><em>Source Info: MasterCard International \u2013 June 2006<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>From the perspective of Lawrence Flanagan, Worldwide Chief Marketing<br \/>\nOfficer for MasterCard International, \u201cstadiums represent the ideal<br \/>\nvenues to showcase the promise of PayPass,\u201d which the firm is fast-expanding<br \/>\nin its credit card operations (quoted in Anonymous, 2006c, n.p.).<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the next level for contactless payments? Well, it can be<br \/>\nfound in Atlanta\u2019s Philips Arena. In a test that began earlier this<br \/>\nyear, 250 season ticket holders of the Atlanta Thrashers NHL hockey team<br \/>\nand the Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball team are receiving a specially NFC<br \/>\n(near field communication)-enabled Nokia cell phone which they can then<br \/>\nuse in the arena for concession payments. Moreover, the cell phones can<br \/>\ndetect the passive RFID tags embedded in \u201csmart posters\u201d positioned<br \/>\naround Philips Arena. With the phone held within a few inches of the poster,<br \/>\nthey can download news, graphics (such as pictures of players or wallpaper<br \/>\nimages) and promotional video clips which are presently inaccessible by<br \/>\nthe general public (O\u2019Connor, 2005c). According to a recently released<br \/>\nstudy from Philips Electronics and Visa International on the utility of<br \/>\nNear Field Communication (NFC) and contactless payment technology, consumers<br \/>\nlike the convenience, ease of use, and &#8220;coolness&#8221; of making<br \/>\ntransactions with their mobile phones (Philips Semiconductors, 2006).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Will RFID be \u201cthe next big thing?\u201d At this point in the technology\u2019s<br \/>\nlife cycle, it is too early for anyone to tell, but the stars certainly<br \/>\nseem to be in alignment for the next decade to be a tremendously exciting<br \/>\none. Many share the sentiment of Kuchinskas (2005) that: \u201cRFID will<br \/>\nchange business and society as much as cell phones and the Internet have\u201d<br \/>\n(n.p.). Futurist Paul Saffo believes that we are in the early stages of<br \/>\n\u201ca weird new kind of media revolution,\u201d in that \u201cRFID<br \/>\nwill make possible new companies that do things we don&#8217;t even dream about\u201d<br \/>\n(quoted in Van, 2005, B1). Saffo views RFID as a media technology, making<br \/>\nit possible for what he categorizes as \u201c\u2019smartifacts\u2019<br \/>\nor intelligent artifacts, that are observing the world on our behalf and<br \/>\nincreasingly manipulating it on our behalf.\u201d Saffo thus stresses<br \/>\nthe importance of thinking outside the box on RFID and looking beyond<br \/>\ntoday\u2019s problems to find \u201cunexpected applications,\u201d<br \/>\nwhich is where \u201cthe greatest potential for RFID lies\u201d (quoted<br \/>\nin O\u2019Connor, 2005a, n.p.).<\/p>\n<p>Today, we are seeing the first fruits of this \u201cweird\u201d new<br \/>\nmedia revolution that RFID is sparking, including those found in the sports<br \/>\nfield. What we are seeing with the advent of RFID in the sports marketplace<br \/>\nis the introduction of a technology that has the power to transform the<br \/>\nexperience of playing and watching games. Sports 2.0 promises to be an<br \/>\nexciting \u2013 and richer \u2013 experience, and it will be interesting<br \/>\nto observe the innovations that will surely come over the next few years<br \/>\nas RFID-based applications become more commonplace in sporting venues.<\/p>\n<p>What does all this portend for the \u201cAverage Joe Six-Pack\u201d<br \/>\nsports fan? As a player, as a coach, as a spectator, and as a gambler,<br \/>\nRFID is on tap to transform the sports world over the next decade. We<br \/>\nwill see RFID-based systems replace some of the fundamental rule elements<br \/>\nof sports, to the betterment of the game. After all, it is hard to believe<br \/>\nthat in 2006, the way we measure first downs in football is with a chain!<br \/>\nWe may also see the automation of some routine scoring and statistics<br \/>\ncompiled in major sporting events, such as line crossings in a wide variety<br \/>\nof sports and distance calculations in golf. RFID will also bring heretofore<br \/>\nunimaginable levels of information and intelligence to our games. Already,<br \/>\nthere is speculation that RFID may enable new forms of wagering on sporting<br \/>\nevents with the new metrics that can be uncovered by RFID-chipping of<br \/>\nballs and players, making new opportunities for casinos and sports books.<br \/>\nIn baseball for instance, RFID could enable gamblers to bet on things<br \/>\n\u2013 in real-time \u2013 like the precise distance of a home run and<br \/>\nthe positioning of individual pitches. Finally, there is speculation that<br \/>\nsome players and teams may not want to release such new statistics, such<br \/>\nas how far they ran during a soccer or football game, for fear of revealing<br \/>\nefforts that they may not be especially proud of. This is hardly information<br \/>\noverload; it\u2019s revolutionary on many, many levels.<\/p>\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Anonymous (2006a). \u201cTop FIFA official admits World Cup scalping.\u201d\u00a0Reuters News\u00a0Service, June 18, 2006. Retrieved July 1, 2006, from http:\/\/www.intix.org\/news.php?ArticleID=2166.<\/li>\n<li>Anonymous (2006b). \u201cArrests made for selling phony Super Bowl tickets.\u201d\u00a0NFL.com,\u00a0February 8, 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2006, from http:\/\/www.superbowl.com\/news\/story\/9217319.<\/li>\n<li>Anonymous (2006c). \u201cMasterCard PayPass to be deployed at Major\u00a0League Baseball\u00a0stadiums.\u201d RFID News, April 5, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2006, from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfidnews.org\/news\/2006\/04\/05\/mastercard-paypass-to-be-deployed-at-major-league-baseball-stadiums\/\">http:\/\/www.rfidnews.org\/news\/2006\/04\/05\/mastercard-paypass-to-be-deployed-at-major-league-baseball-stadiums\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Anonymous (2005). \u201cGoodyear&#8217;s RFID technology has high-profile\u00a0success.\u201d Auto\u00a0Racing Daily, November 23, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2006, from http:\/\/www.autoracingdaily.com\/article.php?cid=4058.<\/li>\n<li>Anonymous (1997). \u201cRead\/Write tags track homing pigeons.\u201d\u00a0Automatic I.D. News\u00a0Europe, March 1997: 4.<\/li>\n<li>Blau, John (2006a). \u201cSecurity scores big at World Cup tournament:\u00a0FIFA&#8217;s soccer\u00a0spectacle will use lots of technology to keep the games safe.\u201d PC<\/li>\n<li>World, May 26, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2006, from http:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/news\/article\/0,aid,125910,00.asp.<\/li>\n<li>Blau, John (2006b). \u201cFIFA criticizes World Cup data gathering:\u00a0Organizers have\u00a0required fans to provide data such as name, date of birth and passport number, but they are mum on what data will appear on RFID tags.\u201d\u00a0InfoWorld, April 12, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2006, from http:\/\/www.infoworld.com\/article\/06\/04\/12\/77384_HNworldcuprfid_1.html.<\/li>\n<li>Campbell, Anita (2005). \u201cRFID tags in sports tickets: Update.\u201d\u00a0RFID Weblog, June\u00a014, 2005. Retrieved June 18, 2006, from http:\/\/www.rfid-weblog.com\/50226711\/rfid_tags_in_sports_ticketsupdate.php.<\/li>\n<li>ChampionChip (2006). \u201cChampionChip technology.\u201d Retrieved\u00a0March 20, 2006, from\u00a0http:\/\/www.championchip.com\/home\/index.php.<\/li>\n<li>Collins, Jonathan (2005). \u201cSmart soccer ball misses its goal: Soccer\u2019s\u00a0international\u00a0governing body has canceled plans to use an RFID-enabled scoring system\u00a0at the 2006 FIFA World Cup international soccer tournament.\u201d RFID\u00a0Journal, December 5, 2005. Retrieved January 30, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/2029\/1\/1\/\">http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/2029\/1\/1\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Collins, Jonathan (2004). \u201cRFID enters the sports arena: Two NFL\u00a0stadiums are\u00a0leading the way in one company\u2019s efforts to use RFID to speed payments, increase customer insight and boost consumer spending.\u201d RFID Journal,\u00a0July 30, 2004. Retrieved May 24, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/1068\/1\/1\/\">http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/1068\/1\/1\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Ewalt, David M. (2004). \u201cRFID in it for the long run: Gear from\u00a0Hewlett-Packard\u00a0turns Boston Marathon into a high-tech showcase.\u201d InformationWeek,<\/li>\n<li>March 3, 2004. Retrieved July 5, 2005, from http:\/\/www.informationweek.com\/story\/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=19205568.<\/li>\n<li>Higgitt, Duncan (2006). \u201cStill a fan&#8217;s World Cup?\u201d Western\u00a0Mail, June 10, 2006.\u00a0Retrieved June 30, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/icwales.icnetwork.co.uk\/0100news\/features\/tm_objectid=17207626&amp;method=full&amp;siteid=50082&amp;headline=still-a-fan-s-world-cup--name_page.html\">http:\/\/icwales.icnetwork.co.uk\/0100news\/features\/tm_objectid=17207626&amp;method=full&amp;siteid=50082&amp;headline=still-a-fan-s-world-cup&#8211;name_page.html<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Karle, Patrick (2004). \u201cIndy 500 keeps score with RFID: Race officials\u00a0use an active-tag system to drive real-time reports on racers\u2019 performance.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>RFID Journal, May 31, 2004. Retrieved February 14, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleprint\/965\/-1\/1\/\">http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleprint\/965\/-1\/1\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Kelly, Maxim (2006). \u201cTech sector set to score at World Cup.\u201d\u00a0Electric News, May 19,\u00a02006. Retrieved June 16, 2006, from http:\/\/www.electricnews.net\/ffocus.html?code=9688040.<\/li>\n<li>Koenig, David (2006). \u201cBanking on credit cards at the ballpark.\u201d\u00a0USA Today, June 6,\u00a02006. Retrieved June 20, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/tech\/news\/techinnovations\/2006-06-06-ballpark-devices_x.htm\">http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/tech\/news\/techinnovations\/2006-06-06-ballpark-devices_x.htm<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Kuchinskas, Susan (2005). \u201cRFID tags a booming biz.\u201d Internetnews.com,\u00a0(January\u00a012, 2005). Retrieved from the web on January 16, 2005. Available at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.internetnews.com\/wireless\/article.php\/3458331\">http:\/\/www.internetnews.com\/wireless\/article.php\/3458331<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>LaPedus, Mark (2005). \u201cRadar Golf claims breakthrough with RFID\u00a0golf balls.\u201d Silicon\u00a0Strategies, (January 25, 2005). Retrieved from the web on February 12,\u00a02005. Available at http:\/\/www.informationweek.com\/story\/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57703713.<\/li>\n<li>MasterCard International (2006). \u201cMasterCard PayPass \u2013 Frequently\u00a0Asked\u00a0Questions.\u201d Retrieved June 30, 2006, from http:\/\/www.mastercard.com\/us\/personal\/en\/aboutourcards\/paypass\/faqs.html#1.<\/li>\n<li>Morphy, Erika (2005). \u201cRFID is here: What is your customer plan?\u201d\u00a0CIO Today, (June\u00a017, 2005). Retrieved June 21, 2005, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cio-today.com\/news\/RFID-Is-Here--What-Is-Your-Plan-\/story.xhtml?story_id=1010000274YP\">http:\/\/www.cio-today.com\/news\/RFID-Is-Here&#8211;What-Is-Your-Plan-\/story.xhtml?story_id=1010000274YP<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>O&#8217;Connor, Mary Catherine (2005a). \u201cRFID and the media revolution:\u00a0Renowned\u00a0futurist Paul Saffo predicts that RFID&#8217;s biggest impact will come from surprising applications.\u201d RFID Journal, (April 13, 2005). Retrieved\u00a0April 20, 2005, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/1508\/1\/1\/\">http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/1508\/1\/1\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>O&#8217;Connor, Mary Catherine (2005b). \u201cRFID takes a swing at ticket\u00a0fraud: By\u00a0embedding RFID tags into tickets for the Tennis Masters Cup 2005, organizers were able to curtail counterfeiting, increase revenues and speed patrons&#8217;\u00a0entry into the stadium.\u201d RFID Journal, (April 13, 2005). Retrieved\u00a0May 14, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/2060\/1\/1\/\">http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/2060\/1\/1\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>O&#8217;Connor, Mary Catherine (2005c). \u201cSports fans use RFID to pay\u00a0and play: A group\u00a0of season ticket holders at Atlanta&#8217;s Philips Arena can use RFID-enabled\u00a0cell phones to download video clips and pictures of players\u2014and,\u00a0eventually, to make purchases.\u201d RFID Journal, (December 16, 2005). Retrieved June 30, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/2051\/1\/1\/\">http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/2051\/1\/1\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Philips Semiconductors (2006). \u201cHow would you like to pay for that?\u00a0Cash, card or\u00a0phone? Philips and Visa usability study shows consumers like the convenience\u00a0of contactless payment using Near Field Communication.\u201d Semiconductor\u00a0News, April 5, 2006. Retrieved July 6, 2006, from http:\/\/www.semiconductors.philips.com\/news\/content\/file_1231.html.<\/li>\n<li>Sandoval, Greg (2006). \u201cCan the Net make ticket scalping legit?\u201d\u00a0News.com, June 5,\u00a02006. Retrieved June 15, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/news.com.com\/Can%2Bthe%2BNet%2Bmake%2Bticket%2Bscalping%2Blegit\/2100-1032_3-6079684.html\">http:\/\/news.com.com\/Can+the+Net+make+ticket+scalping+legit\/2100-1032_3-6079684.html<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Scotcomms Technology Group (2006). TeamCard. Retrieved June 28, 2006,\u00a0from\u00a0http:\/\/www.scotcomms.co.uk\/pdfs\/teamcard_all.pdf.<\/li>\n<li>Stadiacard (2006). \u201cMembership Card &#8211; One customer, one membership\u00a0card and\u00a0one record.\u201d Retrieved May 12, 2006, from http:\/\/www.stadiacard.com\/marketing\/membership_card.html.<\/li>\n<li>Stahl, Stephanie (2005). \u201cEditor&#8217;s note: RFID at the core of biz\u00a0processes.\u201d\u00a0InformationWeek, January 31, 2005. Retrieved from the web on February 1, 2005. Available at http:\/\/www.informationweek.com\/story\/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=59100620.<\/li>\n<li>Stensgaard, Anne-Birte (2006). \u201cPhilips and the 2006 FIFA World\u00a0Cup.\u201d AME Info,\u00a0June 8, 2006. Retrieved June 15, 2006, from http:\/\/www.ameinfo.com\/88301.html.<\/li>\n<li>Sullivan, Laurie (2005). \u201cRFID rolls into NASCAR races: Goodyear\u00a0will provide to\u00a0racing-teams tires that have RFID devices embedded into the sidewalls.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>InformationWeek, November 28, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2006, from\u00a0http:\/\/www.informationweek.com\/story\/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=174401417.<\/li>\n<li>Swedberg, Claire (2005). \u201cRFID tracks tires at NASCAR: Goodyear\u00a0used handheld\u00a0interrogators and embedded tags to keep track of leased racecar tires.\u201d RFID Journal, November 25, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2006, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/2006\/1\/1\/\">http:\/\/www.rfidjournal.com\/article\/articleview\/2006\/1\/1\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Texas Instruments (2005). \u201cSports timing: Changing the profile\u00a0of racing events.\u201d\u00a0Retrieved July 7, 2005, from http:\/\/www.ti.com\/rfid\/docs\/applications\/sports.shtml.<\/li>\n<li>Thomas, Daniel (2004). \u201cSports clubs kick off with smart ticketing.\u201d\u00a0VnunetNews,\u00a0February 6, 2004. Retrieved May 13, 2006, from http:\/\/www.vnunet.com\/vnunet\/news\/2124268\/sports-clubs-kick-smart-ticketing.<\/li>\n<li>Van, Jon (2005). \u201cRFID spells media revolution, futurist says.\u201d\u00a0Chicago Tribune,\u00a0124(104) (April 16, 2005): B1.<\/li>\n<li>Wyld, David (2006). \u201cRFID 101: The next big thing for management.\u201d\u00a0Management\u00a0Research News, 29(4): 154-173. For a detailed and highly readable look at RFID technology, please consult\u00a0the following report: Wyld, David C. (2005) RFID: The right frequency\u00a0for government, A research monograph published by The IBM Center for the\u00a0Business of Government, Washington, DC, October 2005. Retrieved October 23, 2005, from http:\/\/www.businessofgovernment.org\/main\/publications\/grant_reports\/details\/index.asp?gid=232.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"submitted\">Submitted by: David C. Wyld<\/div>\n<div>Abstract <\/div>\n<p>This article examines the myriad ways in which RFID (Radio Frequency<br \/>\n        Identification) technology will impact the world of sports. In this paper,<br \/>\n        we look at how this &#8220;weird new media revolution&#8221; will have<br \/>\n        a transformative impact both on the games themselves and the fans&#8217;<br \/>\n        experience at the stadium. We will examine how RFID is being used in sport<br \/>\n        applications from golf to soccer to racing of all forms to add previously<br \/>\n        unimaginable real-time richness and accuracy to the sports. We will also<br \/>\n        look at the use of RFID in ticketing and payment applications that will<br \/>\n        add security, control, and new revenue streams to sports operations, while<br \/>\n        giving enhanced value and services to the fan. We will conclude with a<br \/>\n        look at what this new version of Sports 2.0 will mean in the future both<br \/>\n        in and out of the sporting arena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[290,291],"tags":[25,8,70,75],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4btio-44","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":337,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/is-that-a-real-lebron-ball-rfid-and-sports-memorabilia\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":0},"title":"Is That a Real LeBron Ball? RFID and Sports Memorabilia","date":"April 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: David C. Wyld - Southeastern Louisiana University Abstract The sports memorabilia marketplace today is a multibillion-dollar, global market. However, it is fraught with hazards, due to the large percentage of counterfeit memorabilia, which some estimates peg at 90% of all items on the market. This article overviews the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Figure 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Figure1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":263,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/book-review-2006-sports-market-place-directory\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":1},"title":"Book Review: 2006 Sports Market Place Directory","date":"March 14, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Glaucio Scremin The sports industry is a multifaceted, multibillion dollar industry. It encompasses a wide range of business segments, from sporting goods to stadium and arena construction. The 2006 Sports Market Place Directory brings a multiplicity of sports industry sectors together into the most comprehensive index of sport\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/ioc-culture-and-olympic-education-forum-prejudice\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":2},"title":"IOC Culture and Olympic Education Forum : Prejudice &#8211; the link that affects both the world of culture and the world of sports,","date":"February 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Mrs. Maria Jo\u00e3o Seixas Let's be frank, and not fear words: cultured people\/intellectuals, are normally classed as \"boring\" or, at best, \"utopian\"; sports people, devoted to the development of excellence in physical performance, supposedly do not make much use of reason or thought processes. The power of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":103,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/information-technology-for-sports-management\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":3},"title":"Information Technology for Sports Management","date":"February 14, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Dr. T.J. Rosandich Introduction This article will address the topic of information technology for sports management and will attempt to provide an overview of how information technology (called IT) is changing the nature of management practices in sport. The discussion of IT applications in the profession can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contemporary Sports Issues&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":312,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/factors-affecting-attendance-at-bowl-games-during-the-bcs-era\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":4},"title":"Factors Affecting Attendance at Bowl Games During the BCS Era","date":"July 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Kelly E. Flanagan, M.S.S., D.S.M. - United States Sports Academy Abstract","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports Management&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/awards-of-sport\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":5},"title":"Awards of Sport","date":"February 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Each year, the United States Sports Academy honors leaders in sport through its Awards of Sport program. Recipients come from all arenas and positions in sport, but share the common characteristic that they are leaders in their area and have made outstanding contributions to national or international sport through education,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports Facilities&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7230,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252\/revisions\/7230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}