The Green Bay Packers are making some dramatic changes to Lambeau Field in a $143 million, two-year renovation project, but one behind-the-scenes move may mean the most to the fan experience.
Amid the installation of elevators and escalators, 6,500 new seats and two new video scoreboards, the team reached a deal with NCR Corp. to install its Quest venue-management hardware and software to integrate its retail and concession payment and processing operations.
NCR is targeting this summer for the installation of approximately 450 wired, wireless and touchscreen point-of-sale devices to speed and increase transaction volume and to operate loyalty and gift-card programs more efficiently for season-ticket holders. NCR boasts similar installations in 225 stadiums in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Fans afraid of spending so much time at concessions stands won’t have to choose between visiting the restroom and buying concessions when they leave their seat during a game, Tim Connolly, Packers vice president of sales and marketing, tells PaymentsSource, citing card-transaction times of 15 to 25 seconds with the cellular technology system Quest will replace.
“It was discouraging,” Connolly says. “Some people resisted using a credit card. That’s no longer an issue.”
With Quest, card transactions with the Packers’ new system should take two to four seconds, John Brasch, NCR’s Quest general manager, tells PaymentsSource. U.S. Bancorp's Elavon unit processes the card transactions.
“In a stadium with 60,000 to 70,000 people in it, every moment you delay is going to not only decrease the number of sales, but in some cases, once you hit a certain time, sales just walk away,” says Brasch.
Some 15% to 25% of fans use debit or credit cards at games, and customers of Quest report “significant upticks” in card use, Brasch says.
After a year or so of learning about Quest and focusing on improving the basics of faster transactions, the Packers will launch loyalty and rewards programs, Connolly says. About 95% of each game’s crowd is season-ticket holders, he says.
The new system is set up for reading QR codes for those who have coupons or payment information on their smartphones, says Brasch.
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