Sport’s comeback boosted by growing tech role

Conor McGregor’s fight against America’s Dustin Poirier in January didn’t go according to plan for the Irishman. But it was the first time in almost a year that Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts series, was able to welcome fans into an arena.

About 2,000 spectators filtered into the 18,000-capacity Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi for the match, which McGregor lost by technical knockout. For Ali Al Shaiba, executive director of tourism and marketing at Abu Dhabi’s department of culture and tourism, pulling off the return of fans following the pandemic was a relief, made possible by rigorous testing and keeping people in protective “bubbles”.

“We couldn’t sleep for a week going back and forth to the arena, checking every element,” he recalls. “No one slept . . . but it was amazing, it was worth not sleeping for a week.”

While Abu Dhabi has a history of hosting high-profile sports events, including Formula 1 car racing, Al Shaiba says successfully staging the fight amid the pandemic has strengthened the city’s credentials as a destination for elite sports.

Around the world, cities and sports are adapting to the difficulties posed by Covid-19, often with new technologies playing a part in the return.

“The events industry was really one of the most affected [by the pandemic],” says Tania Braga, head of legacy at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which organises the games. But she believes the return of sport will contribute to the wider economic recovery.

Marie Sallois-Dembreville, the IOC’s director for corporate and sustainable development and executive committee member of the World Union of Olympic Cities, is in no doubt that cities still want to host events. “Everybody saw the difficulty of not having sport events or practice taking place and the [limitations] of that,” she says. Sport can encourage physical activity, mental health and contribute to gender equality, she adds.

The IOC knows well the challenges of a global event in a city amid a pandemic. The Tokyo Olympics, delayed by a year, are scheduled to begin in July, with heavy restrictions on attendance.

For multi-city tournaments, such as the delayed Euro 2020 football competition, vaccines and testing have enabled fans to return in larger numbers, with 60,000 to be allowed to attend each of the final three matches in London.

And, as the returning fans have found, the comeback from Covid-19 has accelerated the role of technology — changing the match-day experience. Beyond the use of vaccine passports, digital tickets and contactless payments, technology can also speed up queueing and ordering food. Industry executives, stadium designers and analysts say technology will continue to reshape the fan experience as venues become more connected through the internet.

Dan Jones, head of the sports business group at consultancy Deloitte, says it is hard to imagine fans wanting to retreat from the convenience of digital ticketing. For teams, the attraction is in the data from digital tickets giving them insights into who attends events.

We couldn’t sleep for a week, going back and forth to the arena, checking every element . . . but it was amazing

Teams and event organisers may also be able to take a cut when tickets are resold between fans. In future, tickets could be issued on blockchain, the digital record technology that powers cryptocurrencies, making each uniquely identifiable and allowing teams to monitor resale, according to Paul Lee, Deloitte’s global head of technology, media and telecoms research. The shift to contactless payments at stadiums will also continue. “For the last few decades, there’s been this perception that digital is going to change everything,” he says. “The reality is it just makes things easier and better.”

Modern stadiums, such as that of Tottenham Hotspur, the London football team, now have the wireless infrastructure for fans to stay connected and share experiences on social media.

At the same time, clubs are starting to think about how better to involve live and remote audiences in events, says Christopher Lee, managing director at architecture firm Populous — which worked on Tottenham’s stadium. He predicts more experimentation with virtual and augmented reality.

“On TV, you can get better angles, all the replays, commentary,” says Nick Tyrer, associate director at Pattern Architects, which has worked on the designs for rival Premier League team Everton’s planned new stadium.

“Part of our job is to ensure that spectators going to the ground have the best experience possible,” he explains. “It is about better cameras, different sensors, we’re designing for Spidercam, an aerial camera . . . drones will be one of the next potential ones.”

Away from stadiums, cities are capable of hosting a wider range of sporting spectacles, argues Alejandro Agag, the Spanish motorsport businessman and former MEP. He says mass events will be harder to hold because of restrictions, but expects the strictest rules to ease.

In 2014, Agag launched Formula E, the electric car series, which he believes will benefit if, as he predicts, the pandemic speeds the transition to electric mobility as cities focus on sustainability.

Agag claims that interest in such technologies will also drive the growth of another of his interests: electric powerboat racing. His E1 Series, which will promote “sustainable watercraft”, is targeting a 2023 debut and in June secured an undisclosed investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

“The big advantage over car racing is the absence of big infrastructures needed, such as walls and fences,” says Agag. “For cities with water [rivers, lakes or sea] this will become a great option.”