Tips to offer cutting edge technology to fans
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, December 25, 2004
EVERETT – When the Everett Silvertips’ season resumes Tuesday, Everett’s fans will have two new ways of keeping track of the Tips’ every move.
For the second half of the season, the Silvertips are implementing a pair of technological advances for bringing their product to the fans. One is a video webcast of all games at the Everett Events Center, the other is a text-messaging service that provides score updates of every Silvertips game.
“We’re just trying to say ahead of the curve in offering things to our fans,” said Zoran Rajcic, the Silvertips’ director of marketing and sales.
Both services will be available when the Silvertips return from the Christmas break Tuesday at home against Spokane – the text-messaging service actually began the final week before the break. Both are still in the experimental stage, but Rajcic is excited about the prospect of expanding the options available to Everett’s fans.
“We’re just looking at ways we can pass on information to the fans,” Rajcic said. “Whether you’re a casual fan or a hardcore season ticket holder, it’s there. It shows the way we look at the importance of the fans. This is just another way of experimenting into where the technology is taking us.”
Tuesday’s game will be the first where the video is broadcast across the internet. Fans can access a link on the Silvertips’ web site (www.everettsilvertips.com) that will provide the feed from the Events Center’s in-house cameras. Therefore, internet viewers will see the same image provided on the jumbotron.
The first couple of home games will be provided free of charge. After that, each game will cost $5-6 through the end of the season.
For the audio accompaniment, the team is experimenting with using both the radio broadcast and the public address system.
“Some people say, ‘Well, isn’t it going to affect your attendance?’” Rajcic said. “I don’t think watching on the computer is anything like being in the physical arena.
“What we’re looking at is beyond the Everett area. If it comes down to it, we’ll just provide the feeds to the parents of the players who are playing for us.”
Everett is the second team in the Western Hockey League to implement this technology. The Moose Jaw Warriors provide a similar service, though Warrior fans only receive the feed from a single camera.
And it was the Everett fans’ interest in the Moose Jaw feed that helped inspire the Silvertips to implement a program of their own.
“The Moose Jaw games usually get 30-40 people,” Rajcic said. “When Everett played there, there were 158. We never let people know, they found out about it from their own investigation. So our fans are very resilient in wanting any way to get hold of the team.”
The text-messaging service took flight at Everett’s Dec. 15 home game against Tri-City. What the team is offering is a service where fans can arrange for score updates to be sent to their cell phones, personal digital assistants or e-mail addresses each time a goal is scored in any Silvertips game, whether at home or on the road.
Fans can sign up for the service either at the guest services table at home games or by going to www.whlrealtime.com. There’s a one-time charge of $6.99 and the service will be provided the remainder of the season.
The team is also looking at expanding the service, with fans able to get updates from other WHL teams as well. No other team in the league offers this type of service.
“We’ve got a lot of fans who cannot get to a computer or can’t be at a game,” Rajcic said. “This is a service for them.
“We’re tyring to work out whether we can get it so it says who scored and who got assists,” Rajcic added. “But right now the important part is letting people know that if they want information from the game, they can get it.”
These two services put the Silvertips on the cutting edge of technology in the WHL.
“We’re pioneers in the Western Hockey League,” Rajcic said. “We’re not looking at these as major revenue streams, but more of a service for the people.”
