Golden State Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts was named Outstanding Executive as part of the third annual SportTechie Awards, the publication announced today. The awards are presented to individuals who have made an unmistakable impact on the ever-evolving sports technology space.
“This recognition was only possible because of the hard work of a group of dedicated individuals in the Warriors/Chase Center organization as we opened this incredible new arena,” said Welts, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2018. “Our vision for Chase Center is to use technology to enhance the overall fan experience, not to add technology for technology’s sake. We have partnered with some of the best brands in the business to provide our fans the most seamless, engaging and content-rich experiences possible.”
Welts joined the Warriors in October 2011 and oversees all business-related operations for the team and was largely responsible for leading the efforts behind the development of Chase Center, the privately-financed sports and entertainment center that is home to the Warriors and nearly 200 events per year, including concerts, cultural events, family shows and more. Under Welts’ direction a number of technology-based initiatives were launched to enhance the fan experience at Chase Center and Thrive City, the surrounding district of Chase Center:
- Chase Center’s centerhung scoreboard, developed with Samsung, features the largest square footage of surface LED space in the NBA measuring in at 9,699 total square feet which gives fans access to rich content, expanded stats, real-time shot charts and more. In addition, the arena also has the first-ever full outdoor LED display in San Francisco which can be used for movie nights, displaying important event and transit information and Warriors game watch parties
- Chase Center utilizes 4DReplay and Second Spectrum to enhance the in-game fan experience by collecting data in real time and uploading it quickly to the scoreboard centerhung. This enables fans to better connect to the game, providing them with the latest and most up to date stats and content available.
- Chase Center is the first arena on the West Coast to become 5G enabled with its partnership with Verizon. Accessible by the entire seating bowl, this enables connection speeds of nearly 1Gbps+ on 5G enabled devices.
- Through Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Chase Center is the first arena to be equipped with Wi-Fi 6, located in the seating bowl, with 250 under seat access points to provide fast connections speeds to the 18,000+ fans.
- Ahead of the start of the 2019-20 season, the Warriors launched a brand new mobile app, in partnership with Chase Center Founding Partner Accenture, that included a number of features designed to enhance the fan experience, including the ability to mobile order food and beverage from select eateries throughout Chase Center, ticket management and purchase capabilities, helpful transit and wayfinding information and a variety of content related to the team and events coming through Chase Center.
- The Warriors and Chase Center launched Suite Exchange, an industry-first, authentic and verified resale marketplace connecting Chase Center premium suite holders with a broader network of buyers interested in hospitality for Chase Center concerts, events and Warriors games.
- Thrive City features San Francisco’s only outdoor videoboard, developed with Samsung, measuring 68 ft. by 38 ft., providing fans the opportunity to watch road and home games, receive helpful transit information, enjoy movie nights and more.
The Warriors and Chase Center have also partnered with best-of-class brands, including the following Founding Partners: Accenture, as the Official Technology Innovation Partner; Adobe, who is powering analytics across the Warriors and Chase Center web properties and app, along with cross-channel campaign management through the Adobe Experience Cloud; Google Cloud as the Official Public Cloud Provider; Hewlett Packard Enterprise ((HPE), as the Official Connected Experience Partner; Rakuten, as the first-ever jersey badge partner of the Warriors and Official E-Commerce Partner, Official Video-On-Demand Partner, Official Affiliate Marketing Partner and Official Shopping Rewards Partner, with Rakuten’s mobile voice messaging service Rakuten Viber the Official Instant Messaging and Calling App Partner and the Rakuten Kobo eReaders the Official E-Reader Partner; RingCentral, as the Official Enterprise Cloud Communications Partner; Ticketmaster, as the Official Ticketing Partner; and Verizon Wireless for 5G technology.
For more information on Chase Center please visit chasecenter.com
About Chase Center
Chase Center, an award-winning 18,064-seat sports and entertainment arena, anchors Thrive City, the multipurpose, privately financed complex in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood consisting of 3.2 acres of publicly accessible plazas and open space that are part of a larger mixed-use development including two office buildings and dozens of unique restaurant and retail locations. Center plays host to games featuring the six-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, concerts, cultural events, family shows and more, totaling nearly 200 events per year. Thrive City, the surrounding district of Chase Center, is a community gathering space providing a slate of year-round health and wellness programming, including Get Fit clinics, yoga sessions, farmer’s markets, ice skating and much more. Chase Center is also the winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award for this year’s TheStadiumBusiness Design.