In late 2019 and early 2020 I was working on a project promoting biometric entry at sports facilities and concert venues…until a teeny little worldwide pandemic shut down all the sport and concert venues.
Some of you may remember that a pivotal day during that period was March 11, 2020. Among many many other things, this was the day on which basketball fans awaited the start of a game.
“8 p.m. [ET; 7 p.m. local time]: In Oklahoma City, it was just another game day for Nerlens Noel and his Thunder teammates, who were warming up to play the visiting Utah Jazz.”
The day soon became abnormal after a meeting between NBA officials and the two coaches. Unbeknownst to the crowd, the officials and coaches were discussing a medical diagnosis of Rudy Gobert. (That’s another story.)
“8:31 p.m. [ET]: Teams were sent back to their locker rooms but the crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena weren’t informed of the cancellation immediately. Instead, recording artist Frankie J, the intended halftime entertainment, put on his show, while officials decided how to break the news.”
Eight minutes later, the crowd was instructed to leave the arena.
Twenty minutes after that, the NBA suspended all games.
A little over a month later, on April 19, millions of people were huddled in their homes, glued to the opening episode of a TV series called The Last Dance…the only basketball any of us were going to get for a while. And of course, these games were on decades-long tape delay, and we already knew the outcome. (The Chicago Bulls won.)
And that was our basketball…until the suspended season resumed on July 30 under very bizarre circumstances.
Anyway, all of that was a very long time ago.
Games and concerts have been back in business since 2021, and identity verification and authentication of venue visitors with biometrics and other factors is becoming more popular every year.
Bredemarket 