The National Football League (NFL)’s Detroit Lions has partnered with Wallaroo to act as the franchise’s official artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) partner.
The Lions will work with Wallaroo to utilise AI across a number of business objectives on and off the field, including ticketing, parking, concessions, retail and fan sentiment.
Detroit Lions senior vice-president of strategy and analytics, Ashton Mullinix, said: “Our organisation continues to look for innovative ways to improve our business and be a leader in the use of analytics throughout the NFL.
“With the help of Wallaroo we are looking to scale our use of AI to leverage real-time data to impact decision making.”
Vid Jain, chief executive and founder of Wallaroo Labs, added: “Professional sports teams generate terabytes of data from sources including ticketing, concessions, retail, social media, vendors, player stats and more. This data is a treasure trove of information, but it is only valuable if you can understand and apply it to make better decisions – this is where AI comes in.
“The Lions’ commitment to applying AI to optimise performance and find new ways to use their data both on and off the field makes this an exciting collaboration for Wallaroo.”
The partnership will see the integration of Wallaroo technology into the newly established Trace3 Analytics War Room at the 65,000-capacity Ford Field (pictured).
Wallaroo will work alongside the Lions’ analytics team during games to improve the fan experience.
Hector Leano, head of product marketing and brand at Wallaroo, said: “The Detroit Lions are a great partner to demonstrate the power of AI to drive impactful business results.
“Already a recognised brand in the heart of the US manufacturing and CPG industries, this integration further positions the Lions as a technology leader showcasing the value of AI and ML technologies to other leaders in those industries.”
Alex Ballew, Detroit Lions director of data strategy and insights, added: “We are very strategic in the partnerships we bring into our organisation because we want to ensure each partnership is providing tremendous value to both parties.
“With Wallaroo we saw a partner with experience in using AI to drive positive performance results. We look forward to leveraging this technology across our business and providing a better fan experience to our fans.”