Contactless Technology Is Game Changer For Super Bowl LVI Stadium Experience

Every year, regardless of the matchup, storylines emerge from the Super Bowl that captivate casual and diehard fans alike.

This year, Super Bowl LVI is a matchup between teams few people would predict as Super Bowl contenders before the season began. For the first time ever, the 4^th seed from each conference made it to the Super Bowl, with the Los Angeles Rams emerging from the National Football Conference while the Cincinnati Bengals will represent the American Football Conference.

This Super Bowl is sure to live up to the anticipation, but for technology fans, there’s something exciting about the event’s location at SoFi Stadium as well — NFC Technology and a completely cashless experience inside the venue.

SoFi Stadium is a state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena with an unparalleled payment, software, and merchandise service system. In 2021, SoFi announced they would be entering a 10-year partnership with NFC Forum member Square, where the contactless transaction company would be the exclusive point-of-sale (POS) provider for the stadium. Square’s systems utilize near field communication (NFC) technology, allowing NFC to be at the forefront of fan accessibility for one of the premiere sporting events in the world.

A Revolutionary Partnership

When SoFi Stadium was built, it immediately became the largest stadium in the NFL. While an impressive achievement, the features that make up the arena are arguably more exciting. SoFi’s relationship with Square opens the door for new opportunities in the world of transactions and fan experience for all types of entertainment. Whether fans are entering the arena, buying food and drinks at concessions, or buying merchandise to support their favorite team or artist, every transaction can be made with a tap of their phone. This completely cashless system supports fast, reliable, and convenient transactions, while still prioritizing a safe and streamlined payment system for fans.

The contactless system provides the stadium’s sales and management teams with data and insights in real-time, which enables stadium managers to better understand trends, and optimize staffing, inventory, and promotions. In today’s analytics driven system, this provides SoFi stadium with a substantial advantage when hosting events. So not only do the cashless transactions benefit fans, but they also benefit stadium management, offering all parties an advantageous system with numerous benefits.

NFC for MVP

The Square-SoFi Stadium partnership creates new possibilities for mobile application development, inventory management, kitchen display systems, and digital signage, to create one of the most technologically advanced venues in the world. Contactless payments will continue to advance and become more integrated into daily applications.

SoFi Stadium is demonstrating what contactless technology can do when fully integrated into a 70,000+ person arena. Regardless of the winner of the Super Bowl, we would argue that contactless technology is the real Super Bowl winner and true game changer.