Sports is an anxiety-filled industry with stress coming from every which way. Inclement weather adds a whole new set of considerations, since game weather and field conditions affect far more than the quality of the game and customer experience. Long before kickoff or first pitch, sports leagues face weather variable considerations like the price of tickets, marketing choices, field maintenance, whether or not to open a stadium’s retractable roof, and the well-being of spectators, athletes, and personnel.
Outdoor sports games often go on in bad weather, but what about when they can’t? No matter the season, venues must consider the weather forecast in making operational decisions. Uncertainty around inclement weather causes outdoor stadiums to incur infrastructure costs, as well as lost ticket, food, and beverage sales, not to mention negative customer experience in poorly managed responses to severe weather events.
Going behind the scenes even further, athletes do not have unlimited time once they’ve gone through pre-game protocols. If the timing is off, these procedures are wasted, and in many cases, athletes can’t repeat their pregame preparation. It’s different from aviation, where a plane can de-ice and re-ice more than once if it has to turn around in a delay. The timing of “play ball” must be on the mark for performance, effectiveness, scheduling and the physical well being of the athlete.
Furthermore, a tarp left on the field too long in the sun can burn the grass or perhaps even emblaze a sponsor’s logo behind the pitcher’s mound…and the infield dirt can be destroyed and must be replaced if left out in the rain too long.
Proactive decision-makers require knowledge of precipitation intensity and duration, temperatures, and wind conditions, among other things. Of course, a manager, coach, and operations manager might want to keep his or her pulse on all of this data.
With Tomorrow.io’s precise weather data feeding real-time forecasts, sports leagues can take advantage of nowcasting to manage sales and pricing, and to best respond to rain delays. On game day, opening the gates is a critical decision, and during the game, so is whether to delay or to play through. With better weather intelligence, leagues can increase customer satisfaction and prevent some financial losses.
Tomorrow.io is positioned to relieve these anxiety levels across the entire sport enterprise with its precision, accuracy, timeliness, and expert recommendations, both through data visualization, alerting, and best in class meteorologists.
