CNET Mobile High-tech Warriors: A glimpse into the stadium of the future High-tech Warriors: A glimpse into the stadium of the future

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Floor tiles that generate electricity when people walk on them. Streetlamps that transmit data to people passing beneath them. Virtual reality videos that make fans feel like they're at the game when they're really just sitting on their own couches. No, this isn't "Star Trek." It's some of the technology the Golden State Warriors basketball team is testing for its new stadium, set to open in San Francisco in 2018. The 12-acre sports and entertainment complex will contain space for retail, restaurants and parks and will play host to not only Warriors games but also concerts and other events. The Warriors, currently the winningest team in the NBA, have been using their nearly 50-year-old venue in Oakland as a sort of Petri dish to try out new technology. Some, like the use of Apple's iBeacon technology have stuck. Others will only be tested in parts of the stadium before being rolled out in the new venue, while some tech may be scrapped after the trials. "Our goal is that the experience [at the new San Francisco complex], regardless of whether it's a Warriors game or a conference or an artist or any sort of entertainment, that the experience there is second to none," said Kenny Lauer, vice president of digital and marketing for the Warriors. "We can't light this [new arena] up already being out of date." sf-20141210-southeastentrance-1920x1080.jpg The Golden State Warriors' new arena, shown in an artist rendering, will seat 18,000 fans when it opens in San Francisco in 2018. Golden State Warriors The move by the Warriors to build the most high-tech stadium possible follows similar steps by other sports franchises. As more and more fans opt to watch the game from home, sports teams are looking for ways to entice them into arenas and keep them engaged. High-tech features, such as paying for seat upgrades from a smartphone, gives the franchises a new revenue stream while keeping their fans happy. With most of the technology the Warriors are exploring, there are still questions about how to best implement the features and how they actually work. And the rapid pace of change in the technology industry makes it tough for companies and organizations to plan several months out, let alone several years. The Warriors aren't alone in hopping on the tech bandwagon. Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers football team in Santa Clara, Calif., was dubbed by some "the stadium Silicon Valley built" when it opened in 2014, partly because of its location in the heart of the tech world, as well as its high-tech features. Many Major League Baseball stadiums -- including AT&T Park, the home of the 2014 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, and Citi Field, home to the New York Mets -- are outfitted with iBeacons to ping visitors with exclusive offers and trivia. AT&T outfitted its namesake stadium in Dallas, the home of the Cowboys football team, with large, interactive LED displays to keep fans involved in the game. At the same time, other teams have taken a different slant. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, last year criticized the use of mobile devices during games, telling Businessweek that people "use them when they are bored. They don't want more reasons to use them. They want fewer." But for a tech-savvy region like the Bay Area, expecting fans to put away their phones isn't realistic, said Lauer and Kevin Cote, senior director of digital for the Golden State Warriors. "We have a unique fan base because we are in the Bay Area, so we have executives from Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter at every game," Cote said. "Even when a game is close, with five seconds left, everyone has their phone out because they want to record that game-winning shot." Ping me The Warriors, while not as early with some technological advancements as other sports franchises, last March became the first NBA team to install beacons in its arena. Apple's iBeacon technology, first released with the iOS 7 mobile software in 2013, uses low-energy Bluetooth to send notifications to smartphone users located near the beacon. It has popped up at retailers and other sports arenas, giving organizations a fast way to interact with customers and fans. SEE ALSO Inside the 49ers' new tech-rich stadium Moneyball hits the NFL via a San Francisco 49ers app AT&T Stadium offers high-tech way of rallying fans And iBeacon could become even more widespread when Apple rolls out its first wearable, the Apple Watch, in the coming months. It gets Apple device owners to use more apps, while letting the app makers learn more about using and make money from offers in the app, said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Kantar Worldpanel. "Of course, through the usage it helps increase stickiness to the ecosystem and increase the engagement, which brings higher brand loyalty," she said. The Warriors send four types of notifications -- a welcome message, often mentioning promotions such as free socks; offers to upgrade to better seats; special concession deals; and promotions for the team store. "We don't want to hit fans over the head with messaging to the point where they'd be annoyed with it, but we want to utilize it," Cote said. Before activating a beacon's feature, the function "has to have immediate benefit to the fans, and it has to some way drive the business." About 10 percent of the 19,000 people at each game receive the beacon pings, Cote said. The franchise needs about 20 to 25 beacons around the stadium to send all the notices it wants. The Warriors have placed about two dozen beacons around their arena. One, at the team store, sends special offers to visitors. Shara Tibken/CNET Less than a year after rolling out beacons, the technology is showing results for the Warriors. The team uses them to ping fans heading to the nosebleed section, giving them the option for seat upgrades. About 15 percent of all seat upgrades are directly tied to beacon notifications, Cote said. An even more successful area has been the beacon for the stadiums' team store, which delivers deals through a notification. Typically, it's for a free item after spending a certain amount. Fans with the beacon promotion spend 93 percent more than those without the offer, Cote said. Still, not all of the beacon offers have been successful. The Warriors haven't yet figured out how to get fans to take advantage of concession stand notifications despite offers such as free popcorn with the purchase of a slice of pizza. Stealth signal Along with the Bluetooth ping, the beacons also have the ability to send inaudible tones as a trigger for the phone. That lets the franchise push out a notification through the sound system to everyone sitting and watching the game in the arena or even to people watching at home. "We're looking at the concept of second screen, sending inaudible tones to those watching on broadcast and then activating the app there," Lauer said. Another use for the beacons is providing better indoor mapping and navigation, though the Warriors don't yet use their beacons for wayfinding.