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Friday open thread: What change should the Lions make to the Ford Field experience?

Here’s one suggestion to make live football a better product.

NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers at Detroit Lions Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, the Detroit Lions pitched in $100 million to improve the gameday experience at Ford Field. They upgraded the video board, they improved the wifi and added several other features, including exclusive club level dining among other perks.

For the most part, the feedback has pretty pretty positive regarding the changes. However, it’s becoming a bigger and bigger challenge league-wide to get fans into the stadiums. As the television experience is improving year after year, the live event must struggle to keep up. It’s hard to contend with the comfort, affordability and crystal-clear replays that an in-home viewing provides.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

What would you do to improve the stadium experience at Ford Field to make it more likely for you to attend?

My answer: Outside of obvious things like cheaper concessions or better performance on the field (I know I’m going to get that answer all over social media), the one thing that I really miss when attending a game is replays.

The person who controls the jumbotron has a tough job, but rarely do I get all the replays I want. And you almost never get them if they don’t benefit the home team.

Here’s my idea: Just about everyone has a smart phone these days. Teams should develop a location-based app that allows people within the stadium grounds to watch the game on their phones for free with full DVR capabilities. Not only does this allow you to stream your own replays, but if you’re stuck in line at the bathroom or a restaurant, you can watch the game live on your phone and not miss a single play.

For decades people were doing similar things with radio headphones to catch the play-by-play announcers while watching the game live. Technology has gotten so much better since then, and this is the next logical progression in the fan experience at stadiums.

Your turn. Let’s hear some creative answers.

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