Terry Foster: Leaving Your Seat At The Palace Isn't A Problem Anymore
By Terry Foster
@TerryFoster971
The Pistons will play host to at least two playoff games this weekend as they continue their opening round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
For many people it will be their first visit to the Palace in years. Here is a piece of advice when you leave your seats to go to the restroom or concession stands.
Look up.
Every exit from the arena is decorated with multi-colored monitors that will give out information every fan can use. Do I have a long wait time at the bath room? Will my venture to the hotdog or beer stand cause me to miss too much of the game?
Wait Time is in the Palace and the goal is to save you time whether you have to use the facilities or want to buy a beer. And signs are easy to read.
Green means go. Yellow means lines are moderate and red means you might want to go elsewhere. The signs are colorful, easy to manage and can be read by anybody, even if you don't know how to read.
This is ground floor technology that should sweep the country and make your stadium experience better and it is the brainchild of Zack Klima of Detroit. He's partnered with Doyle Mosher of Birmingham and imaging expert John Mars of Rochester. They are in negotiations to bring this technology to the new Red Wings Stadium and are getting phone calls of from around the country from owners of baseball stadiums and arenas.
At least one horse track and hospital are looking into the model.
This is the first of its kind and the great news is the Detroit area is the starting point.
Here is the bottom line. When I am at a stadium or arena I want the shortest line possible. I would not even mind it at the grocery store because I always pick the wrong line. But Wait Time can tell you how long a line is even before you get to it.
That is why I give this thumbs up.
This is also a great benefit to the people that run concessions. Do you know that every time someone gets fed up in line and leaves it costs the company an average of $8.31 per customer? This is why they want to make sure that lines are as even as possible even during peak times at an event.
There are 39 cameras at the Palace monitoring each food and rest room area and information is passed along to you as you leave you seat section. It is as easy as that. And it appears as if this can be a good security enhancement.
"We have a bird's eye view of so many things," Klima said from Wait Time's suite at the Palace. "We could track irregular movement or if a fight breaks out we could do a screen shot and send it to security."
All that is fine and dandy. All I care about is that I can get my bag of popcorn quicker and when I got to go, that goes faster too.
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com)
