Lantern scores big with Sporting Kansas City deal
June 26, 2015 | Bobby Burch
Tech firm Lantern Software’s mobile app hit the right pitch with its hometown soccer team.
Lantern CEO Aaron Sloup
The startup, located in Kansas City, Kan., recently partnered with Sporting Kansas City to offer its mobile concessions ordering platform. The deal, effective Saturday, will allow fans in Sporting KC’s Boulevard Members Club to order and pay for concessions on their phones, and then pick up orders quicker at a separate “fast lane.”
Lantern CEO Aaron Sloup said that working with Sporting KC’s affiliate tech company — Sporting Innovations — enabled the companies to try new, innovative approaches to improve fans’ experiences at the stadium.
“This is definitely a big deal for us,” Sloup said. “Their whole team has been great to work with. They want to stay at the leading edge of technology and that means they’re willing to do some new things to move quickly.”
The app, named Gameday, allows fans to choose concession items and pay for their order via credit card or PayPal. Featuring Sporting KC colors and photos, Gameday then tracks fans’ orders, notifying them of when an order is placed and ready for pickup from a separate line.
Gameday app
Fans may draft an order before entering the Boulevard Members Club, but must enter the club to activate the order via small Bluetooth beacons confirming one’s proximity. The app is now available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store.
“We’re continuously looking at ways to improve the fan experience at Sporting Park,” Sporting KC CEO Robb Heineman said in a release. “Lantern has a proven track record of using micro-location to improve the fan experience at sporting events. We are excited to form a relationship with a local company to provide a service that will greatly benefit our fans.”
Lantern previously was conducting pilot testing with the same app technology with the Kansas City Chiefs. Sloup said that testing has yet to result in a contract, though he remains hopeful for a partnership.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Homegrown unicorn’ helped this startup hub beat the bracket (and its top seed Kansas competition)
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. A…
Ulta, Venture Noire apply foundation with new beauty startup accelerator to ‘uplift minority founders’
Ulta Beauty’s premier MUSE Accelerator is nothing short of life changing, said Emma Willis. The national beauty retailer has partnered with Venture Noire to launch a 10-week, hybrid accelerator that supports Black, Indeginous and underrepresented founders of color as they prepare to break into and thrive in the beauty retail space, explained Willis, who serves…
Fund Me, KC: ‘Black Spartans’ returns with supernatural new chapter, summer crowdfunding push
Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Brandon Calloway’s third installment of the “Black Spartans” series — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially gain backing…
Truth, not Troost: Ruby Jean’s founder wants East Side corridor renamed over slavery ties
Despite its widely-known street name, “Troost Avenue” does not accurately represent the small businesses, nonprofits and families along the increasingly dense Kansas City corridor, said Chris Goode. “So many beautiful efforts take place on Troost — from The Combine to Operation Breakthrough or Urban Cafe and Rockhurst University… We are all collectively pushing for community,…