Bibb is vice president of business operations for the Washington Wizards and chief operating officer for the Washington Mystics, who both play their home games downtown at the Verizon Center. What is new this [season] in the arena?
There’s some tangible things, including a new lighting system and a new public announcer. We have also changed the music and introduced an organ to the game presentation. Our ultimate goal is to make the games fan-friendlier. We want to create a great entertainment opportunity from the moment our fans walk in the door to the moment they walk out that will be worth it even if the Wizards lose.
How do you keep fans coming when the Wizards are losing?
Basketball is a competitive sport. There’s going to be a team that wins and there’s going to be a team that loses. The more value that we provide off the court, the easier it is for a consumer to come back regardless of what is going on on the court.
How do you involve the fans in the game?
We have tried really hard to ramp up interactivity of the game. Our tagline this year is “Live the Game.” Folks love the “dance cam” — which requires them to dance if the camera focuses on them — and we have the “Great Wall of Assists,” which tracks the number of assists John Wall records during a game. We also have a giant Wii system that tracks the movements of fans and runs competitions. A digitized dancer on the big screen will ask fans to follow her moves and the section of fans that follows it best will win a prize. And of course we have “kiss cam,” the T-shirt tosses and the dunk teams
What’s next?
We have a lot of work to do here and we’ve only just begun. We’re constantly evolving our game presentation. We will never stand still we will continue to roll out new initiatives.
Hayley Peterson
