Croke Park has unveiled a new AI-powered digital assistant designed to transform the matchday experience for supporters and staff, reinforcing the stadium’s ongoing commitment to innovation and fan experience.
Known as The Croke Park Stadium Assistant, the new tool enables visitors to navigate the stadium more easily by providing real-time information via a simple QR code. Fans can find the most efficient route to their seat, locate nearby toilets and food and beverage outlets, and stay up to date on live match information, all while the system actively responds to crowd movements to help reduce congestion around the stadium.
The technology was piloted during January at the AIB GAA All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling and Football Finals, along with selected Allianz League fixtures.
Feedback from supporters attending games in the Hogan Stand has been strongly positive, with high levels of interaction around live match updates, facilities and location finding. The assistant was also valuable when weather conditions worsened during the January 24th games, helping fans explore alternative seating options and covered areas.
For Croke Park, the pilot represents an important step in better understanding how supporters move through and engage with the stadium on event days. By analysing real-time interactions, questions, and usage patterns, the stadium team can identify pressure points, information gaps, and opportunities to further enhance the fan journey from arrival through to departure.
“This is a first-of-its-kind technology in Ireland and highlights Croke Park’s continued commitment to improving visitor experience,” said Noel Quinn, Head of Marketing at Croke Park.
“Technology is constantly evolving, and it is brilliant to see it being used in this setting, where it enables smoother experiences and processes for visitors and staff.”
“From a fan’s perspective, it delivers a personalised, stress-free experience, from finding their seat to checking match updates. For staff, the real-time insights will significantly enhance our ability to further optimise an already excellent fan experience – it’s a win-win.”
The stadium assistant has been developed in partnership with Fexco, using its SmartAssist Platform to power the conversational technology behind the scenes.
“Croke Park provides an ideal environment to test how AI can operate in a high-traffic, live setting,” said Martin Ryan, Executive Director at Fexco Group. “This pilot allows us to explore how conversational technology can enhance customer experience today, while also informing how it could evolve to support future services within stadium environments.”
The pilot will continue throughout the Allianz League campaign, with the assistant next available at the two Allianz League fixtures in Croke Park on February 14th and 21st.
Longer term, the ambition is to expand the platform’s capabilities to include personalised offers, agentic payments and loyalty integration, supporting Croke Park’s vision of a more seamless, digitally enabled stadium experience.
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Image Credit: Croke Park
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