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SACRAMENTO KINGS AND IMAGINATION PARK TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER AR ENGAGEMENTS TO FANS
Imagination Park Technologies Inc., in partnership with the Sacramento Kings, plans to integrate the new ImagineAR SDK/API in the award-winning Sacramento Kings + Golden 1 Center app to deliver augmented reality (AR) engagement opportunities during home games for fans and guests.
"We are excited to work with the innovative team at Imagination Park Technologies to make the latest AR technology available to our fans and provide new ways for them to interact with the team," said chief technology officer Ryan Montoya of the Sacramento Kings.
"We are honoured to be working with the Sacramento Kings, a team that truly understands the importance of using augmented reality and innovative technology to improve the sports world," said Imagination Park Technologies chief executive officer Alen Paul Silverrstieen. "With the ImagineAR self-service platform, the Kings will have the most advanced AR features and functions available to lead to more fan engagement and activations."
Starting in early 2020, fans will have many opportunities to interact with AR through the Sacramento Kings + Golden 1 Center app, including AR scavenger hunts, in-arena photo opportunities with digital players, sweepstakes, giveaways, interactive sponsorship campaigns and more.
This partnership represents another first in the team's efforts to pave the way for technology innovation in sports. In 2014, the Kings became the first NBA team to accept bitcoin as payment in the arena. Last year, the Kings became the first professional sports team in the world to mine cryptocurrency and announced a charitable program, MiningForGood, that donates those funds to work force development and training efforts in the community. Last month, the Kings announced the NBA's first blockchain-powered reward program in collaboration with Blockparty -- an enhancement to the NBA's first predictive gaming application, "Call the Shot," now in place for the 2019 to 2020 season. Recently, Golden 1 Center opened the doors to the world's first sports arena to feature a checkout-free convenience store through its partnership with Zippin.
The Kings are also industry leaders in predictive gaming. Earlier this year, the Kings debuted the NBA's first dedicated space for a free-to-play, in-arena predictive gaming experience. The Kings have been named the most innovative company in sports by Fast Company and the most tech savvy team of 2016 by Sport Techie, in addition to being the recipient of Sports Business Journal's 2017 facility of the year.
