As a Major Junior ‘A’ hockey team in an NHL city, the OHL Ottawa 67’s face significant competition for fans. Like all successful sports franchises, they are always looking for ways to enhance their fans’ game day experience. What could be better than a new technology, delivering an exciting and innovative fan experience that also drives real value for sponsors, creating an entirely new revenue stream for the team?

When CrowdWave approached the 67’s with a prototype of what would eventually become the core CrowdWave technology,Randy Burgess, the 67’s VP responsible for marketing and game day operations, immediately saw the potential of the platform and worked with Bent 360 to develop the first full arena installation of the CrowdWave Game System.

On October 30, 2009, CrowdWave debuted at the Urbandale Centre in Ottawa, the 10,000-seat home of the Ottawa 67’s.

The last thing that 67’s fans expected when they arrived for the game was to be the first audience for a high-tech gaming system. Surprised and vocal, the crowd immediately understood the concept and jumped into the competition, enthusiastically and loudly, turning the entire arena into a massive video game arcade. CrowdWave featured its Save! game, in which the crowd plays the role of a rookie goaltender trying out for the team by attempting to prevent an opposing shooter from scoring. At the end of the game, the save percentage was almost as high as the energy of the crowd behind it.

The ability to customize the game for the home team was especially important for true crowd engagement. The goaltender wore the home colours, complete with an Ottawa 67’s jersey. As a result, the crowd’s experience of Save! was much more than simple generic fun; it created an intense emotional identification with the success or failure of the 67s “rookie” and became a mass expression of team support.