• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, August 23, 2013

One of the nation’s most popular spectator sports is about to get more interactive, thanks to digital-out-of-home technology. This week racing venue owner Speedway Motorsports, Inc. began testing digital signage kiosks (created by the Heads and Tails Company, a SoCal outfit) during the Irwin Tools Night Race NASCAR Weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.

Over the course of the four-day event, spectators will be able to use the large interactive displays, powered by Cisco Systems, Meraki, and Ovideon, to get event news, content offers, schedules, track maps, NASCAR standings and current track results.

The kiosks are also integrated with a mobile phone gateway, allowing users to interact through mobile GPS and access an in-venue wayfinding application. The kiosks support connectivity to tablet and smartphone apps, boosting fan engagement throughout the venue and enabling GPS guidance to seating, food, refreshments, restrooms, souvenirs, and the locations of users’ friends.

SMI plans to deploy the kiosks at other venues in 2014.

Sports and digital-out-of-home just seem to go together: earlier this week event planners from the U.S. Tennis Association revealed plans for a “social media wall” at the U.S. Open. The digital signage installation, measuring 50 feet long by eight feet tall, will display U.S. Open-related tweets, as well as content from Facebook and Instagram, near the entrance to the Louis Armstrong Stadium at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens.