Most venues run game day on a patchwork: one tool for incidents, another for work orders, group texts for staff and paper logs in the command center.
In the first episode of SEAT Solves, Scott Ahlstrom, Co-Founder and CEO of SwitchBase, chats with Sean Callanan and explains how his team brings it all together on one platform and where AI fits in without removing the human element.
Why surveys weren’t enough
Scott spent years at Qualtrics running fan research with leagues and teams. It told venues what happened after the fact. Then COVID hit, and the world’s largest venue management company asked a question a survey couldn’t answer in time.
Building it live on launch night
SwitchBase went live at a preseason NHL game that was supposed to be quiet. Then ownership, the league and the commissioner walked in. Scott walks through what the team built on the fly that night, and why his operators (former venue leaders Kami Hill and Stacy McGranor) review every build before it goes live.
The reports that keep staff at the venue
After the crowd leaves, someone is still writing incident reports, sometimes for hours. Scott shares how SwitchBase’s AI drafts them in minutes, and the guardrails that mean a human still signs off on anything sensitive.
A 45-minute spill
In the Triple Threat, Scott breaks down one real cleanup workflow, from text message to resolution. The before-and-after numbers are worth hearing.
“The fan doesn’t care when they interact with our platform whether your team is winning or losing. They just want to go back and watch the game.” — Scott Ahlstrom, SwitchBase
Hear the full conversation, including Scott’s SEAT story and what he wants to dig into at SEAT 2027 in St. Paul.
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More episodes: seatconference.com/podcast
New SEAT Solves episodes drop on the third Monday of every month.
Learn more about SwitchBase: https://www.switchbase.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/switchbase
Connect with Scott Ahlstrom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottahlstrom
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SEAT Solves profiles SEAT Partners. SwitchBase is a SEAT Partner.