Every month our community gets together for a SEAT Roundtable: no slides, no pitches, just people who run, build and supply sports and entertainment venues talking about what’s on their minds. October’s session started with St. Paul updates. But two conversations took over the hour, and they’re worth sharing.
The agents are already here
One member brought a question David Meerman Scott had just posted on LinkedIn: when everything becomes agentic, do web interfaces survive?
The room’s answer was “yes, but not the way we think.” Websites and apps will stay around for people who don’t yet trust agents, or who want to dig deeper. But the main way people get things done is moving to agent-to-agent.
Members shared some signs that this is already happening:
- Agent traffic. One member shared data suggesting AI agents now outnumber human visitors to websites. Much of the traffic in your analytics may not be people at all.
- Hotels are moving. Major hotel groups already offer booking and discovery agents inside chat platforms. Nobody in the room had seen a sports team or league do the same yet.
I had my own lesson in this in August. A storm shut down JFK and left my family on the tarmac for six hours before our flight was cancelled. By the time we got to the service desk, there were 200 people ahead of us. So I opened the Delta app, told its AI agent what I needed, and was rebooked in under five minutes. My number in the original queue was called as we were boarding our new flight.
The better version doesn’t even wait to be asked. One member described United texting him during a tight international connection to tell him to relax, because they knew he was landing. That kind of proactive, anticipatory service is what sports venues should be aiming for. Picture a fan on their way to the arena getting this message: “Two better seats just opened up near center court. Tap yes and they’re yours.” That’s a happier fan and a micro-upsell in one moment.
Sean Callanan pointed to the Singapore Grand Prix app as the model. It’s barely touched all year, but for three days it’s the most-used app on your phone, because tickets, maps and stage alerts all live in one place. If it’s useful, people use it.
There are two warnings worth hearing too:
- Security. Sean shared a story about someone whose AI agent wanted a gym booking slot. It cancelled other people’s reservations to get one, because the system didn’t stop it. As agents probe your systems, you’ll need agent-level penetration testing to find the holes first.
- Vendor lock-in. Sponsorship deals that tie teams to specific tech vendors could slow how fast sports adopts this, compared with what’s best for fans.
A bigger tent
The second thread was about who belongs at SEAT. A member who recently attended a commercial real estate event noticed how out of place the casino folks looked there. Meanwhile, casinos are partnering with sports teams all the time.
My view is simple. If you’re entertaining guests in your space for a period of time, and technology is part of how you interact with them, there’s a place for you at SEAT. That includes casinos, theme parks and airports.
The room made a strong case:
- Casinos. They have bigger budgets and a direct return on getting people through the door. Without star athletes to draw a crowd, they’re constantly testing the latest fan engagement tech.
- Music touring. Tours drive the operational demands inside our venues, and much of that setup could be smarter and monetized.
- Airports. One member said a recent airport conference felt “just like SEAT,” with CIOs sharing best practices because they aren’t really competing with each other. The challenges are the same as ours: guest flow, personalization, frictionless entry.
It’s one of the reasons I’m excited about the Twin Cities. Their tech collective has sports teams learning alongside the Mayo Clinic, which is the same technology applied in different ways.
Watch the full conversation
This is only the highlights. The full roundtable is in the SEAT Content Library, along with every session from Charlotte and our previous events.
Watch the October Roundtable replay → (members only)
St. Paul: what’s new
- July 19–21, Monday to Wednesday. We moved off the weekend based on your feedback. The welcome event is Monday night, and the main conference runs Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Golf Day is back, and bigger. Save Sunday, July 18, the day before SEAT kicks off. More info soon.
- The 3M Open is in nearby Blaine that same week, if you want to stay on.
- Everything is walkable. The hotel, conference venue and nearby venues are close together, and light rail to Minneapolis is a couple of blocks away.
- SEAT City is back. It was the surprise hit of Charlotte, and it’s coming to St. Paul.
- The agenda lands before the end of 2026. We want more team-led sessions. If you have an idea, partner with a team and send it in.
We’ll announce the venue and hotel details in the coming weeks.
Listen in
We’re also bringing SEAT to your feed. The SEAT Report is our monthly show, where Sean and I cover community news and roster moves. SEAT Solves is our new series where SEAT partners talk through a problem they’ve solved in a venue, and episode one is out now: Ending the game-day patchwork in venue ops with SwitchBase.
Find both on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Get your organization in the room
Roundtables are now a member benefit. Membership comes in five types: team, league, venue, education and vendor. Team, league and venue memberships cover your whole organization, and vendor memberships include two to three seats. As a member you get the content library, the monthly roundtables, and meetups whenever R.C., Sean or I are in your city.
See you at the next one.
CEO, SEAT