Jeremy Tripp

Have you noticed that public sentiment toward AI is cooling? Just as senior leaders (everywhere, but especially in sports) are pushing their teams to do more with AI, the public is growing tired of hearing about it and honestly, I don't blame them. We’ve all seen the flashy demos and the grand promises. Now comes the harder, more important part: finding actual, durable value from AI tools. We have to shift from asking “what could this technology do?” to “what should this technology do?”. That's where the real work begins. It’s the moment of clarity that separates sustainable tools from fleeting novelties. At CITY, this grounds our approach to technology in general, but especially to Ace, our AI assistant. It lives inside the CITY App not to replace human connection, but to give fans instant, accurate answers about ticketing or concessions, freeing up our staff for more complex issues. We use the data from those conversations to find and fix points of friction in the fan journey. If hundreds of people ask the same question, that’s not an AI success story, it could actually be a sign we failed to communicate clearly or provide the depth of information fans are looking for in the first place. The assistant we're building doesn't just answer where a restroom is, but also tells you which one has the shortest line based on real-time data. Or proactively offers to place your favorite mobile order for pickup at the 40th minute of the match. It knows your tastes and preferences (like do you prefer to spend or save your CITY Pay!). We're trying to walk the walk and use this technology to orchestrate a smoother, more confident experience for our fans and staff. There's so much opportunity right now to apply this technology that it can be easy to lean on novelty or trends. I implore you to stop and think beyond it! I'm curious how your team is thinking about moving from AI experiments to integrated, operational tools? What's at the top of your AI roadmap?