Desperate for ways to boost revenues, a bunch of minor-league baseball teams, and even a couple of major-league teams, are experimenting with letting fans order food and buy memorabilia with their cellphones from the stands at games:
As he watched the triple-A Buffalo Bisons mount a first-inning rally on a recent Saturday night, Fred Cilono got the munchies. Reluctant to duck out to the concession stand with runners on base, he picked up his mobile phone, punched in his seat location and then hit “11” for Buffalo wings (hot) and “14” for Pepsi (regular). Twelve minutes later, a woman showed up with his order. “You can’t beat that,” says Mr. Cilono. Every other entertainment venue is trying to ban cellphones these days, but not the ballpark. Around the country, teams are encouraging fans to use their phones to do more than just call up their buddy in seat F34 and wave. They are rolling out a variety of services, from dial-up food delivery to auctions that let fans bid on team memorabilia. Some services try to get fans to predict a player’s performance by phone.
