Tactile Technology Sports Accessibility: How Teams Are Revolutionizing the Fan Experience
Tactile Technology Sports Accessibility: How Teams Are Revolutionizing the Fan Experience
Jordan Moon (left) and Macaulay Beasley (right) use OneCourt tactile technology sports accessibility tablets at a Phoenix Suns vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game. Photo: Phoenix Suns
Table of Contents
- Tactile Technology Sports Accessibility: A Breakthrough for Fans
- The Tactile Technology Sports Accessibility Landscape
- Optimizing the User Experience
- Financial Models and Partnerships
- What Users Are Saying About the Technology
- Challenges and Long-Term Sustainability
- The Future of Tactile Technology in Sports
Tactile Technology Sports Accessibility: A Breakthrough for Fans
The world of sports is becoming more inclusive thanks to tactile technology sports accessibility innovations that are transforming how blind and low-vision fans experience live games. During a Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves NBA game in March, blind fan Jordan Moon experienced something revolutionary – he felt a half-court shot that had the crowd buzzing at PHX Arena. While he couldn’t see the shot, tactile technology sports accessibility allowed him to follow the action through his fingertips.
Moon was part of a group from Saavi Services for the Blind testing tactile tablets designed by Seattle-based startup OneCourt. These innovative tactile technology sports accessibility devices model the layout of a basketball court and vibrate to indicate ball movement and game events. When the ball swished through the net on that half-court shot, the tablet vibrated, allowing Moon to cheer along with the rest of the crowd.
“That was really cool, actually, because that was just something that wasn’t even a part of the game. It was just a part of the fan experience.”
— Jordan Moon, Phoenix Center Director at Saavi Services for the Blind
Enhancing the fan experience for blind and low-vision people is the core mission of tactile technology sports accessibility companies like OneCourt and others that have partnered with professional sports franchises to bring their technology to fans at live venues. Though still in early stages, these tactile technology sports accessibility innovations are gaining momentum across major leagues including the NBA, MLB, Premier League, and even the Olympics.
Key Benefits of Tactile Technology Sports Accessibility
- Real-time tactile feedback of ball movement and game action
- Enhanced spatial awareness of the playing field
- Social inclusion allowing blind fans to experience games with friends and family
- Independence from relying solely on others for game information
- Complementary to audio commentary and broadcast information
- Available at no cost to visitors at participating venues
The Tactile Technology Sports Accessibility Landscape
The tactile technology sports accessibility market features several innovative companies offering different approaches to helping blind and low-vision fans follow live sports. These tablets generally function like miniature playing fields, with vibrations throughout the device communicating information such as ball location, scoring attempts, and fouls. Many include buttons and audio to provide additional details like score and time remaining.
OneCourt
Seattle-based OneCourt has established the largest tactile technology sports accessibility footprint in the U.S. since its founding in 2021. The company’s breakthrough came in mid-2024 through a partnership with T-Mobile and MLB to distribute tablets at the All-Star Game. OneCourt uses a pixel-like surface with comprehensive vibration patterns and connects directly to official NBA real-time game data.
Notable partnerships: Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, MLB
Touch2see
Based in Toulouse, France, Touch2see offers tactile technology sports accessibility through tablets featuring a magnetic cursor that moves as the ball does during play. The company has expanded its reach to both European and American sports leagues, bringing their devices to diverse sporting events.
Notable partnerships: Major League Soccer’s St. Louis City SC, Rugby World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations
Field of Vision
Dublin-based Field of Vision also employs magnetic ball technology in their tactile technology sports accessibility devices. Their business model focuses on leasing tablets to stadiums, particularly in Ireland and Australia, providing accessibility for rugby and football fans.
Notable partnerships: Rugby and football stadiums in Dublin and Melbourne
The Portland Trail Blazers made history in January 2025 by becoming the first professional sports team to feature tactile technology sports accessibility devices at all home games through the end of the season. The Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns quickly followed this pioneering initiative, demonstrating growing league-wide recognition of these innovations.
Jerred Mace, founder and CEO of OneCourt, positions his company as the first “tactile broadcaster,” emphasizing the level of detail provided by their technology. This vision extends beyond stadiums, with plans to introduce tactile technology sports accessibility into users’ homes by 2026.
“Our position as a broadcaster, I think it just broadens the view of accessible sports experiences. No matter where you are, you want to be able to access the game.”
— Jerred Mace, Founder and CEO of OneCourt
Optimizing the User Experience
Companies developing tactile technology sports accessibility devices emphasize that their design process has involved extensive collaboration with blind and low-vision people to fine-tune the experience. This user-centered approach has been crucial in creating truly useful devices rather than merely technically impressive ones.
Kunal Mehta, OneCourt’s user experience designer, acknowledges the challenges and rewards of making tablets accessible to blind people. When working on features like tutorial design, Mehta prioritizes minimizing the effort required from users, focusing on intuitive interactions that feel natural.
Critical Design Considerations
Tactile technology sports accessibility developers have identified several key factors that contribute to a positive user experience:
- Social integration: Devices work throughout arenas so users can sit with friends and family
- Portability: Field of Vision prioritized lightweight design based on feedback from blind fans
- Real-time data: Companies ensure rapid data transmission to keep pace with live action
- Minimal learning curve: Interfaces designed to be intuitive for first-time users
- Multi-sensory feedback: Combining tactile sensations with complementary audio information
John Brimacombe, sales director at Touch2see, emphasized the social dimension of tactile technology sports accessibility: “We want to really open up the social aspect of live sports.” This focus on social integration acknowledges that sports are fundamentally communal experiences, and accessibility technologies should enhance rather than isolate fans from that community.
To ensure real-time feedback, tactile technology sports accessibility providers have developed various technical approaches. OneCourt connects directly to the NBA’s real-time game data, while other companies use stadium cameras or install their own to communicate on-field action to users within milliseconds, ensuring the tactile experience remains synchronized with the live action.
Financial Models and Partnerships
The deployment of tactile technology sports accessibility devices at venues has been facilitated through a combination of sponsorships and paid agreements. These partnerships are crucial for making the technology available to fans at no cost while ensuring sustainable business models for the technology providers.
Ticketmaster has emerged as a significant supporter of tactile technology sports accessibility initiatives in the NBA, backing all three of OneCourt’s NBA partnerships. Drawing from its social impact funding, the company sponsored five devices each in Portland and Sacramento and ten devices in Phoenix. The Phoenix Suns/Phoenix Mercury Foundation matched Ticketmaster’s financial contribution, demonstrating the team’s commitment to accessibility.
“We’ve realized there is a very large coalition of visually impaired fans that have been attending events historically. Now they have a whole extra element to really feel closer to the game, and that’s ultimately what we dream about every day.”
— Scott Aller, Ticketmaster’s Senior Client Development Director for the NBA
Other tactile technology sports accessibility providers have developed different financial approaches. Touch2see typically employs a business-to-business model where teams or leagues cover the costs, while also partnering with corporations for certain events. These diverse funding models reflect the evolving nature of accessibility technology in the sports industry.
| Organization | Business Model | Key Partners | Distribution Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| OneCourt | Sponsor-funded deployments with future home device sales | Ticketmaster, T-Mobile, NBA teams | Limited devices available at games; planned consumer release in 2026 |
| Touch2see | B2B with teams/leagues and corporate sponsors | MLS, Rugby World Cup, corporate sponsors | Event-specific deployments |
| Field of Vision | Stadium leasing model | Venues in Dublin and Melbourne | Venue-based availability |
What Users Are Saying About the Technology
Feedback from blind and low-vision users who have tested tactile technology sports accessibility devices at live events has been predominantly positive, though with suggestions for improvement. Their insights provide valuable perspectives on how these technologies enhance the fan experience and where they could be refined further.
Moon and Macaulay Beasley from Saavi Services for the Blind tested OneCourt devices at a Phoenix Suns game in March. Initially skeptical, Beasley was impressed by how the tactile technology sports accessibility allowed him to follow the game with his fingertips, creating a more immersive experience.
“It felt like I was watching the game again, because I used to have vision. So I felt more engaged with the crowds and more engaged with the game.”
— Macaulay Beasley, Orientation and Mobility Instructor at Saavi
Users emphasized that tactile technology sports accessibility complements rather than replaces other information sources. While OneCourt’s devices offer auto-generated audio commentary, Moon and Beasley suggested it would be even better if the tablets connected directly to radio broadcasts to provide additional context about who’s controlling the ball. As Moon aptly put it, “The radio provides context, but OneCourt gives it color.”
Mehta from OneCourt noted that tactile technology sports accessibility particularly helps users gain spatial awareness. He shared that he never truly understood the size of a soccer field until walking across one during product development, highlighting how these devices can communicate spatial relationships that are otherwise difficult to convey.
User-Suggested Improvements
- Integration with radio broadcasts for additional context
- Lighter weight devices for extended use
- More interactive features beyond passive reception
- Enhanced reliability to prevent connection issues
- Better training for venue staff on assisting with the technology
Daniele Cassioli, a blind Paralympic water skier who tested Touch2see’s tactile technology sports accessibility at an Italian soccer match, said the device helped him better understand “the story of the game,” including team strategies. While suggesting improvements like increased interactivity and reduced weight, Cassioli contextualized his feedback by noting the significant progress in sports accessibility since he began water skiing in the 1990s, stating: “Right now, we realize that we can deserve more.”
Challenges and Long-Term Sustainability
Despite the enthusiasm surrounding tactile technology sports accessibility innovations, some accessibility experts have raised concerns about long-term sustainability. They point to previous highly publicized technologies for disabled people that initially generated excitement but ultimately disappointed in practice and eventually became obsolete.
Liz Jackson, a disabled scholar and writer, coined the term “disability dongle” to describe “a well-intended, elegant yet useless solution to a problem [disabled people] never knew [they] had.” She warns about the predictable “announcement-to-abandonment cycle” of such technologies and questions how long tactile technology sports accessibility devices will be maintained.
This concern about sustainability is echoed by Rua Mae Williams, a disabled assistant professor in user experience design at Purdue University. Williams notes that tech startups often fail to consider long-term viability when developing products, which can disproportionately harm disabled people who come to rely on these technologies.
“When you’re talking about disabled people being the users of your product, you’re often talking about making them reliant on a set of hardware and software for daily functions with the knowledge that you intend to basically disappear within five years. And so if there’s no clear statement of sustainability of how this product will continue to exist no matter what happens to this company, that’s a major red flag.”
— Rua Mae Williams, Assistant Professor, Purdue University
In response to sustainability concerns, OneCourt’s Mace emphasized that the company’s plans to bring tactile technology sports accessibility into homes is key to building a sustainable business model. “At the end of the day, OneCourt only exists if we continue to drive value for our fans,” he said. “The technology at home is one avenue through which accessibility can be sustained over time and ultimately broadened.”
Additional Accessibility Barriers
Beyond the technology itself, users highlighted other accessibility challenges that impact the overall fan experience:
- Inadequate training for guest services staff on accommodating blind visitors
- Difficulty obtaining audio equipment at venues
- Inaccessible ticketing platforms (Beasley noted Ticketmaster’s app has accessibility issues from login to seat selection)
- Technical difficulties with devices during games
- Limited availability of devices (typically 5-10 per venue)
Many of the current partnerships between sports teams and tactile technology sports accessibility developers are on short-term contracts. The NBA agreements with OneCourt, for example, only extend through the end of this season. However, the Kings, Suns, and Trail Blazers have all expressed interest in continuing to make their fan experiences more accessible, suggesting potential for ongoing relationships.
The Future of Tactile Technology in Sports
Despite the challenges, the trajectory of tactile technology sports accessibility appears promising as more teams and leagues recognize the value of inclusive fan experiences. The current deployments, while limited in scale, represent important first steps toward more comprehensive accessibility in sports venues worldwide.
OneCourt’s planned expansion into home use by 2026 signals a potential shift from venue-specific applications to broader consumer availability. This move could address sustainability concerns by creating a larger market and revenue stream beyond institutional partnerships, potentially making tactile technology sports accessibility economically viable for the long term.
Factors That Could Drive Future Success
- Expanded Partnerships: More teams and leagues adopting the technology across different sports
- Technical Refinement: Continuous improvement based on user feedback to enhance the experience
- Consumer Availability: Transition from venue-only to consumer products for home use
- Integration: Deeper connections with broadcast data, radio feeds, and other information sources
- Standardization: Potential industry standards for tactile feedback in sports
- Awareness: Increased awareness among blind and low-vision sports fans about available technologies
Teams working with tactile technology sports accessibility providers have expressed commitment to making their venues more inclusive. Matthew Gardner, senior director of customer insights for the Trail Blazers, emphasized this dedication: “Our fans are really at the center of our universe. They’re the ones who we’re doing this for at the end of the day.”
As tactile technology sports accessibility continues to develop, the true measure of success will be not just the technical sophistication of the devices but their ability to create genuinely inclusive environments where blind and low-vision fans can fully participate in the communal experience of live sports. The current innovations represent promising steps toward that goal, with ongoing refinement and expansion likely to further enhance accessibility in the coming years.
For fans like Jordan Moon and Macaulay Beasley, who experienced a new dimension of sports engagement through tactile technology, these developments represent not just technical innovation but meaningful progress toward a more inclusive world of sports entertainment—one where the thrill of a half-court shot can be experienced by everyone in the arena, regardless of visual ability.
