Future Proofing Your Venue w/ Ryan Richardson and Josh Barney: The Learning Lever | Ep 6
Tune in to hear
* How Ryan first experienced SEAT as a uniquely community-driven conference, where the person running the event is as loved as the programming itself.
* Josh’s career arc: early interest in sports marketing, a detour into tech and network engineering, a pivotal jump to the Utah Jazz as a network engineer, and eventually leading arena technology strategy.
* Lessons from renovating the Delta Center: designing “venues of the future,” building infrastructure that can support rapidly shortening tech life cycles, and staying nimble as tools change every 6–9 months.
* Why internal alignment across IT, marketing, partnerships, and operations is non‑negotiable when you’re choosing and deploying new technology.
* The shrinking budgets versus growing expectations paradox: 99% of fan interactions in‑venue run through technology, yet tech is often the first line item cut.
* How AI and modern tools can actually improve both fan experience and employee experience when organizations use them intentionally, not just because they’re “cool.”
* Career advice: become a utilitarian “translator” who understands technology and can clearly connect it to business needs, decisions, and outcomes across multiple verticals.
* Josh’s learning journey: moving from traditional university to more hands-on environments, leveraging vendor workshops, and then embracing always‑on learning via platforms like YouTube.
* Why mentoring in sports is talked about more than it’s structurally supported, and how SEAT is building matchmaking and membership models (roundtables, webinars, year‑round community) to close that gap.
* A personal story from SEAT Nashville
About Our Guest: Josh Barney, CEO, SEAT
Josh Barney is the CEO of SEAT – Sports & Entertainment Alliance in Technology, the leading peer community and annual forum for sports and entertainment technology, data, and operations leaders. Before acquiring and rebooting SEAT, he spent more than a decade with the Utah Jazz, where he rose from network manager to Director of Technology & Innovation, overseeing consumer-facing systems and guiding the 2017 Delta Center renovation, including Wi‑Fi, digital signage, and the team app. A former director of esports and technology who launched Jazz Gaming in the NBA 2K League, Josh blends deep infrastructure expertise with a passion for fan experience, community-building, and helping peers translate technology into real business value. Today he leads SEAT’s evolution from a once‑a‑year conference to a year‑round membership platform of roundtables, webinars, and curated connections, all grounded in his personal philosophy to “give more than I take.”
About RISE:
Rise Sports Collective is an innovative EdTech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the Business of Sports. We empower professionals with our cutting edge curriculum, built by operating experts, designed to impart the essential skills, knowledge, and context needed to excel in the dynamic world of the Business of Sports.
Resources & Helpful Links:
Check Out Our Curriculum: https://www.risesportscollective.com/professionals
