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Pacers Sports & Entertainment is offering a new service this season to help blind and visually impaired fans get more out of Indiana Pacers home games.
Through a new partnership with MindsEye, a nonprofit organization based in the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, Pacers fans will have access to live audio description at 20 of the team’s home games this season.
PS&E, which pilot tested the descriptions during the last Pacers and Indiana Fever seasons, says the Pacers are the first NBA team to offer such a service. PS&E declined to disclose the terms of its contract with MindsEye.
The service officially launched Monday night at the Pacers’ preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs. It will next be available at the Pacers’ Oct. 23 game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Pacers games are all about energy, excitement and connection, and our fans deserve to feel part of that,” PS&E CEO Mel Raines said in a written statement. “This partnership with MindsEye lets us bring the full game-day experience to blind and low-vision fans in a new way.”
Fans who use the service can hear a trained audio describer relaying visual information that could include things like what team mascot Boomer is doing, what the team uniforms look like and descriptions of performances by the Indiana Pacemates dance team or the halftime acts.
“Being a part of the first of something is always cool, but nothing beats being a part of the first of something that makes something accessible,” MindsEye President and CEO Jason Frazier said in a written statement. “Blind and partially sighted Pacers fans will now get to experience every element of Pacers gameday.”
PS&E connected with MindsEye through Lauren Carro, PS&E’s senior director of guest experience. Carro previously worked for the St. Louis Blues hockey team, which used MindsEye to provide audio descriptions at its games.
Based on her experience with the Blues, Carro said she believes the audio descriptions will serve fans who already attend Pacers games, while also drawing newcomers who haven’t been to a live game before.
“I think that we can probably expect anywhere from a dozen to, up to 50 guests every event, who will use the service,” Carro said. “And I think that now that we are making it official with 20 games to offer this season, I bet 50% [of those 12-50 users] are new fans every time.”
Carro said the Pacers are offering the service at only half of this season’s home games because of logistical constraints. Since MindsEye is based in the St. Louis area, the organization’s audio describers also live in that area and will commute to Indianapolis for each game.
But Carro said the goal is to train Indianapolis-area audio describers, which will allow the Pacers to offer the audio descriptions at more home games in the future.
To use the service, fans can visit mindseyeradio.org to sign up for upcoming audio description events, or they can visit the guest services team in Section 2 of Gainbridge Fieldhouse on game day.
Fans can then download the free LiveVoice app, which will activate at Gainbridge via a provided code, delivering a live audio description synced to the game. A limited number of headsets will be available at the venue, so fans are encouraged to bring their own.
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