DXD Sports

(Post: English)
"Call it a lesson in trickle-down economics. As the recession deepened, sports fans quit buying as many game tickets."

That caused teams to cut their budgets, which in turn threatened DXD Sports, a Kansas City (Mo.) company that produces graphics for stadiums and arenas, like photos of players that are flashed up on big screens when they're coming into the game.

DXD, founded by former TV employee Sean Hopkins in 2001, pulled in $3.1 million in 2008 from clients including the Atlanta Braves and San Antonio Spurs.

To keep revenue from sliding, Hopkins turned over the CEO role last year to Willie Lanier Jr., 41.

Though Lanier's background was construction and real estate, he quickly came up with a new product: interactive video games that a randomly selected ticket-holder could play in front of the crowd.

In April, for example, one lucky fan got to virtually shoot the duck logos of Dri-Duck, a sports apparel company that sponsors the Kansas City Royals.

And season ticket-holders for the Cleveland Cavaliers have had chances to play games of Family Feud with their favorite players.

Source: BusinessWeek