Exploring Sports Analytics and Artificial Intelligence at Philly Tech Week

On May 6, 2026, CityCoHo in Philadelphia, PA hosted DataPhilly’s Philly Sports Analytics Summit, a featured Philly Tech Week event. During the ‘Business of Sports’ panel, representatives from Philadelphia’s major sports teams - including the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Union, along with stadium services partner Aramark - discussed how data is shaping business strategy, performance, and decision-making across their organizations. The ‘Winning the Game’ panel featured insights from leaders with the Philadelphia Phillies and Union, who shared how sports analytics are being used to evaluate talent, inform training approaches, and guide roster decisions. 

‘Business of Sports’ Panel

Chris Gaffney (Moderator) - Professor of Decision Sciences and MIS at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business

 

Tanmay Patel – Vice President of Business Data & Analytics for the Philadelphia Eagles 

 

Josh Barbieri - Director of Business Analytics for the Philadelphia Phillies 

 

Anthony Brock - Vice President of Business Strategy & Analytics at Comcast Spectacor, supporting the Philadelphia Flyers and Xfinity Mobile Arena

 

Kyle Mathlot – Senior Vice President of Technology & Analytics for the Philadelphia Union

 

Stephen Dolan - Director of Data Analytics at Aramark Sports + Entertainment 

• The panel framed sports analytics as a business discipline focused on solving operational, commercial, and fan-engagement challenges.

• Multiple panelists described how teams pull from a wide range of data sources, then work to identify which signals are meaningful, reduce duplication, and improve data quality.

• Barbieri from the Phillies shared that AI tools, including OpenAI-based platforms, are being explored across parts of their technology stack to support analysis and decision-making.

• Brock from the Flyers discussed how their fan mobile app helps capture measurable fan data that can inform engagement strategies, loyalty efforts, and ticket sales initiatives.

• Transactional data was highlighted as especially valuable for identifying patterns, tracking demand, and spotting emerging trends.

• Patel from the Eagles noted that data from third-party applications also plays a role in shaping business decisions.

• Dolan from Aramark explained that visitor behavior, sentiment signals, and survey feedback inform staffing decisions and help optimize venue operations during events.

• Barbieri from the Phillies emphasized that team performance, customer service, and the overall fan experience are closely connected from a business analytics perspective.

• Patel from the Eagles shared an insight that captured their approach well: organizations should leverage what is happening in the moment to maximize entertainment value for fans, regardless of team performance.

• Patel from the Eagles and Brock from the Flyers also described how community engagement extends beyond games through local events, relationship-building, and offseason outreach.

• Barbieri from the Phillies referenced a quote attributed to former Phillies executive David Montgomery—“Our first name is Philadelphia”—underscoring the importance of community involvement as part of a team’s identity. It is a principle that the franchise still operates under to this day.

• Dolan from Aramark described its goal of creating a “balanced building,” where popular food and beverage options are distributed efficiently so fans can access what they want without unnecessary friction. This operational approach includes forecasting demand at specific times during events and using a command center with real-time updates to reduce bottlenecks.

• Multiple panelists also touched on mobility and venue access data, including parking trends, traffic flow, and routing decisions designed to improve the event experience.

• Dolan noted that Aramark uses A/B testing to understand which products perform best in different parts of a venue and to tailor offerings based on purchasing behavior.

• One example shared from outside Philadelphia involved an NFL team measuring attendee smiles in response to in-game entertainment, illustrating how creatively fan engagement can be quantified.

• AI was presented as a tool for analyzing information across departments, creating efficiencies, and helping organizations determine where automation or faster insight delivery can add value.

• Barbieri from the Phillies said they are still evaluating multiple AI tools to determine which platforms deliver the greatest practical impact.

• Patel from the Eagles described a broader AI integration effort focused on efficiency, value creation, and long-term organizational adoption.

• Brock from the Flyers referenced the potential of unified fan identity systems, similar to NBA ID, to centralize valuable engagement data and create a more connected customer experience.

• Dolan from Aramark noted that AI adoption remains a change-management challenge, but the organization is working to bring employees up to speed so that organizational efficiencies can be realized at scale.

• Patel from the Eagles suggested that AI’s potential is still being defined and that the organization sees significant room for growth in how the technology can be applied.

• Social media was cited as a useful source for sentiment analysis, though panelists noted that some platforms generate more noise than others and require careful interpretation.

• The discussion around AI investment also reflected a practical balance between innovation and budgeting, with teams weighing platform costs against efficiency gains and measurable impact.

‘Winning the Game’ Panel

Ivana Seric (Moderator) - Senior Product Scientist at Teamworks

 

Patrick McFarlane - Director of Predictive Modeling for the Philadelphia Phillies

 

Addison Hunsicker - Data Scientist for the Philadelphia Union

• The panel offered a current view of sports analytics as an increasingly sophisticated discipline that now influences scouting, player development, roster construction, and performance strategy.

• McFarlane from the Phillies noted that they entered the sports analytics space later than some peers, but now make extensive use of player-tracking data. That evolution has helped the Phillies advance from using data primarily for internal purposes to incorporating broader league-wide tracking and comparative analysis.

• Hunsicker from the Union highlighted the depth of available data, including player and ball movement, in-stadium information, and insights derived from broadcast feeds.

• Analytics are being applied to player recruitment, cross-league comparisons, salary cap strategy, and even contract structuring.

• McFarlane from the Phillies pointed out that some traditional metrics—such as pitcher wins in baseball or total yards in football—may be less informative than more context-rich measures.

• Performance analytics are also used to help athletes optimize movement, training, load management and game preparation.

• For professionals interested in sports analytics careers, the panel emphasized that communication skills are just as important as technical ability. McFarlane and Hunsicker stressed the need to adapt communication styles for different audiences, including coaches, players, and executive leadership.

• AI can be especially helpful for filling skill gaps or streamlining tasks that are not an analyst’s core strength. It was also described as useful for diagnosing disconnects between systems and improving workflows across technical environments.

• Hunsicker from the Union shared that biometric age is one input used in evaluating academy players, while acknowledging that on-ball technical ability remains harder to measure cleanly.

• The Union also recruit across roughly 50 leagues, which creates modeling challenges because league quality, competitive level, and styles of play vary significantly.

• Wearable technology gives the Union access to additional player-performance data that is less commonly available in some other leagues.

• Hunsicker also suggested that many analytical concepts used in basketball can translate effectively to soccer.

• Another key takeaway was the importance of judging which model outputs are actually useful, then prioritizing the information that adds the most value.

• Despite the strength of quantitative tools, the human element remains central when building teams, especially given the diverse backgrounds and experiences of players.

• Workload management was another practical application discussed, including tracking rest, monitoring ramp-up periods, and planning athletes’ return to game shape.

• The panel closed on an important communication principle: the most effective analytics programs tailor how information is presented based on how each stakeholder prefers to receive it.

To see more event photos click here. 

Together, the two panel discussions showed that sports analytics are central not only to team performance, but also to fan engagement, business operations, personnel decisions, and long-term strategy. The event concluded with an engaging Q&A session and networking.

Philly Tech Week is an annual celebration of technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation in the Philadelphia region. It brings together thousands of local creators, founders and tech professionals for a variety of events ranging from hands-on career workshops to high-level builder conferences. This was the event’s 16th year, and it featured 96 programs. Learn more here.

Andrew C. Belton, MBA is a Marketing, Proposal and Content Management Professional, Writer and Owner of Symmetrical Media Marketing where he helps small businesses to create effective digital marketing strategies. He has been featured in LinkedIn News, LinkedIn Pulse, Startup Stash, Venture and Business2Community. He is a Philadelphia native, West Chester University of Pennsylvania graduate and is passionate about helping small businesses, education and challenging the limits of technology and communications.