The American Airlines Center in Dallas – home of the NBA’s Mavericks and NHL’s Stars – has opened two AI-powered frictionless food and beverage outlets.

With hospitality partner Levy and its DBK Studio innovation studio, the centre has opened a Market to-Go shop on the arena’s terrace level, with a second location on the main concourse of the arena.

Powered by autonomous retail technology from California-based Standard AI and mobile payment technology from SpotOn, the markets are among the first food and beverage destinations at a North American sports venue that fully integrate AI and mobile payments for an autonomous experience.

The American Airlines Center opened its doors in 2001 and is the home of both the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars.

“We are proud to be home to one of the first autonomous retail experiences at a major events venue,” said Dave Brown, general manager of the American Airlines Center. “The fan experience at American Airlines Center is world-class, and with Standard we’re making it even better. Whether at a Mavericks or Stars game, or attending a world-class concert, our community expects and deserves the very best, so we continually strive to provide a cutting-edge experience for all fans in attendance. We know they’re going to love the new autonomous checkout experience.”

The Market-to-Go locations will offer a selection of freshly prepared and packaged snacks and refreshments, including beer, wine and soft drinks. Fans can enter the market and download a mobile checkout app. Once ready, they shop, tap to checkout via the app, and go, without having to wait in line. The shops use AI-powered cameras and mobile payment technology to create a checkout-free system that registers what products fans select and enables them to pay without waiting or scanning.

“Delivering amazing hospitality today means meeting fans with what they value most and, more specifically, giving them control over the time it takes to order, pick-up and get back to their seats,” said Andy Lansing, CEO of Levy. “We value our fans and their time, and pilots like this with world-class venues like American Airlines Center are so important as we look to a future where truly frictionless concourses put fans in complete control. We’re incredibly excited to bring this fully integrated experience forward through DBK Studio in partnership with the centre.”

DBK Studio is a wholly owned subsidiary of Levy. Levy was founded in 1978 with a single delicatessen – DB Kaplan’s Delicatessen.

Standard AI worked with SpotOn, a software and payments provider, to leverage technologies for mobile payments and an integrated retail management system, said to be the first of this kind of deployment in the sports and entertainment industry. Additionally, Standard AI’s platform is designed to work without using facial recognition, so shoppers’ privacy is protected.

“Nowhere is your time more valuable than at a sporting event or concert,” said Standard AI CEO Jordan Fisher. “It’s where we cheer on our heroes and experience culture together. Autonomous checkout makes it so you can get back to your seat faster, and never have to choose between grabbing a snack and making a memory. We’re thrilled to make this possible at the American Airlines Center, one of the premier entertainment venues in the USA.”

The Standard AI platform allows shoppers to walk in, take what they need and walk out, without waiting in line or stopping to scan or pay. The company’s machine vision and AI-powered technology can be installed in retailers’ existing stores.