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There was a time when sports fans who wanted more out of live events would carry radios to listen to the play-by-play or binoculars so they could watch the action from the nose-bleed seats.

But thanks to advancements in stadium technology, some of those practices now seem quaint.

Gridiron fans in four National Football League cities, for example, can rent handheld televisions to keep tabs on games going on around the league; baseball fans in some stadiums can order concession items on their cellphones and have the items delivered to their seats; and Canadian Football League fans don't even need to be in the stadium – they can watch games for free online.

The sporting world's enthusiastic embrace of new technology and digital media isn't hard to figure out. Pro leagues, which traditionally generated revenue through ticket and concession sales and advertising, now have broad new avenues with which to promote their sports and increase league revenue. Some leagues have concentrated efforts on expanding their presence online, while others have used emerging technologies to enhance the stadium experience – all of them with an eye on building a diverse and increasingly devoted following.

And the fans? They win, too. Technology grants fans a level of access to teams and players that was unattainable a decade ago. Where people used to go to the game to watch, many are now going to interact.

“One of the most important things that leagues or teams can do is to increase the connection their fan base has with them,” says James Santomier, director of the sports management program at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. “Any way they can deepen that is going to create more loyalty.”

However, there is no universal game plan to turn emerging technologies into online and stadium success.

Handheld devices such as those manufactured by Montreal-based Kangaroo Media Inc., which have become staples at NASCAR and Formula One racing events, have recently been introduced in a handful of NFL stadiums. For about $30, fans in Seattle, Houston, Miami and Washington can rent the devices and access DirecTV's NFL broadcasts.

But while a sport like football affords fans ample time between plays and turnovers to muse on games in other cities, the same can't be said for other sports. National Basketball Association fans aren't interested in renting handheld video devices because of the near non-stop action and entertainment on the court, says Steve Hellmuth, NBA senior vice-president of operations and technology.

“We've deployed devices like that and they just end up under the seat at the end of the first quarter,” he says.

Instead, NBA franchises have invested more dollars into enhanced video screens and audio systems to maintain the audience's attention during breaks in the play. Text messaging promotions, especially ones where the audience can see the results of their votes on the main video screens or enter contests to move up to better seats, have seen greater success because they keep people involved, Mr. Hellmuth said.

Baseball fans, accustomed to a methodical game with a staggered pace ideal for conversation, are also less interested in personal electronic gadgets, says Dinn Mann, executive vice-president of content for MLB.com.

Instead, Major League Baseball has sought to find ways to use technology to make getting to the ballpark easier. A handful of teams, including those in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Oakland and Texas, now offer a service where devotees can purchase tickets through their cellphones. And New York Mets fans can sign up for text messages that provide information on available parking spaces so they don't waste time looking for a spot.

“I think really what we're seeing is that technological advancements have helped in ways that are more meaningful and less invasive,” Mr. Mann says. “There's a fine line between invasive gadgetry and complementary content, and we have not stuck the landing on that point yet.”

But it's not just at the stadium where technology is changing fan interaction. The one place upon which every league is focused is your computer.

In the past 24 months, every pro league in North America has overhauled its website, with most of them ramping up the amount of available video and interactive content.

MLB Advanced Media Inc. stands out as the model for subscription services. MLB.com has become a multibillion-dollar juggernaut that offers fans access to live and archived games and a vast library of historic games and events like perfect games, milestone homers and World Series comebacks. Premium subscribers can watch six games simultaneously by using a customizable window that can track their favourite players and switch to their games when those players come to the plate.

This season, the National Hockey League and the NBA will offer paid subscription services for out-of-market games, and the NFL will offer a similar service for fans who subscribe to their television packages.

The CFL offers fans free access to both live and archived games online through the websites of their broadcast partners, TSN and CBC.

However, when it comes to embracing third-party websites in the push to lure new fans to the game, no league is as versatile as the NHL. The league was the first to work out a deal to share content and advertising revenues with the popular video-sharing website YouTube and has also brokered partnerships with MySpace, Google Video and iTunes.

“A very central role of NHL.com and all of our digital operations is to be an evangelist for the league,” said Keith Ritter, president of NHL Interactive Cyber Enterprises. “No good evangelist preaches in a closet. You want to get out into the biggest church you can.”

Technology isn't staying on the sidelines though, it's making it's presence felt on the field as well.

The NFL is probably the most tech-savvy of the major sports leagues, and new media has changed the way the game is coached and played. Quarterbacks are in direct communication with coaches via wireless headsets, teams have access to high-resolution digital photos of the other side's formations as early as the next series of downs and officials now use high definition cameras and monitors to help review close calls.

However, technology's gradual on-field influences have not been without controversy. Recently, the NFL's New England Patriots were slapped with $750,000 (U.S.) fine and stripped of their first-round 2008 draft pick for using video cameras to steal signals from an opponent. And at Wimbledon this year, a digital ball-tracking system designed by UK-based Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd., used to help officials make more accurate calls, raised Roger Federer's hackles. The tennis pro insisted Hawk-Eye made a mistake during the men's final.

Even though the digital revolution has ushered in a new era of interaction between the leagues and their fans, there's bound to be the odd glitch.