ABSTRACT

An online stadium management information system for the Godswill Akpabio International stadium Uyo, was be developed in this project. The current process of management at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is being operated manually and due to this procedure numerous problems are being encountered. The system is developed in order to tackle these problems encountered by the use of the conventional manual registration and ticket procurement.

This system is capable of performing crowd management, ticketing management, fraud checks, and customer care/ advertisement. The incremental software development process was employed in the development of the system. The development of the system passed through three increments and in each increment communication, planning, modelling, construction and deployment activities were carried out. The system iterated between development and testing stages until the set objectives were met. The application was developed using XHTML (Extended Hypertext Markup Language) for the interface, MySQL (Structured Query Language) for the database, PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) for connecting between the database and GUI, and Apache (Webserver).

The result of the developed system are positive, as the system could be used to create a database of customers in the stadium, better the administrative process of the stadium management, therefore making the general running of the stadium easier and efficient.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1              BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The role of information and communication technology (ICT) in stadium management is that systems are designed to make it easy for spectators to connect with the stadium administrators through the internet with their devices (J. R. Mehmet). It provides a mechanism that connects people, goods and services and delivers content and services that spectators can enjoy at the stadium. Furthermore, updates that generate interest in teams, players and games are made possible, which further contributes to the growth of the sports industry, which has close links to local communities, by attracting new fans and encouraging them to watch their teams live, thereby generating greater income for the stadium managers.

The current system of operation at the Godswill Akpabio International stadium is that where when matches are set to be played at the stadium, a promotional team is often set up who go around into town with flyers in a float form and some dancers alongside music trucks to promote the match at some strategic areas around town some days to the match, as well as radio and TV station advertisements. Tickets are then designed and printed which are sent out to distributors like DSTV offices, fast food joints, restaurants, etc, who sell these tickets to the customers when they come to their offices. The tickets which are not sold are returned and then disposed off, constituting a waste of money.

Information management (IM) concerns a cycle of organizational activity: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it, and its ultimate disposition through archiving or deletion (Wikipedia).

Strategic information management is the key to the success of any business in this digital world. All organizations understand the importance of information management and is taking initiatives towards that implementation. There are many operational benefits for an organization if a proper strategic information management is implemented. Information pertaining to the concerned department is available easily through the information systems. There is no delay in getting the information and hence the productivity of the department is increased. Information is easily shared between the department within an organization and with their clients externally. With proper security and protection to the information in the systems, there is no fear that unwanted information is disclosed with the external entities. The information used in the process is consistent .

The most important is the improvement in the decision making. The top management would find it very useful to make decisions faster than earlier when there were no information systems. It helps the organization to move forward faster.

Upon educating the staff on the use of the information systems, all the processes are improved and are on fast track. Redundant information and processes are easily identified with the proper implementation of strategic information management and they are removed from the process. Cost is also reduced with the removal of redundant information and process. Lots of paper work is eliminated since all the data are available in the systems. The users know what information they have and what their clients need clearly (Dr. Dennis Wood).

Earlier, before the use of information system data would have been lost. After the implementation of the strategic information system, the data is protected and available anytime. This saves a lot of time and cost involved in replacing lost data earlier. With the strategic information management unnecessary work is eliminated thus saving time and cost. An online information-management system is a tool that can help stadium managers get the best outcome from the use of the stadium.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem with today’s stadium ticketing method is that you have to show up early so you can find a parking spot and choose a good seat. In addition, it is not guaranteed to get them. However, with this online ticketing system you will book the seat you like and a seat will be saved for you. Therefore, you can attend the game just a few minutes before the referee's whistle.

The current ticket purchase system makes room for different parties involved in the production and distribution of event tickets of the stadium to be fraudulent thereby making it difficult to attain optimum profit from events held at the stadium. This leaves the government with lesser revenue compared to profits projected when these events are being planned. This in the long run leads to the poor management of stadium facilities, dilapidation of the general structure and eventually the closedown of the stadium except funds are pumped into the system to give it a facelift and keep it running.

After the occurrence of events at the Uyo international stadium, there exists no system to aid the stadium management in keeping record of customers, reach out to these customers and accommodate complaints or suggestions from the customers. The stadium is stadium is just left off in wait of another event, and then the same old routine of sourcing for customers is repeated over and over again. This usual culture of not mapping out a strategy of retaining a customer base greatly hampers the revenue generation and maintenance of the stadium. There is a need to curb this menace which has eaten deep into the stadium management system before it causes a major havoc on the system.

1.3       OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The primary goal of this project is to implement a stadium management information system with an online interface between the supposed customer and the administrative body for the Godswill Akpabio international stadium, Uyo. The specific objectives include:

1. To design an online system for the stadium for ticket sales/ booking, and payment.
2. To design a system that manages customer information and details of previous transactions.
3. To design an administrative system that handles crowd control and prevents defrauding of the stadium management body.

1.4       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The benefits of the proposed online stadium information management system in the Godswill Akpabio international stadium, Uyo, are as follows;

To create a website system for managing ticket reservations and making it easier for the user to book tickets and pay electronically.

To immensely reduce the costs of organizing an event in the stadium at any point in time which will give the management more time to create awareness about events through other means.

It reduces the wastage of overall promotion materials and pre-printed tickets which will in many cases will not make it to the target customers.

It ensures effective monitoring and checking by the administration at the comfort of their internet devices.

It makes for orderliness in the entire stadium environment.

1.5       SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This research work will concentrate on designing and developing an online stadium booking website, as well as an administrative site with information management mechanism using the Godswill Akpabio international stadium, Uyo as a case study. Only booking features, payment features, customer database, and ticket confirmation features will be available in the design. This limitation is posed by majorly financial and time constraints since it is only a proof of an idea.

1.6       PROJECT LAYOUT

Chapter two contains the concept of ticket reservation system especially as it pertains to most stadium managements in Nigeria. It offers a review of works related to this project and the limitations of the work.

Chapter three presents in an encompassing manner the design and research methodology. It also explains the current and proposed booking and information management systems. Furthermore the chapter explains in details the system architecture, requirements and specifications.

Chapter four deals with the implementation of the proposed Online Stadium Information Management System and the results are also discussed here.

Chapter five provides the summary of the entire project report. It also gives a few recommendations on how to improve the system.

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