At Lambeau Field, Green Bay Packers Fans Still Appreciate Radio, Mounted on Ears

At a time when sports teams are stumbling over themselves to speed up the Wi-Fi signals in their stadiums -- lending tablet computers to well-heeled fans and creating apps so that fans can order hot dogs on their smartphones -- there is something refreshingly quaint about the radios the Packers are giving to some of their fans.

The radios, half-dollar-size radio receivers that mount on one’s ear, can be used only on game days and only within or near Lambeau Field, the Packers’ stadium. The receivers pick up only three channels: WTMJ, the team’s official radio station, based in Milwaukee; the audio from the television network broadcasting the game; and the audio from NFL RedZone, a cable channel that shows highlights from around the league. Yet the radio receivers, which are given to season-ticket holders with premium seats and are sold in the team pro shop at the stadium for $19.95, serve a utilitarian purpose: to keep fans informed. For all the information available in stadiums these days, fans still crave nuggets that are not announced or posted on scoreboards.