A few minor improvements:
- Added a Mapbox search widget (called a Geocoder in code), which allows you to search and zoom the map to a destination. Useful to search for sporting events near a specific landmark, hotel, address, etc.
- Changed some data query profiles around so that events coming up in the upcoming week and upcoming month get refreshed more frequently. (As always, check with official league and/or team online resources to verify up-to-date event venues, dates and times.)
What I'm working on next:
- There are a couple of things Mapbox doesn't lend itself well to, especially for the mobile experience; I'd like to be able to group map pins together, for example. Also I'm finding some locations aren't up to date in the search box (Seattle's Lumen Field is still called CenturyLink Field, for example). I'll be experimenting with Google Maps' API to see if I like the user experience better (and also if I like the React developer experience any more or less!).
- Some other UI elements need to be improved for the smartphone user experience, which is the dominant one these days.
- The filter widget could use some alternate method to easily pick dates, like a calendar widget. Will be looking around for one of those.
- Filtering by sport would be nice.
Another future backlog item:
- My data source has info on a lot more events that don't have venue location information attached. I'd like to come up with a way to show a pin for the assumed venue based on the home team; this is going to take a little work to make sure I get it right. If I can get it work, I can greatly increase the number of leagues and teams I show (for example, Japanese professional baseball, minor league baseball in the US, WNBA, etc.). Ultimately I'd like to even show lower-league soccer; sometimes there's a team playing in your neighborhood and you wouldn't otherwise know it! That could be a fun way to spur local community interest in more minor leagues and teams. (Or, help you figure out something fun to do outside of the house when you're visiting relatives over the holidays...?)
Enjoy and beinvenue au monde sportif, bon voyage!
