With more than 110 sports and entertainment venues currently being built or proposed for construction worldwide over the next few years, it makes sense to design stadiums with advanced networks that can meet future bandwidth demands for both visitors and venue operators.
When thinking of the connected stadium, it’s hard to see beyond the present venue experience. But, “always-on” Wi-Fi will see the next generation of sports fans behaving in a very different way, enabling new revenue streams for stadium managers.
After all, 50,000 to 80,000 fans recording and sharing game videos and photos, or digitally interacting with venue signage, outdoor boards and each other will consume a ton of bandwidth. But, it also will ensure a new level of sports enjoyment like never before.
Sports fans around the globe are using their smart devices to digitally interact with members of their go-to social channels, and sharing live action video with friends or to weigh-in on the game itself. But, when thousands of smartphone and tablet users congregate in high-density environments, their hopes of being able to “connect” and “share” could be quickly dashed because the available bandwidth falls far short of the goal.
This issue will impact soccer, football and baseball stadiums, cricket grounds, basketball arenas, racetracks and even large amphitheaters around the globe.
Fan experience
In sports venues, fans can expect in-hand and streamlined access to instant replays, an increasingly rapid and real-time betting experience, where permissible, an immersive half-time entertainment experience, and even real-time voting on the play or player of the game, or the “man of the match,” all through their smart devices. The venue administrators also can wirelessly update scoreboards and other stadium signage for fans through a robust antenna system.
But, perhaps the far-reaching aspect of the connected stadium involves the streamlined and regular provision of video content, which should be part of the future value proposition provided by stadium administrators.
In addition to the consumption of venue-supplied content, a vital part of attending a large sporting event or concert nowadays is the ability for the spectators to share their experience with the outside world via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube.
With the global “selfie” craze showing no sign of abatement, it’s also safe to assume that social networking will continue to play an important part in the future of the connected stadium.
For example, independent wireless consultancy Real Wireless calculated that popular boy band One Direction’s three-night gig at Wembley Stadium in London generated as many as 10 million tweets, messages and selfies inside the venue during the shows, creating a density of mobile traffic that was more than 100 times that of central London.
Social media inside sports venues also could potentially carve out a role in sports programming, and possibly even the game’s rules and regulations. But the barriers to creating the connected stadium for the wireless spectator can be daunting. Bringing every fan into the front row certainly has its challenges.
Battling spotty coverage
Current cellular networks are operated with finite resources that have to be used effectively to ensure all users receive a consistent quality of wireless service. But, in some spaces, coverage can be “spotty” at best. That’s especially unfortunate for fans who paid premium ticket prices.
The main issue for all stadium owners is consistent coverage and capacity across the entire venue to meet the growing demands for data. This issue lies very much in the oviform shape of the radio frequency, which in terms of signal can cause black spots at the front and back edges of the stadium. Paradoxically, it often is the spectators who have paid a premium for the best seats that are the most adversely affected.
This can result in disappointed fans, failing to meet a high level of customer satisfaction and impacting revenue-generating opportunities within the venue.
Currently, connectivity in stadiums is split into two very separate camps:
• Cellular – This is entirely operator-owned and its connectivity robustness depends on a number of coverage factors. Of course, the nature of a stadium’s configuration and design can impact cellular coverage inside and outside the stadium.
• Wireless local area network – A stadium’s LAN is owned and maintained by the venue’s administration itself. In response to infrequent and patchy cellular coverage, a stadium’s LAN seeks to overcome the coverage challenges by providing an in-house solution.
Reliable connectivity also is essential for stadium restaurants and administrative office staff. By failing to provide enterprise-grade connectivity for the staff and vendors’ use, the stadium’s operation can be impacted, hindering fan experience and preventing new revenue opportunities.
It is important for the venue operator to consult with RF industry experts to find a solution to any coverage problems in and around the stadium. The first step would be to map the stadium’s infrastructure from a coverage and antenna perspective. Overlapping RF frequencies could be used to ensure a good spread of wireless coverage for the fans’ benefit.
“Sectorization” is another technique for maximizing frequency reuse and capacity enhancements. In most cases, a distributed antenna system will provide the backbone of the connected stadium’s infrastructure, and will ensure the RF signal is distributed uniformly throughout the venue.
By creating the right “connected” solution, venue operators can ensure a robust wireless infrastructure that copes very well with varying bandwidth demands, maintain the venue’s aesthetics and ensure effective coverage distribution.
Generally, smart, low-profile technologies can provide the needed coverage and maintain the venue’s attractive aesthetics. Indoor ceiling-surface mount, omnidirectional antennas, for example, are incredibly suitable. Seeking input from a service provider that can customize solutions also can be highly beneficial.
Mobile marketing
By providing an immersive and digital experience, stadium administrators also can attract new customers and increase retention. However, the upgrade of vital, connection-enabling infrastructure attracts more than just spectators.
Brands are increasingly looking to upgrade from pure branding to “providing a brand experience” for the thousands of fans inside the venue and millions more outside the sports or entertainment facility. The “connected stadium” can enable this marketing transition by providing an ideal mobile, virtual platform for advertisers.
Mobile advertising by team, event and venue sponsors also can provide a lucrative source of incremental revenue, which helps to maintain the facility, reasonable ticket prices and substantial player contracts. But mobile advertising relies heavily on video, which currently requires substantial bandwidth to deploy across a stadium network to thousands of people simultaneously.
It’s clear that as high-speed networks and “always-on” Wi-Fi services become more prolific, and an array of mobile devices become more intrinsic to our everyday lives, their application has increased in usefulness and relevance in public places, including giant sports stadiums.
For the time being, without fully-functioning network capacity, video advertisements are still largely a pipe dream for stadium owners.
In the future, venues that can capture behavioral and location-based data stand to provide a more streamlined spectator experience. With robust real-time data, venue owners can deploy targeted ads inside and around the stadium to help encourage spectators to stay longer in the venue and spend more money for an extended period of time. In addition, alerts could be sent out to traveling spectators suggesting optimal routes for travel and highlighting potential congestion zones.
Safety
Fan enjoyment aside, wireless provisioning also is essential for emergency services and the stadium’s security staff to ensure public safety.
Generally, a UHF system that runs adjacent to a cellular provision is used by venue staff to communicate effectively on the ground. Having a robust wireless connection for this purpose, however, can be a life-critical benefit.
Conclusion
As architects and stadium builders construct more than 110 stadiums around the globe over the next few years, it would be wise to imagine the current and future benefits the supercharged connected stadium and mobile technology can provide to fans, advertisers and venue operators alike.
Adam Alevy is the VP of technology for Laird PLC’s infrastructure antenna systems group. He has nearly 30 years of experience designing and managing the development of antennas for telecom, Wi-Fi and military applications, including radars and satellite communications terminals. He joined Laird in 1998, and has managed Laird’s antenna technology team since 2007. Alevy graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a B.S. in electrical engineering.
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