Crowds at Avaya Stadium during the venue’s first game on Feb. 28. Credit all photos: Avaya
Since we haven’t yet been to the new Avaya Stadium we weren’t able to look around to see whose label was on the Wi-Fi APs when we reported that the network was live for the team’s “soft” opening, a preseason game on Feb. 28. As it turns out, we erroneously said Ruckus gear was being used for the network but have since been contacted by Avaya folks who told us that wasn’t the case. According to an Avaya spokesperson, the entire Wi-Fi network at the stadium, including APs, is Avaya gear.
When we asked a Ruckus spokesperson earlier this spring about the network, the only thing that person said was that the Earthquakes asked Ruckus not to comment on the network; until today, Ruckus had not announced publicly that it was no longer the Wi-Fi supplier at the now-named Avaya Stadium.
Here was the email reply we got today from Mark Priscaro, global public relations manager for Ruckus:
The San Jose Earthquakes recently consummated a naming deal for their new stadium, and it’s our understanding that Avaya is in charge of all networking, including Wi-Fi. It was a marketing deal on behalf of the Earthquakes, and not technology-driven. Avaya, with the approval of and authorization from the San Jose Earthquakes, chose to deploy their own Wi-Fi network infrastructure, which does not include Ruckus Wireless products or technology.
The Avaya spokesperson said the Wi-Fi network at the new arena worked well for the preseason opener, and will be fully operational at the team’s MLS home season opener on March 22. Mobilitie is the neutral host provider for the stadium’s DAS deployment, which is still under construction.
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