Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead fans use 4.5 TB of Wi-Fi during Levi’s Stadium shows

The magical “rainbow” at June 27 Grateful Dead concert at Levi’s Stadium. Credit all photos: Levi’s Stadium

Fans at the two Grateful Dead concerts at Levi’s Stadium last weekend used a total of 4.5 terabytes of data on the stadium’s Wi-Fi network, not near a record total but about the same each night as a regular NFL crowd Wi-Fi total from the past season, Niners officials said.

Roger Hacker, the 49ers’ senior manager for corporate communications, said the fans attending the “Fare thee Well” concerts last weekend used 2.37 TB of Wi-Fi data on Saturday June 27 and another 2.13 on Sunday June 29, both marks well below the 4.5 TB record set by the WrestleMania 31 event in March. The separate Dead concert totals were also below the 3.3 TB mark set during the Niners’ home football opener last Sept. 14 against the Chicago Bears.

Grateful Dead stage view

According to Hacker the Levi’s Stadium Wi-Fi network saw 17,824 unique users on Saturday and 23,152 on Sunday, roughly around 20 percent of attendance each night (according to Hacker the concert attendance was 75,496 on Saturday and 74,947 on Sunday; the Levi’s Stadium attendance record so far is the WrestleMania 31 event, at 77,496.). The concert also saw the second use of the new Levi’s Stadium on-field temporary Wi-Fi network, which serves the temporary seats set on the stadium’s field. The 41 extra Wi-Fi APs, Hacker said, supported another 989 users Saturday and 1,050 users on Sunday. The field network used a mix of APs installed on the sideline walls as well as APs mounted on railings and underneath the floor surface.

Though there were more users on the network Sunday, there was more data used Saturday, most likely because of a somewhat magical rainbow that appeared over the stadium during the show, an atmospheric event that triggered the highest peak rate of usage, 2.29 Gbps. While the Levi’s Stadium app also was supporting in-seat food delivery for the concerts, Hacker did not have any food ordering stats to share.

Deadheads found the Wi-Fi at Levi’s Stadium

Deadheads will have in-seat food delivery option at Levi’s Stadium Grateful Dead concerts

When the Grateful Dead’s farewell tour hits Levi’s Stadium this weekend, concertgoers will be able to order food delivery to their seats, according to Levi’s Stadium app developer VenueNext.

The in-seat food delivery option, which debuted during San Francisco 49er home games last season, is one of the more unique attributes of Levi’s Stadium and its accompanying smartphone app. For events like concerts or wrestling matches, the service is available depending upon the promoter’s desires, Levi’s Stadium officials have said.

For the Grateful Dead concerts this Saturday and Sunday, fans in the stadium seats will have the option to order food for in-seat delivery as well as for express pickup, where they can place an order and then pick it up at the closest concession window when it’s ready. Fans in seats on the field will only be able to use the express pickup option, VenueNext reps said. With full houses expected for both shows, this may be the biggest test yet for the food delivery system, which had some issues when hockey fans filled the house back in February. It will also be the first test of the app since developer VenueNext scored $9 million in venture funding to help expand its business.

VenueNext screen shot of food ordering feature on app.

What’s still unclear is if the Levi’s Stadium crew will once again roll out the on-field Wi-Fi network, which was used at the March Wrestlemania 31 event to help produce the biggest-ever data day at the still-new stadium. The temporary network, which uses railing and other ad hoc Wi-Fi access points, is used to bring Wi-Fi service to the area below the regular seating bowl. For what it’s worth, the WrestleMania promoters did not want food delivery at their event, mainly to keep it from being a distraction. It will be interesting also to see how food delivery works in the dark, since I am guessing the concerts won’t be as well lit as a football game (or a hockey game).

While we still haven’t gotten any network stats from the recent San Jose Earthquakes game at Levi’s, we are hoping the stadium network crew will get back to us after the Deadheads visit, because we are guessing the amount of selfies and other social media sharing will be off the charts. If you are planning to take public transportation don’t forget to buy your VTA passes beforehand so you don’t have to wait in two lines.

Grateful Dead fans use 4.5 TB of Wi-Fi during Levi’s Stadium shows

Deadheads will have in-seat food delivery option at Levi’s Stadium Grateful Dead concerts

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