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Wi-Fi in Stadiums — It’s Not About Missing the Game, it’s About Staying Connected

September 2, 2013 by

Matthew Casey does an excellent job of summarizing the current state of Wi-Fi in the NFL in his post over on CNN.com, with some comments from yours truly as part of the package. While I think Matthew did a great job on the article, I was struck by how many of the comments are still of the “I go to the games to watch football, not to watch my phone” tenor.

People: Nobody goes to the stadium just to use Wi-Fi. But nobody leaves the house without their cell phone either. Being connected is simply a part of our everyday lives now, including leisure time. Going somewhere for several hours where there is no connectivity at all — and paying for the privilege — is going to seem more stupid with each passing year. Since football games have something like an average of 20 minutes of action for the entire time a live game is played, there’s lots of dead time in between. So what do you do during that time? For many people today, no matter where they are — spare time means time to connect, digitally and wirelessly. And it’s not a bad thing. It’s just who we are, no matter where we are.

Yes, if you’re at a game you want to spend time being there with the friends and fans around you. But our worlds are bigger than that in 2013. We don’t just share with those around us, we share with connected friends and with wider audiences in our social networks. Raise your hand if you spend a lot of time during sporting events these days texting friends or friendly rivals as a game progresses. (Guilty.) Most people, I think, who go to a game might spend at most a few minutes each hour checking messages, or posting a photo to show those who aren’t there what they are missing. I doubt most fans would go to a game and spend the whole time there immersed in the Internet. But I also think that almost every fan, at some point during a game, is going to want to connect to others in some fashion, even if it’s just to let someone know when you’ll be home. And going forward, Wi-Fi is going to be the answer as to how that happens. Why Wi-Fi?

The first difference at a stadium is simply the crush of people, which overwhelms the standard cellular-phone infrastructure that works very well in other parts of the planet. For high-capacity crowd situations, Wi-Fi is going to be the ongoing answer when the question is how to stay connected. Cellular carriers are moving quickly to put in DAS (Distributed Antenna System) deployments, which are basically a number of small cellular antennas that work inside buildings or in localized outdoor environments. DAS is good, maybe great, at eliminating dead zones that occur when a stadium full of fans are all fighting for the attention of a few regional macro cell towers. But DAS isn’t going to bring video replays to everyone in attendance. Again, that is why I said that Wi-Fi will be like plumbing going forward. In 5 years you won’t believe a big place hasn’t put in Wi-Fi yet. Because by then we’ll be doing a lot more wirelessly, because Wi-Fi is getting faster and better. And at stadiums, it can even make economic sense.

The second difference at a stadium is that unlike a hotel or other public places, stadiums have a captive crowd that might reasonably be interested in using a wireless network to make their visit more profitable for the owner/operator. That’s why the ideas of video replays to your phone, fantasy football stats via a stadium app, or even simple ordering concessions online to be picked up at an express window make so much sense. With a reliable Wi-Fi network all these options and ones that haven’t been thought of yet become possible. So for sports teams or owners of entertainment venues Wi-Fi might conceivably be able to pay for itself or even become a profit center, somewhere down the road. And we haven’t even started to talk yet about using Wi-Fi for improved internal operations, like public safety, ticketing or luxury suites. There’s money to be made on Wi-Fi networks, but first you have to build them.

That’s why Wi-Fi is coming to the stadium. It’s not so people can ignore the game to get work done. It’s so they can stay connected as necessary, or to enhance the experience they are having, at the few moments they want to do that. It’s a connected world we live in now, and stadiums shouldn’t be missing from that equation. Otherwise — as many of the commenters also noted — it will just be easier to stay at home and watch the game in HD while you tweet or text friends from your couch. Which you do now. If the NFL and other sporting leagues don’t want empty stadiums on those broadcasts, they need to make sure that their paying customers have the basic essential needs of human beings in this century, especially those fortunate enough to have time and money to spend on live-game visits. You wouldn’t build a big stadium without a lot of bathrooms. And these days, you wouldn’t build one without Wi-Fi either.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

MLBAM Continues to Leverage Capabilities into New Fields

August 27, 2013 by

mlbam

Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) is leveraging its huge video broadcasting and Internet infrastructure and has branched out into a very different field this week when it acquired the distribution rights to a live concert.

The concert deal was signed with the Global Poverty Project, which for the second year in a row is hosting a concert that is called the Global Citizen Festival that features Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys and John Mayer and which will be held on the Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park on Saturday, September 28, 2013.

MLBAM will be using its back end streaming video infrastructure that currently fans may know from MLB.TV, and will be offering the event to both domestic and international broadcast partners interested in presenting the show with either live high definition broadcasts or as an on-demand service.

While it may seem odd that the interactive arm of MLB would turn to this concert license, it is already using its advanced high tech capabilities in a variety of other areas, both sports and non-sports focus. For instance it is the provider of in-flight movies on Southwest Airlines, provides ESPN3’s streaming and is the technology behind Glenn Beck’s Internet television channel, according to the NYT.

MLB has been building its infrastructure in this and related areas for some time and is a unique position in that it can undercut what might be viewed as mainstream broadcasters at providing this service. It has the infrastructure not only at a league level but increasingly at individual ball parks so that stadiums can quickly support an event such as the concert and provide broadcast and other services.

Filed Under: Apps, Baseball, DAS, ESPN3, Live sports via mobile, Major League Baseball Tagged With: , ,

MSR Report: State of the Stadium Technology Survey

August 8, 2013 by

state_of_stadium_128What is the “state of the stadium” when it comes to technology deployment? That is what we here at Mobile Sports Report set out to discover when we launched our inaugural “State of the Stadium” Technology Survey, in conjunction with our partner the SEAT Consortium, hosts of the recent SEAT 2013 conference in Kansas City.

With more than 50 respondents representing arenas that host the top professional league teams, including the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NHL, as well as top U.S. university facilities for basketball and football, European and U.S. professional soccer teams, professional golf and car-racing venues the State of the Stadium Technology Survey provides, we think, the first real statistical snapshot of how teams are deploying technology to both improve the fan experience while helping increase business opportunities. The survey covers deployment and planning decisions for several stadium technology categories, including Wi-Fi, DAS, Digital Signage, Sports Digital Marketing, Sports CRM, and Sports Social Media. You can download a copy of the survey for free, at this link.

What did we discover? Simply, all survey respondents and interviewees were in violent agreement that advanced technologies, especially those involving wireless communications, would be the key to an enhanced fan experience and a bigger roster of business opportunities for stadium owners and operators. Yet for most of the industry, it is still early in the game when it comes to actual stadium technology deployments, as rollout schedules are still paced by the reality of budgetary and situational constraints, a list that often spans from geographic and facility-construction concerns to complexities of partnerships and rights agreements. So the era of the connected stadium is well on its way, but not quite here just yet.

There is a general feeling of a need to move quickly to solve the most pressing problems, while taking time on longer-term and bigger-ticket deployments to ensure the correct choice of technology at the right price with the right return on investment. These findings were confirmed at this week’s SEAT Conference, which we were invited to attend, and we’ll be sharing more stories from SEAT speakers and thought leaders in the following weeks. The best place to start, though, is by downloading the report to get a level-set on what is happening at the biggest facilities out there today.

Free download of the report is made possible by our report sponsors, SOLiD Technologies and Xirrus. We would also like to thank Christine Stoffel and Chris Dill from SEAT, as well as the SEAT attendee organizations who participated in the survey.

Filed Under: About MSR, DAS, Major League Baseball, NBA, NCAA Football, NFL, NHL, SEAT Conference, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

MSR Special Report: Bringing Technology to the ‘Friendly Confines’ of Wrigley Field

July 25, 2013 by

Wrigley Field on Opening Day, 2012. Photo courtesy of Chicago Cubs. All rights reserved.

Wrigley Field on Opening Day, 2012. Photo courtesy of Chicago Cubs. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of interviews with speakers and thought leaders from the upcoming SEAT 2013 conference in Kansas City, Aug. 4-7.

There are baseball stadiums, and then there is Wrigley Field. As a dyed in the blue-pinstriped-wool Cubs fan, I can’t write objectively about the place. It is Mecca, the Friendly Confines, the hallowed outfield walls of ivy. It’s precisely because of people like me that Andrew McIntyre’s job of bringing better technology to the storied ballyard is so much more complex than that of his stadium-technology peers. Wrigley may have one of the greenest fields anywhere, but from an information-technology deployment standpoint Wrigley is about as far away from a “greenfield” project as you can get.

McIntyre, Senior Director of Information Technology for the Chicago Cubs, spoke with MSR recently on the phone to describe the delicate line his organization must tread as it brings necessary technology improvements to one of the world’s great historic sporting venues. In other stadiums, things like a brand-new huge video board would be welcomed, even celebrated. At Wrigley? Renovation plans that include an outfield video board will need to pass muster with national landmark regulations, and survice reactions from a widespread fan base that resists even the slightest changes to the stadium, and work with the unique neighborhood apartment buildings whose rooftops offer views into the stadium.

So when McIntyre said the Cubs need to get “everyone on board” before things like video screens can be introduced, he’s talking about a lot more than people who pull a Cubs paycheck. That extra planning, McIntyre admits, will likely keep the Cubs a bit behind their sports-stadium brethren in certain technology areas, like digital signage. But on many other fronts McIntyre and his technology team are helping the Cubs and Wrigley keep pace with advanced stadium services, like better mobile device connectivity.

Wi-Fi and DAS, with AT&T

Now in his second year with the Cubs, McIntyre and the IT team there has spent a good amount of time putting infrastructure in place that will support future efforts, beginning with things like optical fiber deployments that bring an almost 10-fold speed improvement in bandwidth backhaul.

Andrew McIntyre, Senior Director of Information Technology, Chicago Cubs. Photo courtesy of Chicago Cubs. All rights reserved.

Andrew McIntyre, Senior Director of Information Technology, Chicago Cubs. Photo courtesy of Chicago Cubs. All rights reserved.

“Some severe infrastructure upgrades were needed here to enable initiatives moving forward,” McIntyre said. “There was historically a lack of investment from the IT side of the house. We’ve been working on a lot of non-fan-facing improvements that are very critical to us.”

One improvement that fans have been able to enjoy for the past season and a half is improved mobile connectivity inside the park, thanks to a neutral-host Distributed Antenna System (DAS) deployment and a stadium Wi-Fi network, built with carrier partner AT&T. “Next time you’re here, keep your eyes peeled for the antennas,” McIntyre said.

Having improved cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity puts the Cubs in the top third of MLB franchises, as by our count only 12 of the 30 major league parks currently offer free fan Wi-Fi services. When it comes to advanced apps and services that such in-park networks might power, like same-day seat upgrades or video replays, McIntyre said the Cubs are paying close attention to pilot programs underway at other parks, and will be “fast followers” when MLB-approved solutions are ready for prime time. (All in-stadium apps in baseball parks can only be run through the league’s At Bat or At the Ballpark mobile app.)

“I don’t think anyone’s knocking it out of the park yet” with in-stadium services, McIntyre said. But McIntyre also said he and the Cubs have met with franchises who are trying leading-edge deployments, including the San Francisco Giants and some European stadiums.

“We’re doing a lot of watching, listening, and learning,” McIntyre said.

Digital Signage as a Communication Vehicle

While most of the heated debate around the Cubs’ renovation plans centers on the size and placement of the proposed outfield video board, McIntyre and his team are looking deeper into a synchronized digital signage strategy, where boards all around the stadium — even, say, a concession stand pricing menu — could become a communications vehicle for the team to send messages out to the fans.

Wrigley Field marquee entrance. Photo courtesy of Chicago Cubs. All rights reserved.

Wrigley Field marquee entrance. Photo courtesy of Chicago Cubs. All rights reserved.

“One major thing we are investigating is how the signage can change, to become a communications channel,” McIntyre said. Currently, when games go to a rain delay, there’s not a lot of ways for the team to give fans information about when the game might restart, or to communicate weather forecasts and safety instructions. That could change with a digital signage system that can instantly act as a synchronized stadium-wide messaging system.

“The digital signage strategy doesn’t necessarily get highlighted [in public discussions] but it can all become a vehicle to communicate,” McIntyre said.

Andrew McIntyre will be speaking at the upcoming SEAT Conference in Kansas City, Aug. 4-7.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Baseball, Chicago Cubs, DAS, Major League Baseball, SEAT Conference, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

AT&T Deploys ‘Mobile DAS’ to Answer Big-Event Needs

July 11, 2013 by

AT&T's Mobile DAS truck

AT&T’s Mobile DAS truck

For many sporting events these days, it’s a challenge to bring the mobile connectivity fans want and need when onsite. It’s an especially challenging task at outdoor events like golf tournaments, where infrastructure may be limited and large numbers of fans may be congregated in hard-to-reach areas, like near tees and greens.

At the recent Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial PGA Tour stop in Fort Worth, Texas, AT&T brought some new technology to handle fans’ mobile needs: A mobile DAS, or distributed antenna system, deployment that delivered much more granular cellular coverage to the event than other solutions, like cell towers on wheels (COWs) were capable of bringing.

Simply, by putting DAS head-end equipment into a truck (pictured above) and then by putting up a lot of smaller antennas around the course, AT&T was able to provide more coverage where it was needed, one of the hallmarks of any DAS system. With a few COWs on site as well, AT&T provided a much better level of connectivity than ever before, according to Chad Townes, VP of AT&T’s antenna solutions group.

“Your first choice is always to put in permanent infrastructure, and leave it there if we can,” said Townes in a phone interview earlier this week. But at many places where coverage is needed, like the Colonial Country Club, it simply isn’t possible to string wire and put up antennas. In the past, what cellular providers typically did in one-time situations was bring in the COWs, the cell antennas on wheels. The problem with those antennas, Townes said, is that they sometimes interfered with each other (if parked too closely together), plus they run into the same limitations a regular macro tower has, mainly an inability to handle a big, compact crowd of phone users.

Chad Townes, VP, AT&T Antenna Solutions Group

Chad Townes, VP, AT&T Antenna Solutions Group

Enter the mDAS, which Townes said was “created kind of out of necessity.” With numerous smaller antennas (which don’t interfere with each other as much) AT&T was able to provide much more targeted cellular coverage, a key for events like golf tournaments where fans are often clustered in areas like hospitality tents or greenside stands. Media and tournament officials also put heavy wireless demands on providers, and the mDAS was used to satisfy those bandwidth needs as well.

Townes said AT&T’s mDAS actually got its first test run at the Democratic National Convention a couple years ago, when AT&T didn’t want to sign a long-term DAS lease with the facility the convention was held in. The DAS truck was built, and the antennas were put up the day of the event, with great success. The next question was: Where to use mDAS next?

Inside the AT&T mDAS truck

Inside the AT&T mDAS truck

“Now that we had this asset, what could we do with it?” Townes said. Golf tournaments made instant sense, given their one-time needs for coverage and the infrastructure challenges of an open grassy field. Where else might AT&T deploy mDAS in the future? Maybe at state fairs, or motor sport events held on downtown streets, or big-crowd music festivals, Townes said.

Townes, who is scheduled to speak at the upcoming SEAT conference in Kansas City, said the mDAS was just another way AT&T has responded to the always-changing and never-the-same needs when it comes to providing big-event connectivity.

“Even when you’re putting wireless into stadiums, no two are alike because there are always differences in building materials, or the shape of the bowl,” Townes said. The mDAS, he added, “was just another example of how we had to get real creative” to solve an event’s connectivity needs. (AT&T video about the mDAS at Colonial below)

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, PGA Tagged With: , , , , , ,

MSR, SEAT Conference Announce Strategic Partnership

June 19, 2013 by

SEAT_290Astute MSR readers may have noticed the new display ad on the top right hand side of the site, which promotes the upcoming SEAT 2013 conference. Now the rest of the story: Mobile Sports Report and SEAT are teaming up, with a strategic partnership to produce a special report as well as exclusive content centered around the sports technology executive audience.

We’ve long been fans of SEAT’s focus on providing a place for peers in the sports technology market to get together to discuss best practices, new technologies, and smart strategies for improving the fan experience while improving the bottom line. When the opportunity presented itself to join forces we jumped at the chance, and can’t wait to bring the stories of the SEAT attendees to the MSR audience.

If you’re not familiar with SEAT, it is the premier conference for the sports and arena technology executive, taking place this year in Kansas City, Aug. 4-7. SEAT, which stands for Sports and Entertainment Alliance in Technology, regularly attracts the top tech execs from all the U.S. major sports leagues, as well as representatives from entertainment venues and other large-crowd sports whose audiences and business operations present unique technology challenges.

We’ve covered some of those topics here in our focus on stadium Wi-Fi and DAS networks, but we’ll be expanding that charter as part of our partnership with SEAT. Look for exclusive interviews here on MSR with SEAT speakers and thought leaders, and if you choose to attend SEAT (and you should, if this is your field) then you will receive our upcoming special in-depth survey report on stadium technology deployment.

Want more info? Drop me a line here at kaps at mobilesportsreport.com. Better yet, sign up for the SEAT Conference and let’s talk there. See you in Kansas City!

Filed Under: Apps, Cisco, DAS, ESPN, Social Media, Sports Content Executives, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , ,
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