Nuggets game visit shows Wi-Fi solid at Denver’s Pepsi Center

Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver’s Pepsi Center, April 9, 2017. Credit all photos: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any photo for a larger image)

About one year into its existence, the fan-facing Wi-Fi network at Denver’s Pepsi Center seems to be in fine working order, at least as far as we could tell by a visit during the last Denver Nuggets home game of the just-finished NBA regular season.

With speed tests showing download speeds of almost 70 Mbps in one spot on the concourse and solid, high-teens numbers in upper deck seats, the Avaya-built public Wi-Fi network allowed us to stay connected at all times. We even watched live video of The Masters golf tournament online while watching Oklahoma City beat Denver in a heartbreaking ending for the Nuggets’ home season, when Thunder star Russell Westbrook capped a 50-point performance with a long 3-pointer that won the game and eliminated Denver from playoff contention.

While we got good speed tests last summer when we toured an empty Pepsi Center, we had no idea how the network would perform under live, full-house conditions, but the Nuggets’ home closer gave us some proof points that the Wi-Fi was working fine. One test on the concourse (in full view of some overhead APs) checked in at 69.47 Mbps for download and 60.96 for upload; another concourse test on the upper deck got numbers of 37.18 / 38.30.

A look from our seats into the rafters, where (we think) we see Wi-Fi APs

In our MSR-budget upper-deck seats (we did not request media access to the game but instead bought tickets like any other fan) we still got solid Wi-Fi numbers, with one test at 15.04 Mbps / 21.44 Mbps and another in the same spot at 17.40 / 16.27. We didn’t see any APs under the seats — according to the Pepsi Center IT staff some of the bowl seats are served by APs shooting up through the concrete (see picture for one possible such location). Looking up we did see some APs hanging from the roof rafters, so perhaps it’s a bit of both.

What’s unclear going forward is who will supply the network for any upgrades, since Avaya is in the process of selling its networking business to Extreme Networks, which has its own Wi-Fi gear and a big stadium network business. For now, it seems like attendees at Nuggets, Avalanche and other Pepsi Center events are covered when it comes to connectivity. Better defense against Westbrook, however, will have to wait until next season.

Upper level concourse APs at Pepsi Center; are these shooting up through the concrete?

Even at the 300 seating level, you have a good view of the court.

Taking the RTD express bus from Boulder is a convenient if crowded option (there was also a Rockies game that day at nearby Coors Field, making the bus trips SRO in both directions)

Who knew Pepsi was found inside mountains? (this photo taken last summer)

Pepsi Center partners with ParkHub for digital parking experience

Denver's Pepsi Center in hockey configuration. Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Denver’s Pepsi Center in hockey configuration. Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Fans coming to Denver’s Pepsi Center this fall will be able to prepurchase parking tickets and get mobile-device directions to their reserved spot, as part of a wide-ranging digital parking system from stadium parking technology startup ParkHub.

In a release today, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) — owners of the Pepsi Center as well as the main tenants, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche — said it will use “all of ParkHub’s parking solutions” to help power a list of features that include pre-purchasing capabilities, the ability to take cash and credit card payment options for parking at the gate, real-time views of parking spot availability, and turn by turn directions to the lot locations. Fans will be able to access the parking options via a responsive website optimized for mobile scheduled to debut this fall, according to ParkHub.

(Now that MSR is local to the area we’re looking forward to seeing the app in action, if only because the curved streets in the vicinity of the Pepsi Center have always made parking downtown an adventure for us!)

According to the Dallas-based ParkHub, which is adding rapidly to its list of current customers, the KSE deal is the first time ParkHub will “white label” its entire suite of products, which will be offered from the Pepsi Center and not directly from ParkHub.

Dashboard view of ParkHub's admin program. Credit: ParkHub

Dashboard view of ParkHub’s admin program. Credit: ParkHub

Included on the back end of ParkHub’s system is the ability to administer, approve and analyze all parking activities from a dashboard view. According to ParkHub, parking information is available in real time, allowing venues to fine-tune things like lot availability and direction of traffic as cars arrive at the stadium.

“When I think about the success of an event, the primary goal is to expedite a better experience of getting people parked and in their seats in the least frustrating way as possible,” said Scott Beekhuizen, senior director of events operations for KSE, in a prepared statement. “Not only did we add a reliable pre-purchasing platform, but now all of our fans can use credit cards to pay at the gate. I know they are going to love that.”

Fans at Pepsi Center events this fall will also be able to connect to the Internet via high-speed Wi-Fi from Avaya that was recently installed at the venue.

Denver’s Pepsi Center gets Avaya Wi-Fi network

Denver's Pepsi Center. Credit: Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Denver’s Pepsi Center. Credit: Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Though it’s been operating inside the building since earlier this year, the Avaya Wi-Fi network in Denver’s Pepsi Center is official today, with a public announcement from stadium owners Kroenke Sports & Entertainment about the deployment.

Home to the NBA’s Nuggets and the NHL’s Avalanche, the arena — which seats 19,155 for hoops and 18,007 for hockey — hosts more than 200 events per year, according to the stadium home page. Now, sports fans and attendees at concerts and other events will be able to connect to the Internet via the 325 Avaya Wi-Fi APs installed over the past year, a number confirmed by Rick Schoenhals, vice president for information and technology for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE).

According to Schoenhals, the Wi-Fi network inside the Pepsi Center has been fully operational since late this spring, the end of a ramp-up period designed to ensure full operation by the start of the upcoming basketball and hockey seasons. Though no statistics for fan use from the past season are available, the network is designed to also provide connectivity for in-house operations including video feeds, security operations, concessions and also for sideline team access, according to a press release.

Avaya said the network deployment at the Pepsi Center will also include a “fan engagement wall,” a live social-media centerpiece that displays fan social media posts in real time for arena attendees to view on digital displays. Avaya has a similar fan engagement wall at its eponymous Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., home to major league soccer’s Earthquakes and home of this year’s MLS All-Star game later this month. In addition to the Pepsi Center and Avaya Stadium, Avaya also is the gear used in the Wi-Fi network at the Montreal Canadiens’ Bell Centre.

fanwall1

Fan wall at Avaya Stadium in San Jose. Credit: Paul Kapustka, MSR

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