Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium nears the finish line

July 16, 2017 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Sorry, this venue is not open yet! Credit all photos: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any picture for a larger image)

If there’s a huge tease to the audience at this year’s SEAT Conference in Atlanta it’s that there is no official visit planned to the nearby stadium that is on everyone’s mind, the Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Built right next door to the Georgia Dome, the new venue looks all finished from the outside, but there are still construction chain-link fences around it keeping anyone from getting too close to the building. A quick visit by yours truly Sunday afternoon got the pictures seen here, including the angular, glassy construction, the big metal falcon (caged for now) but no live look at the halo video board (though we thought we could see the curves inside).

Jared Miller, chief technology officer for AMB Sports & Entertainment, told us on the phone last week that Mercedes-Benz Stadium “is definitely in the final throes” of development, which is scheduled to end on Aug. 26 when the Falcons host their first NFL preseason game. There also may be an earlier public-unveiling event but the NFL date is the first scheduled full-scale opening of the Falcons’ new roost.

Miller spelled out a few previously unconfirmed facets of the technology deployment going on inside the stadium — the Wi-Fi gear is from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company; and lead contractor IBM will also be supplying the stadium’s mobile apps, with separate versions for the Falcons, the Atlanta United FC of the MLS, and one for the stadium itself (to be used for concerts, college football games and other non-NFL or non-MLS events).

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in all its glory

Mercedes-Benz Stadium will also have a neutral host DAS run by the Falcons using Corning ONE gear.

No in-seat delivery for concessions

Another interesting twist is that Miller said the while the Falcons’ apps will have the ability to allow fans to order food and drink, it will be for pickup at express windows only, and NOT for delivery to seats, a service seen at other venues like the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium. Miller said the AMB team has taken a different approach and expects fans to roam about more inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which has many different “experiential” zones where fans can watch the action from someplace other than their seat.

But even with all the different technology and lower food prices, Miller is betting that the one thing that visitors will keep talking about is the halo video board, the main “big screen” that wraps around the inside of the roof in a full circle.

“When fans enter they’re going to look up and go, ‘Wow!’ and do it the first time, and the 10th time they visit,” Miller said. Miller said he was walking back to the stadium recently and saw the halo board in action, and stopped in awe. “I look up and am just blown away by it,” he said. Falcons fans and other interested visitors are looking forward to feeling that feeling soon. More photos below!

Anyone see a halo board in there?

Yes, it’s very close to the Georgia Dome.

Mr. Blank, uncage this bird!

Seen on the MARTA train in from the airport: Still time to get a gig at the stadium!

A better look at the big bird

Filed Under: Apps, Aruba, DAS, Hewlett-Packard, Levi's Stadium, MLS, NFL, Soccer, Super Bowl, Wi-Fi, Xfinity, YinzCam Tagged With: Apps, Arthur Blank, Atlanta, Atlanta Falcons, DAS, Georgia Dome, Levi's Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Wi-Fi

NFL builds its own Super Bowl app, with no concessions delivery and fewer replays

February 3, 2017 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Screen shot of map function on NFL Super Bowl LI app.

The NFL has built its own Super Bowl mobile app, breaking with a recent history of using stadium-app specialists like VenueNext and YinzCam to develop specific apps for Super Sunday.

Also unlike recent years, the NFL’s Super Bowl app will not feature instant replays or have any kind of food or drink delivery services. Instead, there appears to be a big focus on promoting Super Bowl events (especially those for this weekend) and for helping out of town tourists find their way to Super Bowl events and to the game itself.

Curiously, an interview about the app with the NFL’s CIO claimed that this year’s app will also be the first to include the ability for fans at the game to watch Super Bowl commercials. The story also claims without any attribution that “In the past, commercials weren’t on the app in order to avoid using too much bandwidth in the stadium.” However, at the most recent Super Bowls, including the past two, stadium bandwidth has been more than sufficient enough to stream plenty of video. And in fact, both of the last two Super Bowl apps have included the ability for fans at the game to see Super Bowl commercials.

Last year’s app, developed by VenueNext for the Levi’s Stadium hosting of Super Bowl 50, definitely showed Super Bowl commercials, part of what the San Francisco 49ers network team said was a record-breaking day of app-based video watching. The Super Bowl 49 app, built by YinzCam, also included Super Bowl commercials according to this NFL video and according to our previous reporting.

Fewer replays, no food or beverage delivery service

Screen shot of transportation info links from Super Bowl LI app.

And even though NFL CIO Michelle McKenna-Doyle is quoted in the previous story about the new app as saying “You won’t feel like you’re using two separate apps as fans have in the past,” the Super Bowl LI app contains a link to download the separate NFL Mobile app, which is apparently where Super Bowl highlights and replays will live. There was no confirmation from the NFL or Verizon about whether or not fans in the stands would be able to watch the live broadcast of the game via NFL Mobile. Fans not at the game will be able to use NFL Mobile to watch the game on cellular devices; fans can also stream the game from the FoxSports website, for PCs or tablet devices.

This year’s app will also not include any way for fans to use the app to order food or beverage delivery to their seats; last year’s app did have the ability to order in-seat delivery of beverages or to place an order for food and beverage express pickup, a service used for 3,284 orders. NRG Stadium, however, does not offer full-stadium in-seat ordering like Levi’s Stadium does; the stadium does have serving staff with wireless devices providing in-seat ordering services for club sections, which will likely be in use at the Super Bowl as well.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Apps, DAS, Extreme Networks, Facebook, Levi's Stadium, NFL, NFL Mobile, Super Bowl, VenueNext, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi, YinzCam Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, Extreme Networks, Fox Sports, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Tablet, VenueNext, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi, YinzCam

Analysis: The year of the big stadium Wi-Fi upgrade

October 3, 2016 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Carolina Panthers director of IT James Hammond shows off a new under-seat Wi-Fi AP at Bank of America Stadium. Credit: Carolina Panthers

Even in the midst of several brand-new stadium debuts and the future-proofed wireless networks inside them, there is a separate, yet distinct trend emerging in the big-stadium, wireless connectivity world: Call it the year of the big upgrade.

Our profile in our latest STADIUM TECH REPORT of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., is a case in point: Thanks to the never-ending demand for more connectivity for fans, stadiums that deployed networks just a few years ago are now finding that those old systems already need upgrades or replacements, typically at a much higher cost than the original network. In addition to BofA Stadium, the New England Patriots’ home, Gillette Stadium, also got a Wi-Fi makeover this past summer, going from about 400 Wi-Fi APs to well over a thousand, with most of the new ones deployed under seats.

According to Fred Kirsch, who oversees the Gillette Stadium network, some of the under-seat placements there were especially tricky, since granite underneath the stands didn’t allow for the ability to drill through the concrete. A workaround involving an above-ground enclosure was envisioned and manufactured, underlining the custom complexity of network deployment found from stadium to stadium. No two are the same, and what works at one may or may not work at another.

But what is common across all these large venues is the ever-increasing need for bandwidth, a moving target that has yet to slow down or stabilize. Last year the story that turned everyone’s head was the need by carriers to upgrade their DAS infrastructure at Levi’s Stadium ahead of Super Bowl 50 – this coming just a year after the stadium had opened for business. While the demands of a Super Bowl (especially Super Bowl 50, which set records for DAS and Wi-Fi usage) are perhaps much different than everyday events, it’s still a safe bet that for many stadiums with Wi-Fi networks – especially the early movers – 2016 has become a year of reckoning, or biting the bullet and writing more checks for more coverage, perhaps seemingly too soon after the initial rollout.

Getting ready for Super Bowl LI

In Houston, NRG Stadium finally has Wi-Fi, and not a moment too soon, with Super Bowl LI on the near horizon. Since the venue didn’t have Wi-Fi prior to this season it’s not really an upgrade but it’s hard to understate the challenge of putting in a Super Bowl-ready network in just one summer, a construction calendar shortened by the fact that integrator 5 Bars and equipment vendor Extreme Networks had to wait until after the NCAA Men’s Final Four was over to begin installing cabling and APs. At of the start of the NFL season the Wi-Fi network is already live at NRG Stadium, and is sure to go through weekly tweaks as the league marches on toward its championship game.

Gillette Stadium before the Sept. 11 game vs. the Miami Dolphins. Credit: Steve Milne, AP, via Patriots.com

And while attention-grabbing new stadiums like US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta are planning big network capacity from the get-go, some new stadiums like T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas have upgrade thinking planned in from the start, with the idea that the network will never really be a finished product, at least until they stop making new phones or developing new apps. Of course, that future isn’t happening anytime soon, with the Apple iPhone 7 announcement with the new double-lens camera coming in just before the start of another football season.

New phones and new apps mean more bandwidth demands, leading even those who already have stadium networks to keep wondering if what they’ve installed is enough. We suspect this may be an ongoing story line for the foreseeable future, so – stay tuned here to Mobile Sports Report for the latest success stories and lessons learned from those who have already jumped in or jumped back in to the deployment fray.

Editor’s note: This column is from our latest STADIUM TECH REPORT, which is available for free download from our site. Read about Wi-Fi deployments at Bank of America Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and more!

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, Cisco, DAS, Extreme Networks, Levi's Stadium, NFL, Super Bowl, VenueNext, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, Atlanta Falcons, Bank of America Stadium, Carolina Panthers, DAS, Extreme Networks, Levi's Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Super Bowl 50, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

Niners fans use 2.76 TB of Wi-Fi for season opener at Levi’s Stadium

September 23, 2016 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Niners fans celebrate a touchdown in the season opener. Credit: LevisStadium.com.

Fans at the San Francisco 49ers’ home opener used 2.76 terabytes of data on the Wi-Fi network at Levi’s Stadium, according to statistics provided by the Niners’ network team.

The Sept. 12 Monday Night Football game, a 28-0 win for the Niners over the visiting Los Angeles Rams, was well below the 10.1-TB mark recorded during Super Bowl 50, held at Levi’s Stadium back in February. Still, the 2.76 TB is a healthy regular-season game mark, with 16,681 unique users of the Wi-Fi network as well as a maximum concurrent number of users of 11,987.

The Niners also added some interesting new social twists to the Levi’s Stadium experience this year, including the ability for fans to use the stadium app to respond to poll questions (like voting on the next song to be played during timeouts) posted on the stadium’s large digital displays. While it’s not known if the feature was used during the regular season opener, according to the network team 30,000 fans participated in big-board polls during the Niners’ preseason game on Aug. 26 versus the Green Bay Packers. Full stats from the Niners networking team below.

Filed Under: Levi's Stadium, NFL, Super Bowl, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Super Bowl 50

Yankee Stadium offers food ordering and delivery via VenueNext app

April 18, 2016 by Paul Kapustka 2 Comments

Home screen for VenueNext app for Yankee Stadium. Photo: Paul Kapustka, MSR

Fans in some areas of Yankee Stadium this year can now order food and beverages for in-seat delivery, thanks to a new stadium app developed with technology from VenueNext, the app developer behind the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium app.

Though the app isn’t part of the Major League Baseball official and approved game-day and stadium apps, it does offer most of the bells and whistles VenueNext developed for the Levi’s Stadium app, including digital ticketing, live wayfinding maps and public transit information. According to John Paul, the CEO of VenueNext, the food ordering option is now available to approximately 10,000 seats in the 54,251-seat Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees and also the home to Major League Soccer’s New York City Football Club, which also uses the new app.

The VenueNext app comes courtesy of a deal struck last year between Legends Hospitality and VenueNext, to use VenueNext app technology at Yankee Stadium and at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The Yankee Stadium app from Legends is the third major-league sport to use VenueNext technology to support in-seat food and beverage delivery, following the Niners’ app at Levi’s Stadium and an app for the Orlando Magic at Amway Center that debuted during the present NBA season.

App page showing in-seat food ordering and delivery option

In a phone interview with VenueNext’s Paul, he said that in Orlando the Magic started out with limited in-seat delivery, ramping up to offering it in the full lower bowl of Amway Center by the end of the regular season. According to Paul, the Yankees are using Aruba beacons to facilitate the wayfinding feature of the VenueNext app maps, and are using VenueNext’s Kezar ticket scanners to support digital ticketing. The Yankee Stadium app, however, does not yet support the ability to order food for express pickup at concession stands, Paul said.

No official word on Wi-Fi or MLBAM apps

The emergence of a VenueNext app that delivers capabilities not found in the so-called Official Yankee Stadium App raises some questions about whether or not the Yankees are playing ball with Major League Baseball Advanced Media’s strategy of having one single app for every MLB ballpark. MLB’s Ballpark app, for example, at Yankee Stadium offers “mobile check-in, social media, offers, rewards and exclusive content,” according to MLB. That’s a little bit different than the version of At Bat offered for the San Francisco Giants, which offers mobile ticketing support, seat upgrade options, and mobile food ordering. Other versions of Ballpark, for example for the Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals, offer fewer options. But as far as we know, there are no other MLB teams with a companion app like the VenueNext app for Yankee Stadium.

For both the Yankees and the Giants and all other teams, the MLB’s At Bat app offers live MLB content for a fee.

Yankee Stadium stadium map in the app

There is also no link to the new VenueNext app from the Yankees’ team website, and the VenueNext app does not contain any live content or replay options, features found on both the Niners’ and Magic’s apps from VenueNext. The Yankees have not yet replied to requests for information about the app and whether or not there is any public-facing Wi-Fi yet in Yankee Stadium.

Though MLBAM spent some $300 million last year to bring Wi-Fi and cellular DAS deployments to all MLB stadiums, Yankee Stadium was never confirmed to have had public Wi-Fi installed. Repeated requests to MLBAM asking about the Wi-Fi situation at Yankee Stadium have also not been returned.

Filed Under: Apps, Baseball, Chicago Cubs, DAS, Levi's Stadium, Major League Baseball, NBA, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, VenueNext, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Apps, DAS, Levi's Stadium, MLB, MLBAM, Mobile Sports Report, New York Yankees, Orlando Magic, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi, Yankee Stadium

NEW! Stadium Tech Report Podcast, Episode 1: What does Super Bowl 50’s Wi-Fi record mean for stadium tech pros?

April 6, 2016 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the STADIUM TECH REPORT PODCAST, with Mobile Sports Report editor Paul Kapustka and host Phil Harvey. In this first show Phil and Paul talk about the Wi-Fi and DAS records set at the recent Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium, exploring what those numbers mean for stadium tech professionals who are deploying their own networks — and whether or not there will ever be an end to the continuing explosive growth in demand for in-venue bandwidth.

Take a listen and let us know what you think in the comments!

Filed Under: About MSR, DAS, iTunes, Levi's Stadium, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, DAS, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, Phil harvey, podcast, San Francisco 49ers, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi