Sports Technology

Cisco has announced the introduction of a new solution to help sport and entertainment venues enhance their wireless internet capabilities and offer more interactive and personalised experiences at events.

The networking and telecommunication group's Connected Sports solution aims to ensure that stadiums and arenas can deliver interactive experiences to a large number of spectators in high-density areas while monetizing the delivery of these mobile experiences.

Cisco's Connected Sports solutions are networking the sports and entertainment industry to deliver reliable and consistent services as the number of smartphone users increases, as well as the use of other Wi-Fi enabled products such as iPads.

Cisco Connected Stadium Wi-Fi is the industry's first Wi-Fi solution specifically designed for large high-density environments such as stadiums and arenas. The tailored solution provides a single, highly secure wireless network that extends real-time, reliable access to mobile applications and services simultaneously to the thousands of fans congregating in these venues, while creating new business opportunities for teams, venue owners and operators.

Cisco Connected Stadium Wi-Fi provides high-capacity, blanket Wi-Fi coverage on a converged and customisable network for all persons in attendance at the event, including employees, back office and press operations.

David Holland, General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Sports and Entertainments Solutions Group at Cisco, explains that the new system is designed to upgrade the fan experience.

Holland stated "the Connected Stadium Wi-FI solution aims to meet the unique needs of today's passionate fans at live events by providing a reliable and consistent mobility experience."

Robb Heineman, Chief Executive of Sporting Club (the parent organisation of Major League Soccer's Sporting Kansas City) added "we want to offer our fans the highest quality connectivity to their mobile devices while attending our games, while also offering them compelling services that enrich their overall experience. By deploying the new Connected Stadium Wi-Fi solution we were able to eliminate congestion on 3G/4G networks, allowing us to provide innovative services and unique experiences to our fans and ultimately improve ticket sales."

Cisco was a sponsor of this week's 'Getting the most out of digital' sports marketing conference in Sydney.

The conference featured Glen McCracken of Auckland's Eden Park presenting on the stadium's digital makeover and Cisco's work in that project.

For more information go to www.cisco.com/web/strategy/sports/connected_stadium.html

Image: Eden Park, Auckland.