Stadiums are host to a multitude of events. From pop concerts to cup finals, there’s nothing quite like the atmosphere and the experience of being in a full capacity arena. Food and drink, amazing lighting and top-quality amenities are all there to enhance the experience.
One thing that’s expected by visitors in big arenas now is a good WiFi connection. To make sure everyone receives the best possible service at all times, you need to think carefully about your stadium WiFi design. Here are some top tips and guidelines to follow.
We’ll cover:
WiFi Performance
Poor WiFi connection can be annoying. That level of frustration is multiplied when you’re in a stadium that has no mobile network coverage. So, in order to ensure maximum customer satisfaction, you need to consider how well your WiFi performs in each area of the stadium.
First, Connectivity and Capacity
As well as providing a service for the fans, you should consider staff, vendors and everyone involved with the event too. By working out the maximum number of people who could be inside the stadium at any given time, you should have a good number to judge the bandwidth and connectivity that you require.
Next, Coverage
Stadiums are usually a mixture of indoor and outdoor environments. This is important to note when it comes to the hardware that needs installing to create a seamless user experience. If you’re wanting to provide WiFi throughout the stadium, then you’re going to need to install both indoor and outdoor access points and consider the access to these areas for the installers.
If supporters and fans have to leave their seats to go downstairs to the nearest access point, they’re not going to be happy that they’ll miss some of the action. So, in order to keep them as happy as possible, make sure that they can reach the network from their seats, on the concourse and even surrounding the stadium too when you’re putting the design of the WiFi together.
Saying that, it’s important not to flood areas with access points just to try and make sure that people can get connected as you’ll experience cross channel interference which could render the whole network useless. A WiFi specialist will guide you on the best quality and deployment of equipment.
Security
One of the main concerns in your stadium WiFi plan should be security. To protect the stadium’s network, you may want to implement a guest WiFi platform for your visitors to use. That way, your guests aren’t exposed to any sensitive business information, but they can still surf the internet relatively freely.
Segregate the guest network from your corporate connection and protect it with content filtering.
You can make sure that no inappropriate content is accessed by users on your network. It’s quite common that football stadiums don’t allow supporters to access betting websites on their phones, in addition to the usual explicit content that’s banned. Content filtering will ensure that fans are accessing the right kind of content.
Analytics
The WiFi network will provide you with so much more than just WiFi. Analytics such as new vs. returning users and demographic information will show user groups, trending behaviours and presence analytics will show you high-traffic areas and user flow.
Usually, visitors to a stadium spend most of their time in their seats watching the action unfold. However, when they’re on the move before the game or at half-time, it can be useful to know where the most congested areas are. By accessing this data, you can then strategically place advertisements and give them the best possible chance of being seen and consumed.
Not only this, you’ll be able to track and monitor new and existing users’ behaviour whilst in the stadium. This means you can target those new fans and supporters, hopefully improving the chances of them returning and maybe even purchasing a season ticket. This behaviour isn’t only beneficial for in-stadium targeting, but it can also be utilised in social media and email campaigns in the future.
These insights will build fan loyalty - which you can also integrate with the WiFi system.
Cost
Just because users don’t have to pay to access the WiFi, it doesn’t mean that it’s cost-free to install and maintain. When looking at your WiFi requirements, with the help of an expert provider like WiFi SPARK, you should be able to find an affordable package that’s suitable for your stadium.
WiFi SPARK has packages available for all budgets and is vastly experienced in dealing with large scale networks like stadiums. After all, tens of thousands of people are going to be relying on the network to provide a smooth connection for them, so you need to work with a partner that you can trust.
It’s vital that you think about all the above points when mapping out your stadium WiFi design. Quite simply, if you don’t you’ll have unhappy clients and visitors. Users expect fast and reliable internet coverage when they’re in stadiums. We’ve helped other stadiums and large venues in the past, providing bespoke solutions to meet their specific requirements.
Take Stadium WiFi to the Next Level with WiFi SPARK
WiFi SPARK has recently provided Kingspan Ulster Rugby Stadium with a high performing public WiFi connection that's robust and reliable. The stadium holds nearly 20,000 supporters, who have a fast, smooth internet connection at their fingertips as well as access to offers of relevance to them.
If you would like to read more about venue and conference WiFi and how you can improve visitor experience, download our guide below.
[CTA The Guide to Conference WiFi and How the SPARK® Platform Helps]
