The challenges facing modern sports venues
Today’s modern sports venues have many operational challenges. They often host multiple activities including sporting events, concerts and even the circus and rodeo. Most venues are designed to quickly change in layout and function for these different events. The faster and more efficient these changes can be made, the lower the operational costs and maybe even the more events it can host.
Fans have high expectations for using their mobile devices when visiting arenas. Almost everyone has a smartphone and expects to be able to upload pictures or even shop if the event gets boring. We all expect our mobile devices to work as data devices and be able to access all that the world offers all the time, and being at an event is no exception.
On top of this is the fact that it takes a lot of financial resources to build a facility that meets all the needs of the stakeholders. The owners have built large, sophisticated, multipurpose venues that must realize returns on their investments. Security is an important design consideration. How to keep the fans safe, protect valuable property and mitigate risk are all concerns for the modern stadium owner.
All of these challenges have a common thread, and that’s the infrastructure that supports these systems. Digital signage, cellular coverage and security are all seemingly disparate technologies yet they all get connected via structured cabling. The modern stadium must have a flexible, standards-based design that allows the stadium owner to use current technology but also be prepared for the future needs.
Many of the above technologies are rapidly changing. Innovations in Digital Signage applications in the last 3 to 5 years have been tremendous. This change has required many upgrades; if you implemented a system 4 years ago you are updating much of your infrastructure. The payoff is being able to leverage new applications with targeted messaging, not just advertisements, to enhance the fan experience. Also from an operations standpoint you are able to keep your venue flexible to all the different events you wish to host. With a connected digital platform, all signage can be easily changed for the current event taking place.
Wireless technologies, both Wi-Fi and cellular are undergoing a similar technology curve. On the Wi-Fi side, speeds are increasing to accommodate the expanded data usage. This change requires new active equipment to keep up with demands. Cellular networks are also increasing their throughput which can also require new or additional equipment. Network administrators have to balance the benefit of upgrades with the challenge of integrating new equipment with an existing infrastructure.
All of these necessary and constant upgrades are more achievable with a standards based cabling infrastructure. If you have to change your cabling with every upgrade, this can make the cost of the upgrade prohibitive. It’s not just changing out the cable but also the downtime with each upgrade that adds to the overall cost. Also, several locations within many sports venue are often difficult or impossible to re-cable due to access issues. All of these issues can be avoided by using a standards based cabling infrastructure design in the initial installation of the venue.
There are standards bodies for most marketplace technologies and cabling is no exception. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) develops consensus-based industry standards for structured cabling in multiple industries and applications. The advantage of a consensus-based standard allows multiple manufactures of both cable and active equipment to develop common connectors and performance terms. For example, the RJ45 connector is ubiquitous in the copper Ethernet world. As more devices, such as security or building automation systems, are entering the IP world, they are using the RJ45 connector. If you haven’t installed a standards based cabling infrastructure, then you cannot use the new equipment without re-cabling. This is a given for your data network, but what about your security or building automation cable? Typically these have been separate networks with proprietary cable and special connectors. The challenge with this approach is that the infrastructure is as dated as the technology and must be replaced.
It is difficult to predict the future, but it’s safe to say that there will be more devices that require connectivity that will drive increased bandwidth requirements; we will never be happy with less bandwidth or slower speeds. Given these criteria, plus adding maximum flexibility for investment protection, it’s clear that your cabling infrastructure must support multiple upgrade cycles, often for equipment that doesn’t even exist yet. The best way to achieve all of your infrastructure and future-proofing goals is to be educated about what the cabling standards are for your application and where possible to implement those in your facility.
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Jennifer Roback is a Regional Technical Director at CommScope. Prior to joining CommScope, Jennifer spent 15 years with Praxis Computing and PlanNet Consulting in various IT Management, Sales Engineering, Project Management and Infrastructure Design positions. She has also served on advisory boards for Cisco Systems, Ingram Micro and Apple Computer. She is a Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD), a Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). She has written and presented on various topics in the IT industry including Intelligent Infrastructures. Jennifer holds a bachelors degree from the University of California, Riverside.