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Sports Facilities Technology

Silicon Valley's New Levi's Stadium is the World's Highest-Tech Stadium Yet

August 19, 2014

(SPORTS TECHNOLOGY)

The fabled 'Internet of Things' may have finally arrived in the new home of the San Francisco 49ers. Located right in the heart of tech-savvy Silicon Valley, the new Levi's Stadium is filled to the brim with high-tech infrastructure. A powerful enough Wi-Fi and private 4G networking system is designed to accommodate a full load of fans, easily adding up to more than 70,000 simultaneously. Ultimately the tech tools are meant to bring the fans closer to the game with personalized services, and so far this has been the case, and the first regular-season NFL game is set to take place in the stadium on September 14th.


Image via Shutterstock

One of the biggest issues the NFL has contended with for years was fan engagement. A full-length football game generally only has about 15 minutes worth of actual action, and fans often spend the down-time grabbing a beer or a hot dog. At Levi's Stadium however, fans will have Internet access, and he ability to access player stats, instant replays and other media. That way, when a major play goes down, fans are already in their seats and cheering instead of idling downtime away at the food vendors.

According to 49ers chief operating officer Al Guido, “The 49ers wanted to transform the in-stadium fan experience and make it possible to see the action live but still have the similar features that a fan has at home while watching the game on TV.”

To meet that dream, Levi's Stadium was outfitted with over 400 miles of cabling, 70 of which are alone dedicated to connecting 1,200 distributed Wi-Fi antennas, positioned under seats to serve nearby fans. The stadium's bandwidth is 40 times as powerful as any known stadium in the United States, and is easily scalable to meet current attendance levels. The stadium even has its own smartphone and tablet app, which guides visitors to their seats, shows replays of live games and even order food and drink.




Edited by Stefania Viscusi