The Atlanta Falcons are in construction of Mercedes Benz Stadium, a state of the art venue that is scheduled to open in 2017 and bring a multitude of new technologies that the sporting world has yet to see.
The crown jewel of the new Mercedes Benz Stadium will come from the Falcons partnership with Daktronics, an industry leader in creating scoreboards and display systems, to create a 360 degree, 63,000 square-foot HD Halo video board that will be positioned at the center of the venue giving every fan a perfect view of the action. The stadium will also feature more than 2,000 video displays that will encompass everything from menu boards to televisions for fans to watch the game. Every display throughout the stadium will be connected through an IPTV system that will allow the stadium to control what is being played on every display throughout the venue.
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The goal in creating a venue like Mercedes Benz Stadium is to allow fans to enjoy all of the technology that it has to offer without having to worry about what goes on behind the scenes. Jared Miller, Chief Technology Officer for AMB Sports & Entertainment, was tasked with bringing all of this technology into fruition. “We’re at the point now with the technology plan where we’re moving from the paper-based design and entering the implementation stage,” said Miller. Mercedes Benz Stadium has partnered with IBM to be the official systems integrator for the venue and their goal is to make sure that every piece of technology can perform in sync. “No one piece of software can work in a vacuum and that’s why integrations are so important,” said Miller.
IBM is also helping Mercedes Benz Stadium create a “smarter stadium”, which will feature a Passive Optical Network (PON), an advanced fiber-based optical network to ensure connectivity for fast, reliable WiFi, video displays and digital signage all while consuming less power. The PON will be the first of it’s kind to ever be used in an NFL stadium. The network will require over 1,800 wireless access points and over 4,000 miles of fiber to accommodate 75,000 people. The PON drastically reduces the amount of power and cooling required for technology throughout the stadium and will help contribute of the overall sustainability aspect of the building.
The venue will also feature a field level technology suite that features a data center to store all of the systems that are required to run the technology. The suite will also include a network operations center where every system will converge to ensure that all systems are up and running. Finally, the technology suite will be the first of it’s kind in featuring a production control room on the field level. “The world of production is going through a major technology transformation and we believe that it was most appropriate for them to converge with the rest of the IT infrastructure,” said Miller.
“I’m very proud of what we’re deploying and I’m also very excited to see it all come to life,” said Miller. The ultimate goal for the venue is to create the best possible fan experience and with an allotment of new technology the Falcons are hoping that Mercedes Benz Stadium will do just that.