New York, NY. — One of the biggest frustrations for the connected sports fan these days is the complete uselessness of their smartphone while attending most sporting events. 50,000 (or more) of fellow fans pack into a stadium and the 4G or Wi-Fi networks are quickly overloaded and unable to provide use.
The NFL has been working hard to correct this issue in all stadiums, and yesterday they took a major step towards improvement when they announced the selection of Extreme Networks Inc. as the official analytics provider for the NFL and Super Bowl XLVII. The announcement was a joint event, held at the National Football League Headquarters in New York, NY, and we were fortunate to be included.
By the terms of the deal, all NFL teams are going to gain access to Extreme’s Wi-Fi analytics information which will enable teams to monitor their Wi-Fi signal quality and address problems with their networks quickly and effectively. With Extreme assisting teams in this effort, the teams will have real-time monitoring and feedback to ensure that issues do not linger and potential problems are handled quickly.
Extreme is already utilized by five teams in four stadiums around the NFL. These teams are the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, New York Giants and the New York Jets. The Lions and Eagles had technology executives at the announcement.
The deal is a landmark for Extreme as they add a major new customer in the NFL. It is also a big move for the League to address the growing disparity between the constantly improving in-home watching experience and the struggles that have plagued the stadium experience as they attempt to keep up with the equivalent amenities enjoyed at home.
“The league talks a lot about competition from the experience you get at home — quite frankly, HD TV, your couch, your own beer, that’s a pretty good experience,” said Mike Leibovitz, Extreme’s director of mobility and applications. “I think they certainly want to continue having large attendance at all venues. They believe that technology, being able to use technology to deliver experiences you can’t get at home, is key to doing this.”
Strong Wi-Fi signals at all NFL stadiums will allow teams to do a lot more with their fans throughout the game. It will enable fans to communicate with friends outside the stadium and check out of town scores on their phone as well as fantasy sports information that has boomed in popularity throughout the years.
Anne Gordon, the Senior VP Media & Communications for the Philadelphia Eagles said,
“Making Wi-Fi available as well as improving video boards enhances fan experience in a digital and social way whether you are the stadium or not. WiFi has become expected and season-ticket holders also told us about battery drain with slower networks.”
An example of the benefit from having a strong wireless network comes from the New England Patriots, who were able to channel live audio feeds from players to fans in the stands through their smart devices. Their app also provided video on demand from all cameras in Gillette Stadium, enabling fans to see the game from whichever angle they desired. The Patriots also enabled their fans with the ability to order food from their seats and to assess the length of the bathroom lines in their areas, in order to avoid missing as much of the game as possible.
The deal was accomplished in part due to Extreme’s great relationship with the Patriots and Robert Kraft’s support for the company to the NFL and other teams throughout the League. Extreme is looking to expand to other leagues as well is increases its’ profile with the NFL partnership.
“Really, what it comes down to is the problems you have providing wireless to a stadium are similar to the problems you have providing wireless to a hospital or a large corporate campus,” Leibovitz said. “These are large enterprise problems.”
The announcement has set the tone for the future of technology within the in-stadium experience. To hear executives with the NFL speak, it is imperative for NFL stadiums to catch-up to in-home technology as it continues to try to compete with the in-home experience.
Michael Stokes, the COO Business Ventures NFL said:
“The at-home experience is improving, but the home and stadium experiences are inter-connected. You would think that television wants to try and keep people at home, but our broadcast partners want full stadiums. They want people at home to feel the excitement at the game, so it works well for all parties involved.”
It will be exciting to see how this partnership evolves for the NFL and how other leagues follow suit.