The Philadelphia Eagles have, perhaps more than any other team in football, taken steps to make their home turf, Lincoln Financial Field, as eco-friendly and technologically current as possible. Wind turbines tower over the end zone stands, and solar panels line the stadium’s southern facade and upper deck overhangs.
Starting this season, Panasonic will fill the 14-year-old venue with high-density Wi-Fi, an improvement over the Wi-Fi the Eagles initially installed in 2013 — with 600 access points for 40,000 users — as part of a series of upgrades.
Called Everest and introduced in April, the new Wi-Fi will require far less infrastructure and support many more simultaneous users performing more data-intensive activities. It can support 500 users connected through one access point at the same time.
“Upgrading Lincoln Financial Field’s Wi-Fi network is all part of our team’s ongoing commitment to provide the best in-game experience for our fans,” John Pawling, Eagles CTO and vice president of information technology, said in a statement.
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Lincoln Financial Field is the first major sports venue in the United States to install Everest. The new system was in place for the Eagles’ thrilling home opener on Sept. 24, when 24,447 fans were actively connected; Wi-Fi at “The Linc” is offered for free by the team. At its peak usage, the announcement states, Everest delivered over five gigabits of data per second, amounting to 4.43 terabytes of data.
“Panasonic’s Everest system was the optimal choice for Lincoln Financial Field,” Don Smolenski, the Eagles’ president, said in a statement. “It offered us the lowest total cost of ownership, incredible data speeds, and we didn’t have to compromise the integrity of our building infrastructure. We view Everest as the next generation of stadium Wi-Fi, and a great investment in our fan experience.”
Now that the Eagles have Everest installed in Lincoln Financial Field, their shared focus with Panasonic — which has a named entry gate at the stadium — can turn to offering more innovative mobile and connected fan experiences.
“Everest’s performance for the Eagles’ home opener was exceptional,” Danny Abelson, the vice president of connectivity for Panasonic Enterprise Solutions, said in a statement. “The success metrics indicate a technology paradigm shift in sports and entertainment connectivity. Panasonic is grateful to the Eagles organization for its technology leadership and commitment to a great fan experience.”