Smart Venue & Digitalisation of sports facilities - Roig Arena, Valencia, Spain

Opened in Valencia in 2025, Roig Arena is one of Europe’s most technologically advanced new indoor venues. Home to Valencia Basket and with a capacity of up to 20,000 for concerts, the arena integrates high-density Wi-Fi and 5G connectivity, a dedicated venue app and extensive digital infrastructure. More than 1,700 m² of LED displays include one of Europe’s highest-resolution arena scoreboards, a 500 m² indoor videowall and digital technology throughout its premium spaces. Víctor Sendra Peretó, General Manager of Roig Arena, will share the thinking behind the venue’s digital strategy and the lessons learned from bringing a new-generation smart arena into operation.

This Masterclass examines how sports facilities can develop into smart, connected venues, using digitalisation to improve the fan journey, streamline operations and create new commercial opportunities. The session provides an in-depth exploration of key smart venue strategies, including:

• Connectivity – Wi-Fi, DAS & 5G: Building the digital backbone required to support tens of thousands of connected fans, venue systems, mobile applications and future technologies.
• The Digital Fan Journey: Connecting ticketing, access, parking, wayfinding, food and beverage, merchandise, loyalty and other services through mobile platforms to create a seamless experience before, during and after an event.
• Data & Personalisation: Bringing together data from ticketing, payments, apps, Wi-Fi and other touchpoints to better understand fan behaviour, personalise communication and identify new commercial opportunities.
• Digital Signage & Content Distribution: Using IPTV, LED displays and digital signage for information, wayfinding, advertising, merchandising and dynamic content throughout the venue.
• Smart Building & IoT: Integrating building management systems, sensors and connected devices to optimise lighting, HVAC, energy consumption, maintenance and the overall performance of the facility.
• Artificial Intelligence & Automation: Exploring how AI, predictive analytics, chatbots and automation can improve customer service, venue management, maintenance and decision-making.
• Integration & the Technology Ecosystem: Ensuring different platforms and systems can communicate with each other, avoiding isolated technology solutions and creating a scalable digital architecture that can evolve over the lifetime of the venue.
• Investment, ROI & Future-Proofing: Understanding which technologies genuinely add value, where investment should be prioritised and how venues can avoid technology becoming obsolete before the building itself.

 

This Masterclass provides venue executives with practical insights into how digitalisation can transform both the fan experience and the operation of a sports facility, while addressing one of the industry's most important questions: How much technology does a venue really need?

Safety & Security of Sports Venues - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, US

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta has recently faced one of the biggest security and operational challenges in world sport, hosting six matches during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 followed by eight matches, including a semi-final, during the FIFA World Cup 2026. The stadium’s SVP of Security and Guest Experience will share first-hand lessons learned from both tournaments, from crowd management and security operations to international coordination, changing FIFA requirements and the challenges of safely delivering the world’s biggest football events.

With the AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia approaching in January, safety and security are becoming an even greater priority for stadiums and host city venues across the Kingdom. Major sports and entertainment events bring large numbers of people together in high-profile environments, requiring comprehensive, layered and continuously evolving approaches to risk management.

This Masterclass will focus on today’s key challenges and practical solutions:

• Crowd Safety & Movement: Managing large crowds, circulation, entry and exit, queues and high-density areas.
• Security & Threat Prevention: Identifying risks, protecting people and infrastructure and developing effective layers of security.
• Emergency Preparedness: Planning for major incidents, evacuation, crisis management and business continuity.
• Venue Perimeters & Public Realm: Protecting increasingly complex areas outside the venue, including hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM).
• Drones & Emerging Threats: Managing unauthorised drones and developing appropriate counter-UAS strategies.
• Technology & AI: Using video analytics, predictive crowd modelling, incident detection and decision-support systems to identify and manage risks.
• Cybersecurity: Protecting ticketing, access control, communications, building systems and other connected venue infrastructure.
• Cybersecurity: Protecting ticketing, access control, communications, building systems and other connected venue infrastructure.
• Training & Coordination: Scenario planning, staff training, control-room operations and cooperation between venues, police, emergency services and other authorities.

 

The Masterclass will explore how venues can move from reactive response towards proactive risk management, combining people, procedures and technology to create safer and more secure environments.

Sustainability of Sports Venues

True sustainability requires both environmental responsibility and financial stability. Sports venues need to reduce their environmental impact while remaining commercially viable and financially sustainable over the long term.

This Masterclass will focus on practical strategies across both dimensions:

• Operational Efficiency: Reducing operating costs through smarter use of energy, water, technology and other resources.
• Energy & Carbon Reduction: Renewable energy, energy-efficient systems and realistic pathways towards reducing carbon emissions.
• Water Management: Rainwater harvesting, wastewater management and reducing water consumption.
• Waste & Circular Economy: Reducing waste, reusing materials, recycling, composting and responsible food management.
• Sustainable Mobility: Public transport, cycling, electric vehicles and reducing the environmental impact of spectator travel.
• Long-Term Maintenance & Investment: Designing, maintaining and upgrading facilities with their entire lifecycle in mind.
• Beyond Greenwashing: Moving from sustainability claims and targets to measurable actions and genuine results.

 

The Masterclass will explore how financial performance and environmental responsibility can work together – creating sports venues that are sustainable not only on paper, but in their day-to-day operation and over their entire lifecycle.