BHG Stadium to enhance fan experience

Article by Coliseum, published August 17, 2018

Image: MJR Group Ltd.

Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, popularly known as ‘The Swamp’, is poised to significantly improve its fan experience on match days with an upgraded state-of-the-art WiFi technology next year.

The University Athletic Association has begun installing equipment for high-density Wi-Fi inside The Swamp – home of Florida Gators – which is bound to boost fans interactive experiences socially in real time as they could stay connected through all of their wireless devices during the match days.

According to the Gators’ official website the $6.3 million project, which is in partnership with Extreme Networks and Verizon Business Markets, began in July with conduit, wiring and under seat enclosures that will house more than 1,100 wireless access points throughout the seating bowl.

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“We’ve had a variety of upgrades to our connectivity systems over the years, but this will truly be a game-changing experience for our fans,” Athletic Director Scott Stricklin was quoted as saying by the website.

“We are making a significant commitment so that fans will be able to enjoy the game and stay connected with their friends and share all of the great experiences that come with being at The Swamp on a Saturday.”

Fans may occasionally experience active WI-FI during the installation, tuning and testing of the system in 2018, before the system is fully operational for 2019.

Extreme’s software-driven, secure, and smart network infrastructure is purposely engineered to meet the unique, demanding requirements of high-density public environments. Their solutions consider the strategic goals of the organization and the specific physical characteristics of the venue, delivering robust Wi-Fi solutions to meet the expectations of highly-connected fans and to support the mission-critical operations of the organization.

Extreme is the Official Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Analytics Provider of the National Football League, including 11 NFL venues using its stadium Wi-Fi technology and an additional 17 NFL teams using their Wi-Fi analytics technology.

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