FC Cincinnati tech boost with Atomic deal

Article posted by Coliseum, March 2^nd, 2023

Image: FC Cincinnati

The Major League Soccer (MLS) team FC Cincinnati recently announced Atomic Data, the club’s IT as a Service provider, as its Official IT Partner, Official Wi-Fi Provider and title sponsor for the 300-level suites at its residence – the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, US.

‘FC Cincinnati’ stated that as a part of the five-year agreement, the Atomic Data becomes the exclusive naming rights partner for the 300-level suites and the fan-facing Wi-Fi at the TQL Stadium.

The FC Cincinnati is a professional soccer team that plays in Major League Soccer (MLS), having entered the league as its 24^th team in 2019. The club’s wide and diverse ownership group is led by the controlling owner Carl H. Lindner III, as well as managing owners Meg Whitman, Dr. Griff Harsh, Scott Farmer, and George Joseph. Originally founded in 2015 by Lindner III and now co-head honcho Jeff Berding, FC Cincinnati began play in the United Soccer League (USL) in 2016. The club won the 2018 USL Regular-Season Championship in record-setting fashion and earned post-season berths in all three of its USL seasons. FC Cincinnati opened the club’s privately-funded, 26,000-seat soccer-specific TQL Stadium in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati in 2021.

The TQL Stadium, called the West End Stadium during construction, is a soccer-specific stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home of FC Cincinnati, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team that had been temporarily playing at the 40,000-capacity Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati.

The Atomic Data is an on-demand, always-on, pay-as-you-go expert extension of the enterprise’s technology and team, always acting in the client’s and the community’s best interest.

‘FC Cincinnati’ further stated that starting this season, the 300-level will be renamed the ‘Atomic Data Suite Level’ and fans will connect to the free stadium Wi-Fi using the name ‘#AtomicData FanWiFi@TQLStadium’.

Remarked Jeff Berding, FC Cincinnati Co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO), “Atomic Data has been a reliable partner since we began building the TQL Stadium in 2019. We are excited to continue this valuable partnership to provide our fans with free, accessible Wi-Fi on gamedays, and exceptional information technology (IT) for our club. We are also proud to unveil the ‘Atomic Data Suite Level’ for fans this season, and beyond.”

Jeff Berding, Co-CEO, FC Cincinnati, US, is a Member of Coliseum Strategic Committee.

On this, Atomic Data’s latest foray into the sports and entertainment market, Jim Wolford, CEO, shared, “FC Cincinnati is one of those clubs that puts its money where its mouth is. They view technology as a means to differentiate their brand, and we couldn’t agree more. So, it was only natural to build upon our past wins together and cement the partnership with this long-term agreement. We look forward to bringing the best in sports and venue technology to FC Cincinnati and its fans. “

The partnership between Atomic Data and FC Cincinnati is years in the making. Beginning in 2019, Atomic Data first served as FC Cincinnati’s owner’s technology representative and provided holistic technology oversight before and during the construction of the TQL Stadium. During that time, Atomic Data and Aruba Networks were selected to design, build, install, and manage the wired and wireless network at the TQL Stadium. Following the successful, under-budget Stadium launch, the partnership expanded further in 2021 to include comprehensive IT as a Service for the club’s Cincinnati office and the Mercy Health Training Center. In this role, Atomic Data will be providing information security hardening, systems upgrades, and other IT services. To meet the team’s onsite technology needs, Atomic Data continues to grow its presence in Ohio, where it now employs several full-time staff.

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