LAFC, IBM stadium tech partnership to transform live game experience

Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise Los Angeles Football Club announced a new strategic partnership with IBM earlier in October this year.

The partnership will see IBM design and install all elements of the technology infrastructure at the club’s under-construction Banc of California Stadium, which is due to open in 2018 ahead of LAFC’s debut in MLS the same year.

IBM will provide wireless coverage via a converged fibre-based network whilst delivering the overall digital experience throughout the 22,000-seat venue, which is being built at a cost of US$350 million. The company will also install an integrated monitoring and security infrastructure at the stadium.

The deal marks the first soccer-specific stadium partnership in MLS for IBM, which also has deals in place with the likes of Wimbledon and the Masters golf tournament.

This collaboration will provide an enhanced fan experience and will be flexible enough to adapt to new and evolving mobile technologies that seamlessly deliver via the cloud the most innovative and efficient operations for the team, stadium management, business shareholders, fans and others.

Set to debut in 2018, the new development, which will bring more than $350 million in private investment to South Los Angeles, will be the first open-air stadium built in Los Angeles in over 30-years.

Next year’s Coliseum Summit AMERICAS (February 22-23, 2017, Las Vegas, Nevada) will attempt to get a closer look on the MLS-IBM partnership. Continue to follow Coliseum Summit, a global series of stadium and arena business conferences, for latest updates from around the world.

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