Overview
A tech revolution
The AFL & Marvel Stadium are striving to make Marvel the most technologically advanced stadium in the Southern Hemisphere. Working with Telstra and Cisco, seven networks were unified into a single converged system featuring seamless use of 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi 6, as well as Australian-first antenna designs. Technology now enables exciting revenue opportunities across hospitality, fan engagement, and services to venue clients. Across 700+ events each year, the stadium now enjoys seamless, high-quality networking to every seat in the house.
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0M2 million visitors served each year across 650 events.
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0+Concert attendees demanding high speed wireless in all stadium areas.
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0+IPTV screens throughout the stadium.
Challenge
Powering better fan experiences
Since opening in 2000, Marvel Stadium has operated all year round as one of Australia’s premier stadium venues. Owned and operated by the Australian Football League, the stadium has consistently pursued a vision to be an innovative arena and home to world leading fan experiences.
The stadium’s existing platform operated on multiple disparate networks throughout the precinct. With a small internal technology team, this caused significant management overhead and reduced the AFL’s capacity for exploring transformative new ideas.
The team needed its next generation network to be stable, reliable, and to offer more automation opportunities that drive greater value for money and to unlock new digital-powered experiences that make being there in person even more exciting for fans.
Ensuring that the fans, whether they were coming to a footy game or a concert or any one of the other events that we run here, had an amazing experience and that that was really connected was just such a key criteria.
Bec Haagsma
Executive General Manager Customer, Commercial & Technology, AFL
Solution
A unified stadium network
The AFL has enjoyed a long-term partnership with both Telstra and Cisco, working together since 2014 to implement technology across all its operations, from Telstra’s national networks and IT services support to Cisco’s network hardware, contact centre technologies, and Webex conferencing platform.
With trust in their combined market leading solutions, the AFL worked closely with its tech partners to examine the Marvel Stadium infrastructure requirements in detail to upgrade to best of breed technology for the stadium’s future.
The redesigned network would underpin every aspect of modern operations for staff, venue clients, and fans. With AFL headquarters in the Marvel Stadium precinct, the design needed to unify networking across its administrative operations as well as stadium infrastructure, hospitality and retail services, entertainment systems, and wireless access services for clients and stadium visitors. This would simplify systems management, while shifting IT toward an enabler of innovations that improve revenue streams instead of just a cost centre.
Heavy concrete structures and vast walls of glass make for difficult wireless signal flows, and when up to 20,000 fans are on the field of play during concerts it is a significant design task to keep them connected during the show.
Telstra and Cisco partnered to design and deliver 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi 6 services throughout Marvel Stadium, mapping every area from seating zones, food service areas, administration offices, to locker rooms and more, in order to maximise quality and reliability of services.
For the stadium field of play, an Australian first antenna system was installed to create a new eight zone environment across the 19,000m2 arena floor and 14 zones in the stands, to create a best-in-class solution that enhances fan connectivity during concert events.
Telstra has partnered with the AFL for more than 20 years, starting with building their first website to a full digital partnership.
Peggy Renders
Chief Customer Officer, Telstra Enterprise
Impact
High bandwidth performance
With the new network infrastructure in place, AFL & Marvel Stadium can offer greatly enhanced live experiences to visiting sports fans and event attendees. The team now operates with full confidence that every corner of the stadium is digitally connected. From the gates to the underground car parks and every seat in the arena, the team can lean into new partnerships with third party service providers who rely on reliable networks to drive their innovative solutions.
1500+ screen IPTV system delivers video feeds throughout the stadium from the broadcast control centre. Retail operations now include outlets where visitors can opt for checkout free food and beverage purchasing, reducing wait times and improving speed of service. The Marvel Stadium app also offers engaging new fan-controlled cameras that let visitors take unique pictures of their group from the roof of the stadium via robotic cameras.
The arena floor Wi-Fi improvements have also been tested during major concert events, more than doubling wireless speeds fans can enjoy while delivering significant improvements to concurrent wireless connections thanks to the new antenna systems.
With the innovation ceiling lifted, AFL & Marvel Stadium continue to explore more third-party services to integrate with its hospitality and entertainment portfolio on-site to make the venue more attractive than ever for clients and event visitors
The AFL has a big vision for Marvel Stadium and together with Telstra, we're moving beyond simply watching the game to experiencing it like never before.”
Bec Haagsma
Executive General Manager Customer, Commercial & Technology, AFL
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