Transcript
The Stadium of the Future Insight teams with the Arizona Cardinals to launch the world’s most innovative sports and entertainment venue The Arizona Cardinals kicked off a new era in their franchise’s history when they opened the 2006 NFL season in their state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue. Insight’s involvement in the project began long before – and continues long after – the opening day festivities at University of Phoenix Stadium. From late 2004 to the summer of 2006, Insight engaged in the construction, testing and turn-up of the venue’s IT architecture. Today, Insight provides ongoing support to this benchmark facility that has hosted concerts and tradeshows, postseason NCAA football and basketball events, and Super Bowl XLII. This is how we did it.
FIGURE 1. Hardware and Software Overview • Over 1,000 Cisco IP-based telephones including color touch-screen models in the suites and lofts • Cisco CallManager™, Cisco Unified Messaging™ and Cisco Unified Contact Center™ technologies supporting all inbound and outbound voice traffic for the facility • Over 100 Cisco wireless access points supporting the 802.11 data coverage within the facility • Over 99 Omni-directional antennas strategically placed throughout the facility to support 802.11a/b/g, cellular and public safety radio spectrum for the entire facility • APC® InfrastruXure™ modular rack solution supporting all technology in the main data facility and ensuring 30-minute up-time for critical cutover to building reserve power generators • APC NetworkAIR FM50 cooling unit supports the main data facilities cooling needs in addition to building environmentals • 400+ high-definition Sony LCD televisions mounted in the club level, suites and lofts • The IP network communications system is designed to host video conferencing, concierge services and optional order entry from phones at a future date • Sumitomo FutureFLEX® Air-Blown Fiber Optical Cabling backbone and Systimax™ Horizontal Cat 6E cable systems • Cisco StadiumVision IPTV solution for IP enabled Video Head-end and access to IPTV signal throughout the facility
The Challenge A new era in Arizona Cardinals history commenced when the NFL franchise kicked off the 2006 season in metropolitan Phoenix’s new, state-of-the-art, sports and entertainment venue. Insight was and remains a key player in the project that has become University of Phoenix Stadium. Early in a design process that began in 2004, venue stakeholders identified event flexibility and rapid reconfiguration as a priority for a facility expected to host over 250 football and non-football events per year. With funding from both the Cardinals and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, the venue had to support a multitude of events including the NFL franchise’s minimum 10 annual home games, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the BCS National Championship, concerts, tradeshows and more throughout the year. Particular facility design consideration was given to flexibility elements – including a retractable roof and removable field – that accommodated modification of the space with minimal effort and cost overhead. Furthermore, IT architecture had to meet these same flexibility requirements to support a high rate of event turnover. Beyond flexibility, the IT architecture had to reliably deliver and support many critical services including point of sale systems, wired and wireless endpoints, and voice, video and data communications. After researching solutions providers, the Cardinals picked Insight – a Fortune 500 IT solutions provider headquartered in nearby Tempe – to handle every step of this massive undertaking. From late 2004 to the summer of 2006, Insight engaged in the construction, testing and turn-up of the venue’s IT architecture. After the facility’s opening, Insight continued to provide ongoing IT support for the facility.
“We wanted someone who could provide the entire technology infrastructure for the stadium as well as our headquarters and practice facilities,” says Cardinals Vice President, Technology Mark Feller. “But we also wanted someone who could support it all—in the long term.”
The Solution Seeking to provide an immersive technology experience to stadium visitors, Insight’s team of technical experts and engineers worked closely with the Cardinals and key technology partner Cisco to design and deploy an InsightConnectedSM network solution covering the entire venue. Throughout construction, Insight performed the role of Technology General Contractor for the trades related to voice and data networking and support technologies including technology power management and structured cabling. Insight coordinated design, engineering and implementation with the general contractor’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing staffs and the building’s engineers to ensure the solution design met operational specifications and owner requirements. This approach afforded building owners, the general contractor and trade contractors a single interface for questions and concerns around technologyrelated design, implementation and ongoing support. One of the most critical measures of success for the project was ensuring reliable critical systems support in day-to-day operations. The wireless network had to provide uninterrupted cellular and Internet access for fans, media members and team staff. It also had to support public safety radio coverage throughout the facility to ensure fan safety and venue security. With this requirement in mind, Insight recommended building the backbone of the network on the Cisco platform of technologies including core routing and switching, specialized infrastructure for IP voice and wireless and specialty RF communications.
FIGURE 2. 110 Events in 160 Days University of Phoenix Stadium hosted 110 events in its first 160 days of operation. Highlights included: August 4 Cardinals preseason opener vs. Pittsburgh Steelers August 19-20 Public grand opening and tours September 10 Cardinals home opener vs. San Francisco 49ers October 31 International soccer, Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Club America November 8 Rolling Stones concert December 9 Arizona high school football state championships January 1 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Boise State vs. Oklahoma January 8 BCS National Championship, Florida vs. Ohio State The entire network stretches from the team’s practice facility and headquarters in Tempe to its training camp in Flagstaff to the stadium in Glendale and includes over 1,000 IP phones with advanced features such as video conferencing. Inside the venue, the NFL’s first IP-based highdefinition television installation and over 700 Sony high-definition plasma and Philips CRT televisions accommodate advertising and entertainment. And all business operations are supported by IBM servers and Lenovo desktop PCs (see Figure 1). “The IT infrastructure implemented by Insight gives us flexibility that we didn’t have in the past,” says Cardinals President Michael Bidwill. “Since the technology is now entirely IP-based and software-driven, the stadium can be customized to meet the needs of multiple users.”
The Result The InsightConnectedSM solution integrates hardware and software to meet and exceed the needs of both the Cardinals and stadium management. The flexible, stable information systems architecture enables venue operators to reliably and efficiently meet demands for event logistics, scheduling and turnover. This ensures profitable operations and a genuine return on technology investment.
The stadium hosts over a dozen football events each season, in addition to scores of non-football events including tradeshows, meetings, concerts, conventions and more. The facility was not eased into action. Between the Cardinals preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 4, 2006 and the BCS National Championship on January 8, 2007, the venue hosted 110 events in 160 days (see Figure 2). “Those first few months were hectic, but the technology was rock solid,” says Feller. “We didn’t encounter any major issues and Insight was always a phone call away when we needed support. The relationship continues to pay dividends for the Cardinals organization.” Since those busy opening months, University of Phoenix Stadium has racked up a host of accolades (see Figure 3) and hosted NCAA postseason basketball, international soccer matches and Super Bowl XLII. And when the Cardinals punctuated the new era in their history with their own run to Super Bowl XLIII, Insight was there—providing the technology behind the team every step of the way.
FIGURE 3. Awards and Accolades for University of Phoenix Stadium • Top 10 Sports Facilities in the World. Business Week (2006). • Best NFL Facility. Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily (2006, 2007). • Event Site of the Year. Event Solutions Magazine (2007). • Seven Wonders of Arizona. The Arizona Republic (2007). • Best Meeting Venue in Phoenix. Phoenix Business Journal (2007). • Best New Venue of 2000. Sports Illustrated (2009).
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Flexible Wired and Wireless Network Infrastructure University of Phoenix Stadium sets the bar for network provisioning in an event floor space by providing abundant flexibility. Beneath the stadium’s retractable natural grass field, one of the nation’s largest contiguous event floor spaces boasts over 1,000 IP drops in 78 pre-provisioned floor boxes. Access is extended to the rest of the facility via a robust converged wireless network. The wireless network’s flexibility enables it to be segmented to accommodate multiple users without compromising the host network.
IP-Based Television Screens and Video Boards In the run-up to Super Bowl XLII, Insight worked with Cisco to deploy the NFL’s first IP-enabled television infrastructure in University of Phoenix Stadium. This system distributes vivid 1080p high-definition video over the existing IP network. Video is controlled using the color, touch screen IP phones deployed throughout the facility. Insight’s implementation paved the way for subsequent deployments of the technology in new facilities in New York City, Dallas and Miami.
Ongoing Management and Operations Services The Cardinals IT staff partners with Insight to maintain and support the myriad advanced technologies deployed within University of Phoenix Stadium. Through a combination of onsite support staff and proactive maintenance, Insight delivers rock solid support of information technology systems. This ensures effective operations and an outstanding fan experience.
