Facilities Management for Sports Organizations

photo: thecontentauthority.com

Wireless connectivity is an issue for Sports Organizations due to the yearly increasing Wi-Fi access need for fans and their mobile devices along with the media.  As the need for bandwidth increases, so does the cost for each sports team to maintain the connectivity devices.  Additionally, sports teams like MLB’s San Francisco Giants pay an undisclosed seven-figure sum each year for 375 access points, according to Sports Business Daily.com.  Sports organizations will have to make a decision to either pay seven figure annual fees or rent monthly at five to six figure prices.

It is important for Sports Organizations to offer this capability, if
they want fans to return to their venue on a continual basis.  Sports arenas are trying to keep up with the supreme increase of bandwidth needed to run Wi-Fi equipment for sports arena staff, television media, and the fans. According to Biz Tech Magazine.com, one professional sports team in Miami uses over 1,200 Wi-Fi access points.  According to State Tech Magazine.com, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia used 500 access points for the 2013 Men’s NCAA Final Four weekend.  The 2012 Olympic committee in London used a company called Ofcom to assign 20,000 access points to assure robustness for the high traffic, according to Electronics Weekly.com.

photo: Chick-fil-Abowl.com

The affect the wireless connectivity issue could have on the Marketing, Promotions, and Entertainment capabilities are enormous.  Without a Wi-Fi connection in sporting arenas, fans cannot immediately upload and share event photos with family, friends, and associates.  This could cause major issues where fans will not want to return to arenas with no Wi-Fi connection.  Cisco Systems states they have an answer for all professional sports stadiums.  Cisco currently use what they refer to as, “a high-density wireless network”, according to Biz Tech Magazine.com.

Wireless connectivity issues affect the Revenue Generation potential because teams have not found a way for a return on their investment through Wi-Fi yet.  According to Biz Tech Magazine.com, Matt Higgins, CEO of RSE Ventures states, “A team can’t come up with the ROI on that investment…” Professional teams will need to find a way to balance the cost for Wi-Fi connections at their arenas for financial planning.  If teams can project future costs for Wi-Fi, they may be able to project income revenue.

photo: newyork.cbslocal.com

This issue influences the future of a Sports Organization on how well they can close the loop on generating proper Wi-Fi connectivity.  The NFL’s San Francisco 49ers will have a new stadium built by the summer of 2014.  According to PC Mag.com, the 49ers IT professionals claim, “Every single fan will be able to connect to the wireless network, simultaneously, without any limits on uploads or downloads”.  According to the NY Times.com, the Technology section stated the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY already adopted Cisco’s high-density wireless network.  Sports organizations should have a greater influence and connection with fans with this type of technology in place and growing.