Feb 5, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks fans watch a Super Bowl championship parade pass thru downtown Seattle. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
“Do they have Wi-Fi?”
A question most people concern themselves with as much as if there will be free parking at an event. That question has been answered by CDW, a technology solutions-based company that focuses on business, education, and healthcare.
The Arizona Cardinals organization has partnered with CDW to make Super Bowl XLIX, being held at the University of Phoenix Stadium (home of the Cardinals), completely Wi-Fi-enabled. For all of the projected 72,000 plus fans who will probably have at least one device accompanying them, CDW’s new high density network promises to provide fans with “robust, secure access on game days and enables anywhere access for the coaches, players and staff.”
The new network was completed in three months, and will provide secure access in the stadium, outdoor concourse, and parking lots. CDW has a dedicated staff to maintain the network that has greatly increased access points and ten times as much bandwidth as was previously available.
Along with the new Wi-Fi system, there will be a unified communications network set up for the football team for their day-to-day operations.
“In addition, our work with the Cardinals to improve business operations for the team shows how sports organizations – like any large enterprise – can benefit from business technology solutions to improve operational efficiency,” says Neal Campbell, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of CDW.
The unified system will allow up to 50 face-to-face video calls to happen simultaneously. CDW will also enable Adobe Creative Cloud for team’s licenses that will allow the Cardinals to create artwork for tickets, magazines, and autographed cards.
“We wanted to be able to use our network to connect our fans, our staff and our buildings in new ways,” said Mark Feller, Vice President of Technology for the Arizona Cardinals.
