Whitepaper: Connected Stadium Solutions
by Clive Mitchell
Global Chief Architect for Media & Telco
@WiproDigital
In the digital age, stadiums are evolving beyond physical venues, leveraging technology to expand their reach to global audiences or become self-contained entertainment ecosystems. Whether from a fan engagement or an eco-friendly (smart facility) perspective, more and more companies are developing ideas around ‘Connected Stadiums.’
While these solutions are a significant investment, companies frequently overlook how investors will benefit, and how to properly identify the needs of the correct target consumer. Are they succeeding according to the stadium’s primary objectives? Solutions such as the Rugby Channel (Omnigon) are simply a video OTT solution to enable customers (fans) to stream live video content. But how do you assess the value it creates? The Real Madrid Fan Engagement (Microsoft) mobile application is doing really well if the target consumer is the sporting franchise and its primary objective is to increase the franchise’s customer base.
Many organisations offering Connected Stadium solutions have been focused on the wrong business model, targeting the sporting franchises directly and the stadium stakeholders only indirectly. Neither of these examples really seek to justify the fundamental issue for a stadium investor — how do you shorten the time to recover the $1B investment on a new stadium, so it does not become a 12–15 year incurred debt?
