University of Tennessee Expands WiFi Access to 102,000-Seat Stadium

  • By Matt Jones
  • 05/09/24

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., recently deployed a new network offering blanket WiFi 6E access to all 101,195 seats in its historic Neyland Stadium, according to a news release. The project’s goal is to provide unlimited content streaming and other modern mobile services to fans during the entire game-day experience. It will also allow for the smooth operation of other stadium services like mobile ticketing, physical security, point-of-sale systems, and communication. The university partnered with HPE Aruba Networking.

“Exceptional game day and special event experiences play an important part in fulfilling our mission to lead the way forward in all aspects of college sports,” said Thomas Moats, Jr., the University of Tennessee Athletics’ assistant athletic director for Information Technology. “Adopting wireless connectivity, including Wi-Fi 6E, from HPE Aruba Networking enables us to achieve our connected stadium goals for supplying next-generation mobile experiences that contribute to an exceptional fan experience.”

Moats also said that applications range from touchless gate entry to monitoring other sporting events to providing children’s entertainment to social media access. It has also improved wait times at all of the stadium’s 26 gates.

The AI-powered management solutions YPE Aruba Networking User Experience Insight (UXI) and HPE Aruba Networking Central on Premises will provide both real-time network health and performance monitoring as well as network optimization and security, respectively.

“With HPE Aruba Networking Central we gain an intuitive management solution that helps us rapidly troubleshoot our network and provides real-time insights for optimizing Wi-Fi performance during fast-moving events,” said Moats. “In addition to supporting a wide range of currently-connected solutions, we’ll be able to roll out many new IoT solutions, such as restroom and lighting management systems for further improved attendee experiences and operational sustainability.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at mjones@1105media.com.

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