New technology to transform the Eden Park experience

Work is underway at Auckland’s Eden Park to install new technology that allows key public-facing areas of the stadium to be ‘re-skinned’ in an instant.

Eden Park Trust Chief Executive David Kennedy says the Park is working with partners Panasonic, Gen-i - and its partner Cisco - to transform the spectator experience.

“Together, we are aiming for seamless connectivity from ticketing, entry and security systems to super screens and tailored advertising displays with automated texts,” says Mr Kennedy.

“Many people now have the latest technology in their living rooms, so the challenge for stadiums around the world is to look at how real-time information and interactive media can be used to create an electric atmosphere inside the stadium,” says Mr Kennedy.

Panasonic, who have had a 22 year partnership with the stadium, will create New Zealand’s two biggest LED super screens measuring 110m² each and containing 1.1million LED lights. Each screen measures 12.8m wide, 8.6m high and 2.5m deep.

“Panasonic leads the world in super screen technology – the Eden Park super screens will build directly on our experiences with large screens for the Birds Nest Stadium in Beijing and this year’s Vancouver winter Olympics,” says Panasonic’s Managing Director Stew Fowler.

The super screens, which will bring all the raw emotion and action into close view, will be made up of over 90 separate panels measuring just over one square metre each.

Panasonic are also installing around 300 plasma displays which will be located throughout the stadium and centrally managed via a video control room which is being built in the new South Stand.

Gen-i and its partner Cisco are working together to deploy a new technology platform for the Park.

The infrastructure they provide will include data, voice, video, security, wireless, building management and physical security, converging all the technology needs of the stadium through an Internet Protocol (IP) based backbone.

The platform allows Eden Park to stream media from any source, targeting it to specific areas of the stadium and changing the content at a moment’s notice.

“Technology is playing an ever larger role in stadiums all over the world – both for improving the efficiency of stadium operations and providing spectators with a more interactive and personalised game experience,” says Gen-i GM National Corporate Sales, Steve Mills.

“The platform we are installing provides Eden Park with a range of possibilities that can be tailored to suit diverse events. It will allow the stadium to display targeted information to individual monitors. Game statistics, traffic updates, even menu boards can be updated in real time while in the future, spectators could text through their food order or even change the camera angle for the replay,” says Mr Mills.

A signature initiative is a signage system known as Cisco StadiumVision which will provide targeted information throughout the stadium, and encourage crowd interaction

“Although there will continue to be traditional signage at the ground, the digital system will provide the stadium with more flexibility, allow enhanced crowd interaction and reduce the labour intensive work of manually changing-out all the signage for various events throughout a season,” says Geoff Lawrie, Cisco NZ Country Manager.

The system will also be of huge value to sponsors who can create more targeted and timely messages to spectators by using the screens throughout the stadium and also via SMS.

The Panasonic super screens and a range of technology initiatives will be in place for the Rugby League double header in November as Eden Park continues preparations for the Rugby World Cup 2011 and beyond.

“These technology upgrades will provide the finishing touches at the Park and ensure our spectators have a truly rich and multi-media experience when enjoying the live action at Eden Park,” Mr Kennedy concluded.