In spring 2014, the Wild began working with CDW to replace its Wi-Fi with Cisco Connected Stadium, a scalable network created by Cisco Systems specifically for sports and entertainment venues.
They also rolled out the Cisco StadiumVision content distribution system on all the displays throughout the stadium and upgraded the back end that supported the infrastructure, installing new Cisco access points, switches, routers and cores.
They finished just in time for the Xcel Energy Center to host the 2015 playoffs.
With the new infrastructure in place, the Wild and CDW transformed the Xcel Energy Center from a facility with an aging infrastructure that didn’t meet the needs of users into one of the most state-of-the-art event venues in the nation.
“We have extremely fast Wi-Fi connectivity in our building. We have this great new platform to do advertising and provide new experiences to our fan base. And we have this fast back-end system that provides all that connectivity to these technologies,” says Mike Vevea, the Wild’s senior IT manager. “All three of them combined together into a great project, and we couldn't have done it without CDW's assistance.”
The Big Bang
Rather than a single driver, Ibister says it was more of an “exploding universe” that fueled the project. “One day, it all came together into a cohesive plan. But at first, it was pretty crazy.”
The arena’s multiple outdated generations of Wi-Fi were at the center of that chaos. “People’s experiences were pretty miserable throughout the organization,” recalls Ibister. “So that was like a cloud hanging over our heads.”
Meanwhile, the Wild had been looking into StadiumVision for years. They were excited by the possibilities it offered with regard to general corporate messaging and for digital menu boards.
At the time, however, they couldn’t ensure that they would receive the necessary return on investment to make the upgrade feasible. “But we never gave up on it,” Ibister says.
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