SEAT Global Magazine - Exclusive Interviews of Global Sport Executive Issue 02 February 2017 | Page 40

The Go Team

By 2014, when the arena’s networking equipment was nearing the end of its life, the state of Minnesota and the city of St. Paul struck a deal:

The state would forgive its loan to build the Xcel Energy Center on the condition that the team reinvest the money into the facility.

With the extra money, the team decided to undertake a series of incremental projects that would keep the building relevant into the future.

They wanted to upgrade the scoreboard and digital signage in the bowl, adding StadiumVision and replacing the Wi-Fi.

But they soon realized that they couldn’t do any of that until they upgraded the back end — replacing the original cores and running 10 gigabit fiber to Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches.

With a staff of only four, the IT team needed a partner that could take the lead on the upgrades and also help design a system flexible enough for internal staff to manage when needed.

The Wild’s IT leaders were impressed with CDW’s presentation, and they had also heard positive reviews from other facilities in the state and within the NHL, says Vevea.

“CDW rose to the top because their expertise working with buildings of our type, but also because of their networking experience,”

says Ibister.

Their first priority was upgrading the backbone infrastructure of the network. From there, they installed StadiumVision and replaced the monitors throughout the arena with units that support StadiumVision.

While those conversations were taking place, the project teams were also working on Wi-Fi. They were focused on getting enough coverage but also maintaining the aesthetics and brand of the facility.

Once they finished the core and mapped out the access points, they were able to start layering in Wi-Fi and StadiumVision. “It got to the point where the actual on-the-floor implementation of those two products was happening just as we were hitting the playoffs,” recalls Ibister. “So we relied very heavily on our CDW/Cisco team.”

Juggling three projects was challenging, says Vevea. “But CDW made themselves always available no matter what.” He recalls many after-hours calls and emails. “These guys at CDW were always willing to stop what they were doing and help to make sure that we kept this project moving along.”