When Arizona State University football fans enter Sun Devil Stadium for the team’s opening game Saturday night, many things will be clear, including their wireless signals.
A Sundt joint venture team has spent the past several months working on improving the fan experience at the 58-year-old stadium. Better seating, larger concourses and improved bathrooms and concession areas are easy to notice. But when fans check the bars on their phones, they will be pleasantly surprised.
“This will be the most technologically advanced stadium in college football,” said Sundt Project Superintendent Todd Gantter. “People who are streaming won’t mess with people trying to make phone calls.”
Before the university construction project started last year, there were no wireless access points, networking hardware devices that allow Wi-Fi compliant devices to connect to a wired network. When work finishes next August, there will be 785. The stadium will also go from 130 cellular antennas to 273. Antennas improve cell-phone reception.
Todd estimates the team has installed close to 70 percent of the infrastructure for the stadium’s wireless network. That includes reworking media truck connectivity, which will make life better for those watching games on TV.
“We’re building for the future,” he said. “There are numerous additional pathways for future use as technology changes.”