By Markus Nispel, CTO EMEA, Extreme Networks

From World Cups to Wimbledon finals, Grands Prix to golf majors, the United Kingdom has a rich sporting heritage that isn’t easily surpassed. Hundreds of famous venues and stadiums across the country – many acting as the hub of local communities – have provided a place for millions of fans to take in some of the most extraordinary moments in sport.

It’s this power to unite and entertain that has helped turn sport into a multi-billion-pound industry in the UK. However, our US counterparts still have the edge when it comes to the digital capabilities of their sporting venues, many of which have undergone digital transformation overhauls in recent years.  By implementing new network technologies, these venues are enhancing fan experiences and improving operations for sporting organisations.  

So, as the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool FC embark on their own digital transformation projects, how exactly can modern networking solutions give sports organisations in the UK the tools to deliver more memorable fan experiences and drive better business outcomes.

Delivering a connected in-stadium experience

Many of the UK’s leading rugby, cricket, and football venues carry a huge amount of history. Although they have slowly upgraded technology infrastructure over time, they were originally designed in a different era that was very different to the highly connected world we live in today.  As these stadiums were not built with wiring in mind, meeting the required level of connectivity has typically been a challenge.

Today’s fans want to be able to share their experiences instantaneously with others around the world, requiring powerful wireless networking solutions built for high-density environments. With new generations of Wi-Fi like Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, stadiums can ensure they have the bandwidth to better support fan devices that are connected to the network, as well as increase their use of fan-facing technologies such as mobile ticketing or cashless transactions.

At the same time, fans’ desire for constant connectivity can provide a goldmine of insights about fan preferences and operational efficiencies for event, venue and stadium operations teams to leverage through network analytics. This could include insights into behavioural patterns such as app usage in the stadium. Or, the data could help identify areas of foot traffic congestion, helping improve fan safety and measure the efficiency of mobile ticketing or mobile concessions.

Centralized network management can also allow operations teams to monitor and control network traffic and behaviour in real-time, so they can quickly troubleshoot and resolve any issues with the network. As venues and fans continue to become more connected, modern network capabilities will be the key to providing a safe and memorable experience.

Leveraging commercial opportunities

As well as continuing to improve existing revenue streams, technology is offering new, innovative opportunities for sports organisations. Pitch-side LED screens and perimeter boards provide a prominent example of how organisations and venues have implemented new technologies to help them connect with their partners and engage fans. However, modern connectivity is now taking this a step further.

Behavioural data is providing sports organisations with new insights into how their fans are engaging across the network. These insights can be used to drive new commercial deals or enhance the promotion of their own brand and merchandise, illustrating how network analytics is becoming ever more valuable across marketing, operations, IT and sponsorships. Understanding consumers’ expectations, in-stadium experience, and how that experience varies from event to event will empower executives to continue to customize and improve the overall experience.

We will continue to see major commercial deals for sports teams and venues which can enable them to reach new levels. Additionally, teams that can provide valuable insights into the evolution of their fans’ behaviour to meet their changing expectations and demonstrate the commercial capabilities of their venues provide a rationale for more lucrative partnerships in the years ahead.

Getting fit for the future

Although it’s virtually impossible to predict precisely how in-stadium experiences will evolve over the next decade, it is becoming increasingly clear that fans will drive the future of their own experiences. The onus is on sports organisations to enable this future in the most effective way.

This could involve gamification and connected technologies, which 7 out of 10 sports leaders view as being the greatest opportunity for sports in the years ahead. Thanks to the capabilities of modern Wi-Fi networks, artificial reality and virtual reality could become part of the in-stadium experience and provide commercial revenue streams for those organisations prepared to embrace them.

Ultimately, many of the UK’s major sporting venues are already taking steps to catch up with those in the US. But such transformations aren’t limited to only the biggest or most prestigious stadiums. We’ll likely see connected venues of all sizes emerge over the coming years, giving more fans and organisations access to enhanced in-stadium experiences and new revenue streams. Whether in venues new or historical, network connectivity will certainly have a key role to play.

Extreme Networks is a leader in cloud networking focused on delivering services that connect devices, applications, and people in new ways. For more information, visit Extreme’s website or follow the company on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Two Sport Technology Award winners, with a shared commitment to building a better future, teamed-up earlier this year having been connected by The STA Group.

Back in April, the Great Britain SailGP Team, led by the world’s most successful Olympic sailors Sir Ben Ainslie and Hannah Mills OBE, announced a partnership with British eyewear brand SunGod, in a deal that held particular significance for The STA Group.

The agreement saw SunGod, winners of the Equipment or Wearable of The Year category at The 2021 Sport Technology Awards, become the first brand to collaborate with Great Britain SailGP Team through their COLAB partner programme, which aims to bring together companies from different industry sectors to drive positive change and behaviours. 

Great Britain SailGP, who won the Sustainability in Sport prize at this year’s Sport Technology Awards, kicked-off their activity with SunGod last month by launching a Limited Edition a carbon-neutral performance sunglasses range: the Great Britain Sail GP Team Sierras™.

The STA Group was pleased to play a key role in the origin of the partnership with CEO, Rebecca Hopkins, introducing senior stakeholders from both organizations. Commenting on the partnership, Rebecca said: 

“It’s been exciting to see two great brands in our network create such an exciting partnership. We are proud to have played a role in connecting them, especially as we hold their mutual commitment to sustainable practices in such high regard. As former STA winners, we know that they both have exceptional vision and execution, and we were in no doubt that they would be a great strategic fit. 

“This collaboration is a testament to the value The STA Group strives to deliver for the brands which engage with us. We are honoured that our network boasts key decision makers at many of the world’s leading sport tech business as well as start-ups, scales ups and successful entrepreneurs. The Group prides itself for being at the forefront of the key topics, changes and challenges in the sector but also being able to connect people and organizations on a global basis.”

Discussing The STA Group’s role in the collaboration, David Rogal, Head of Partnerships at SunGod, commented: “We have been closely following The STA Group for a number of years now and were thrilled to have won an STA Award last year. We are extremely grateful for the introduction they provided to the team at SailGP that led to the foundation of this partnership that is going from strength-to-strength and has been fantastic for our brand. This type of connection is a great example of the added value that The STA Group can offer to brands and organizations in the sport tech space.”

At some point early last year, the phrase ‘NFT’ started appearing in mainstream media and doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. With figures as diverse as Kate Moss, Snoop Dogg and Andy Murray publishing non-fungible tokens, and Tom Brady very nearly retiring to pursue his business interests – one of which is an NFT platform – clearly the concept is set to be around for some time yet.

Whilst we cannot claim to be in the full-blown NFT game currently, we did – thanks to our friends at Leverade – publish digital trophies for all our 2022 winners at The Sports Technology Awards in May.

Our thinking behind this move was that it would do two things; negate the need to manufacture trophies and enable the winning brand to reward the workers who contributed to the win with a digital trophy of their own. This second point seemed especially important, not everyone on a team can make awards’ night and I think it is important to share the glories of success.

Whilst ‘photos or it didn’t happen’ may be the stuff of the playground, we’ve all met people who have stories which sound a little… shall we say ‘wild’. Claiming to ‘have had trials for (insert name of team)’ is harmless enough as invented social bragging rights but making an equivalent claim in a work context is a different matter. Declaring that you were the creative force behind Gregg’s vegan sausage roll when actually you just sat on the desk next to the executives who were, is a surprisingly hard claim for prospective employers to verify. Conversely, if you did play a part, going unacknowledged is exceptionally unfair.

Our digital trophies were created so that anyone with a legitimate claim for having worked on an award-winning venture had the proof – as well as a nice momentum of their time on the project. Since a digital wallet is an essential part of owning NFTs or digital trophies, not everyone who can take up this opportunity will do. That said, the feedback so far has been really positive; In time, I suspect, this type of portable (non-fungible) accolade will also serve as proof of outstanding past achievements to savvy, prospective employers.

In terms of our desire to cut material-use by doing away with trophies was misguided and wrong. Very wrong. So wrong that the team started looking at me funny when I mentioned it. It turns out that people love trophies; they love receiving them, displaying them and putting photos of them on social media. I now realise that I had not won enough of them personally to appreciate their value, so the trophies stay.

To ease my angst on this we are working with our wonderful supplier, EFX, to increase the recycled materials in ours from 85% to 100%. That makes me feel much happier – probably not as happy as Kate Moss, Andy Murry or the Dogg Father did when they saw how their NFTs performed but we all set our own goals and aspire to those.

12 May saw some of the biggest brands in global sport convene to see who secured the coveted trophies in the ‘Oscars of Sports Technology’.

In the first live event for three years, The Sports Technology Awards took place in The Londoner, the UK capital’s glamorous 5* ‘super boutique’ hotel in London’s iconic Leicester Square.  The evening was sold out with elite athletes, sports entrepreneurs and senior executives from brands including Disney’s Star Sports India, the WWE, Meta, the San Francisco 49ers and Sony. 

The winners 

• App of the Year, TeraVolt and DFL
• Best Analytics in Sports, Veo Technologies
• Best Athlete Coaching and Performance Technology, Talent Pathway ID
• Best Broadcast Technology, Hawk-Eye Innovations
• Best Digital Technology, Tennis Channel and Deltatre
• Best Fan Engagement by a Brand, AELTC and IBM, BT Sport (joint winners)
• Best Technology for Communications and Storytelling, WSC Sports and DAZN
• Best Technology for Fan Engagement, Reactoo
• Best Technology for Fitness and Participation , BatFast
• Best Technology for Injury Prevention or Rehabilitation, Danu Smart Socks
• Best Technology for Venues and Operations, OnePlan
• Best Use of Technology by a Broadcaster, Discovery
• Blockchain, Crypto and NFT of the Year, Socios.com
• Capgemini Innovation of the Year, The NBA
• Equipment or Wearable of the Year, Motion Metrics
• Governing Body of the Year, European Tour Group
• Sports Technology Partnership of the Year, The ECB and InCrowd for The Hundred
• Sustainability in Sport, SailGP
• Technology for Good, Meta with PHORIA and The International Paralympic Committee

Stars in attendance included Olympians Max Whitlock, Desiree Henry, Dai Greene, Ben Ryan and Sharron Davies, cricketer, Eoin Morgan, footballer turned entrepreneur, Louis Saha, presenter Seema Jaswal and sports entrepreneurs Peter Phillips and Paddy Power.

In a bold move to demonstrate its commitment to tech-forward thinking, The STA Group, owners of The Awards, gave winners an NFT collectable of their trophy. This will enable winning brands to share success directly with the employees who worked on the project, letting them download proof of their contribution to their digital wallets. 

Rebecca Hopkins, CEO of The STA Group, said:

‘It was great to be back in person at last, in a great venue and have the chance to celebrate with our international community. Our mantra is that we are Only for the Innovative and the finalists here tonight were testament to that.’

The STA Group is delighted to announce our new partnership with Oakwell Sports Advisory.

Oakwell is the only dedicated corporate finance boutique and strategic consultancy that advises global sports rights holders, sports tech companies and investors on commercial strategy, investment, and valuation.

With clients including CVC, Discovery, Horizm, Infront and Total Performance Data, Oakwell is trusted by some of sport and finance’s biggest brands.

Doug Harmer, Partner, explained why Oakwell has chosen to work with The STA Group:

‘Oakwell advises some of the most forward-thinking businesses in sport, from start-ups to international federations and global finance providers and, as such, we need to be at the forefront of industry thinking and progression.

By aligning with The STA Group, we are working with people whose knowledge and passion for sport and visionary thinking compliments ours. We look forward to supporting innovative sports tech companies who will drive significant value to the wider sports industry and growing Oakwell’s diverse client base in sport.’

Rebecca Hopkins, CEO of The STA Group added:

‘It is impossible not to be impressed by Oakwell’s client roster and work; they have been instrumental in industry changing deals and are clearly trusted by the companies they advise. Through this partnership we can enable our network to access their thinking and relationships, which is very exciting for all parties.’

Look out for more information about Oakwell on The STA Group’s site, and at The Sports Technology Awards, which will take place on 12 May 2022 in London.