Fred Kirsch, New England Patriots

SuperNova Award Category

Next Generation Customer Experience

The Company 

The New England Patriots have long been one of the most admired football organizations in the NFL and a brand that is recognized throughout the world. Since 2002, the Patriots have played their home games at Gillette Stadium, a $350 million facility privately financed by The Kraft Group, where it houses all administrative offices for the team and Kraft. As an original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the National Football League (NFL) when the leagues merged in 1970. The team is now a part of the East Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the NFL.

The Problem

To enhance the in-person, game-day experience, the New England Patriots looked to offer high-speed wireless data service inside Gillette stadium that could pave the way for high-speed wireless connectivity, not only for the fans at games, but also for other events held at the stadium. With a unique need to provide reliable access for tens of thousands of users, Gillette Stadium needed a very stable, scalable network that could be easily and centrally managed by their existing IT staff, particularly on game days. After considering alternatives, such as a carrier wireless solution, Fred Kirsch, VP of Content and Publisher for the Patriots, knew that in order to offer a truly differentiated in-game experience to fans, the Patriots would need to design a stadium-wide Wi-Fi network that would allow thousands of fans to simultaneously watch NFL Red Zone, gain exclusive access to stats and interactive game content and share their experience in real-time via social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The Solution 

To roll out the new network, a number of talented vendors were evaluated to identify a solution that delivered all services required today, along with the ability to scale in the future as Wi-Fi technologies continue to evolve. Kirsch led this initiative, evaluating several vendors’ abilities to overcome previous issues the stadium had encountered around wireless density and support for mobile devices at NFL-sized venues and in turn, identified and implemented an effective solution that provides a well-designed system for determining wireless connection strength and quality down to a seat-by-seat level. Gillette Stadium is now equipped with stadium-wide Wi-Fi that enables fans to experience a new heightened level of social and multimedia engagement.

The Results

Kirsch’s in-house staff of five IT personnel collaborated to deploy the stadium-wide Wi-Fi network, which spans the entire 1.9 million square feet of the Gillette Stadium complex across over 68,000 seats, in just 30 days. The new free Wi-Fi network is also now being complemented with Gillette Stadium and Patriots apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, all of which are designed to enhance the fan experience by providing guests with an unparalleled in-stadium experience via the use of such things as exclusive access to the NFL Red Zone and real-time stats, and the ability to augment the experience by sharing it with those not at the game via social media.

The Technology

Enterasys Networks provided the Patriots with an integrated wired and wireless solution for Gillette Stadium, which includes Enterasys S-Series switches at the core, Enterasys Wi-Fi (both indoor and outdoor), Enterasys Mobile IAM (Identity & Access Management) for BYOD authentication services, as well as Enterasys OneFabric Control Center to centrally manage its network. Enterasys’ OneFabric Control Center console has brought the entire network, both wired and wireless, into one view for centralized management and control, which has eased the management burden for the IT staff.

Metrics

• Before this project, Gillette Stadium could not provide full, in-stadium, high density Wi-Fi internet, with only 6,000 fans in Gillette’s exclusive Putnam Club level seats having access to the WiFi network. However after the project, the stadium now offers reliable, free Wi-Fi access to the stadium’s entire capacity of over 68,000.
• As a result of this project, Gillette now provides unparalleled in-stadium game experience, allowing Patriots fans to simultaneously watch NFL video and gain exclusive access to game content, providing an enriched and differentiated in-game experience – and is paving the way for the rest of the NFL.
• Because of this project, Gillette’s Wi-Fi network offers granular visibility and control, allowing the Patriots to proactively determine wireless connection strength and quality down to a seat-by-seat level, so they can ensure a “fan”tastic internet experience.

Disruptive Factor

The network will become increasingly important as the NFL releases future applications to provide fans at live events with exclusive content through smart phone and tablet apps, with NFL insiders looking to a day when people attending games in-person will have wireless access to things you cannot see or hear on television, such as special camera angles, replays or even a chance to eavesdrop on coach-to-quarterback chatter. Fred Kirsch and the Patriots led the way in deploying the NFL’s first stadium-wide, free Wi-Fi network with streaming video. While other stadiums are just starting to think about implementing Wi-Fi network solutions, Gillette is getting ready to offer an even more advanced fan experience next season, including the ability to listen in to “mic’d-up” players, access the coach-to-quarterback audio and even search for which bathrooms have the shortest lines.

Shining Moment

One of the core missions for the New England Patriots is to continually provide value to its fans and today’s fan expects connectivity. Building this network was the latest effort by the Patriots to create that value. Competing with the three “C’s” of home NFL viewing – cost, comfort and convenience – isn’t easy. An important piece to that strategy is making sure fans can use the device of choice that has become so much a part of his or her life while they’re at Gillette Stadium.