Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Cole Saws Through Braves, McCann, SunTrust
Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park to be ‘most technologically advanced stadium in the country’
PHIL HUDSON / ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE
Watch out San Francisco, the Atlanta Braves’ new park in Cobb County will have two 100 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) Ethernet lines at SunTrust Park in Cobb County, Ga.
The team signed a deal with Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp.’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Comcast Business, which will build the new multi-site enterprise network for the ball club to connect the team’s front offices at SunTrust Park with minor league team operations in Rome and Gwinnett County, Georgia and in Danville, Va., as well as a sales location at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta. Comcast Business will also support phone services at the Braves’ SunTrust Park offices.
“More than ever, we needed a communications infrastructure across multiple sites that would give us fast, reliable communications and more than enough capacity to accommodate a host of emerging technology applications,” Atlanta Braves President of Development Mike Plant said in a statement. “This is exactly the sort of technology investment that can ultimately translate into a competitive advantage for us on the field, and a great experience for fans.”
Comcast reported the network will be one of the largest stadium and mixed-use development installations in the country with two 100 Gbps Ethernet lines, and will support more than 700 Wi-Fi access points throughout the mixed-use complex.
“High-performance Ethernet Private Line service will enable the Braves to share business-critical data over a dedicated, private circuit infrastructure,” Comcast noted. “This five-site Ethernet Network Service solution will support speeds between 20 Mbps and 200 Mbps to facilitate communications between the front office and the minor league teams.”
Comcast told Atlanta Business Chronicle the only other major sports stadium that one could possibly compare SunTrust Park to is the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium.
“But even then, you’re talking 10-gigs versus 100-gigs at the Braves park,” the company said in an e-mailed statement.
[ Ed. Note – here’s my question: how will fans benefit from that technological experience? New apps to engage in the social media experience at the ballpark? Instant streaming replays?
Ads to inform patrons of the next shows coming up at the Roxie? Nearby restaurant menus? Upcoming concert or promotional events?
Radio or TV audio live at the seat? Hassle-free Wi-fi so that business people can actually get work done while at the park? Charging stations at seats to keep equipment running?
The tools described represent just that: tools. But without new means to use them, those tools could be running at terabit rates and it wouldn’t matter.
Next: Teheran Getting a 2 Week Break
I’ll withhold judgment at this time, for it’s still early in this fast-developing process, but it would be good to start seeing some ideas flowing about just how to take advantage of these cutting-edge resources. ]