From Notoriously Bad to Best in the Biz, Candlestick Park’s Coverage a Hit with Fans
Until 2012, the cell coverage and support for social media at Candlestick was notoriously poor. But a last quarter turn-around has launched 49ers fans back into the new normal of easy access to Facebook, tweets, phone calls, and of course, texts.
What seats 68,500 fans, is situated in a densely populated area, has a hill blocking its northwest flank, and a bay wrapping around it, making cellular coverage trickier than a “crown of helmet” call?
You guessed it: Candlestick Park — the home of the 49ers. And still, the team behind the stadium’s communications is celebrating a win.
At the heart of the turn-around is an all-new DAS build. In fact, DAS – Distributed Antenna Systems – is the technology of choice for most stadiums these days. “DAS makes the most sense for stadiums at this point. It’s the fastest, easiest, and most reliable way to move fans from the ‘no service’ display to at the very least, a few bars,” says Steve Dutto, President of DAS Group Professionals (DGP). “The other thing DAS has in its favor is that it’s a collaborative sort of technology. So you have multiple carriers banding together to get it installed where fans need it. It is a category of infrastructure that everyone seems to be in agreement about.”
DGP was enlisted by Sprint and Verizon in February 2012 and charged with eliminating the “no service” icon from every location in the stadium. By this fall, Candlestick had been ranked number one in providing social media access to its fans. “We knew that our clients were pleased, and that we completed the project on time, on budget and that the numbers were looking really good for the project,” says Steve. “But to hear the DAS system outperformed every other stadium in the NFL is extremely validating.”
At the same time that DGP was installing the Candlestick system, it was designing and engineering an even more robust system to support the data and call load projected for the 49ers new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Besides supporting the typical game day action, the system will need to facilitate Super Bowl 50. And while loyalists are already speculating which teams will play that game, even the most tech-savvy companies are hesitating to project exactly what it will take to keep everyone connected. “It’s safe to say we don’t know what devices, technology or apps people will be using then. But we know the data load will be tremendous, and we’re planning for it now,” Steve reports.
For more information about the technology behind the Candlestick success, particularly as it might help your coverage challenge, contact DGP or visit dasgroupprofessionals.com.