THE TECHNOLOGY INTERVIEW
Norman adds:“ That insight makes it easier to adjust staffing, tailor promotions, optimise sponsor activations and even rethink layouts over time. Instead of guessing, stadiums can make decisions based on real behaviour.”
And the payoff truly shows.“ Perhaps most importantly for fans, it helps cut down on lines,” he continues.“ Real-time visibility into queue lengths and foot traffic means staff can be redeployed quickly, mobile vendors can be sent to high-demand areas and fans can be guided to shorter waits through apps or digital signage.
“ When combined with fast, reliable connectivity for sharing moments or placing a live bet, it creates a smoother, more enjoyable matchday, where fans spend less time waiting around and more time immersed in the experience.”
Scale and security essentials It’ s not surprising that the size of a crowd alters network dynamics dramatically. Norman says that the biggest challenge is ensuring optimised network performance, no matter the size of the crowd.
“ In a stadium with more than 60,000 seats, the stadium network behaves differently when there are only 10,000 fans versus when every seat is taken,” he shares.“ The days leading up to the game will often involve checking on hardware, doing any necessary software upgrades and running tests to ensure everything is ready to go.
“ The good news is that today’ s network solutions make it easy to get the network ready for an event of any size. Venues that use AI-powered cloud network management solutions benefit from having everything in one place, so they can monitor network traffic as fans look to simultaneously upload videos to social media, place bets, refresh apps and message friends.
“ AI can automate network optimisation, ensuring traffic keeps moving even during key moments when everyone in the stadium is on their phone.”
Security meets the same level of rigour. Reliability and protection are vital to an event’ s success, Norman emphasises – especially when tens of thousands of fans arrive, connect and depart within hours. For stadiums partnering with Extreme, venue-owned devices such
30 May 2026