Enhancing The Golden State Warriors Fan Experience with Wi-Fi 6E
Golden State Warrior fans have more to look forward to than just the start of the NBA season. The Chase Center’s commitment to providing immersive experiences for fans and guests gets upgraded with Aruba Wi-Fi 6E access points throughout the venue. The Wi-Fi 6E significantly increases bandwidth, allowing fans to stream, upload content, and perform other high-bandwidth functions during games and events.
Tod Caflisch, a Smart Solutions Subject Matter Expert at Lumen Technologies, said the partnership between The Chase Center and Aruba is exciting because this marks the first time any entertainment venue of this type has deployed such state-of-the-art technology.
“It will be a great enhancement for fan experiences at events, as well as, operationally, be more effective in data collection, analytics, and tie-ins with marketing, and those types of things to drive revenue for the organization. But the real impact, I think, will be on the fan experience side, which should up the game around connectivity and bandwidth.”
Looking around the Chase Center, one will be hard-pressed to detect a visual presence of the Aruba Wi-Fi 6E, as the network utilizes an under-seat antenna deployment method. And with this high-tech Wi-Fi network, Golden State Warriors VP/Technology Daniel Brusilovsky said it would future-proof the needs two to four years down the line, which translates to delivering stellar fan experiences for the next several years.
One exciting enhancement for fans is connecting directly to the venue’s network without needing captive portals, usernames, or passwords. Utilizing Aruba Air Pass, there are no more indoor cellular coverage gaps, and guests don’t have to hunt for an available Wi-Fi network.
The desire to bring exciting AR and VR experiences to fans is nothing new for entertainment venues. Caflisch said complexes have struggled with this challenge for years.
“I think there will be a lot more adoption of 6E Wi-Fi in sports entertainment venues coming up now that we’ve got the first ones kicked off.”
The Chase Center is only the beginning of 6E Wi-Fi’s ability to transform the entertainment experience. Caflisch said the NFL could soon be next to deploy this solution throughout their stadiums. But for now, Golden State Warrior fans have good reason to celebrate beyond that 2022 championship trophy.
