Case Study

GEODIS Park - Nashville, Tennessee

Belden Inc.
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Despite challenges with material lead times and costs, GEODIS Park was completed seven weeks ahead of schedule—thanks in part to Belden’s planning, coordination and easy-to-install solutions.

 

JUMP TO: Customer  |  Challenge  |  Discovery  |  Solution  |  Results

 

 

Customer

As a new Major League Soccer club that’s quickly making a name for itself, Nashville Soccer Club (SC) needed its own stadium to meet expansion team requirements.

 

In 2021, the club became only the seventh in Major League Soccer history to go unbeaten at home during a regular season. They also made it to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

 

That spiritual home is GEODIS Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and Canada. The 30,000-seat, single-concourse stadium features three clubs, 25 private suites, loge box seating and a 360-degree canopy roof. Its design brings fans as close to the action as possible, with only 150 feet between the last row of seats and the touchline. No matter where fans are within the stadium—at concessions, shopping the team store or visiting the restrooms—they can always see the action on the field.

 

 

Challenge

To make sure the venue blends with the traditional feel of the surrounding Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, GEODIS Park’s exterior isn’t flashy or extravagant—but that didn’t mean the technology inside didn’t need to attract attention.

 

Nashville SC wanted a venue filled with interactive experiences that would make fans sit up and take note of how far the team has come in just a few years—from renting an NFL stadium to calling the largest soccer-specific stadium in the country home. 

 

 

Discovery

Impressed by Belden’s work on other soccer—specific stadiums around the country, the GEODIS Park team was confident that its end-to-end cabling and connectivity systems would give the stadium a strong infrastructure that was ready for the future.

 

With a one-vendor approach Belden offered, GEODIS Park could also streamline project communication and simplify warranties. 

 

 

Solution

Belden provided products and support for the structured cabling, AV, Wi-Fi and broadcast technology behind the state-of-the-art experiences inside GEODIS Park.

 

To safely provide large amounts of power across long distances, Belden’s Digital Electricity™ Cables were used to provide power and data in a single cable run. These UL-certified Class 4 cables offer close to 20 times the power of Power over Ethernet across hundreds of meters, offering a safe alternative to AC power. In addition to saving valuable installation time, they can be installed by the same low-voltage integrators that install Category cabling.

 

Designed in conjunction with VoltServer, the creator of Digital Electricity, these cables will allow GEODIS Park to confidently support all types of new technology in the future without concern about data or power requirements.

 

Belden’s REVConnect® Connectivity solutions were also deployed to speed up installation. “REVConnect was a game changer on this project,” says Eric Plummer, president of E-Connect LLC, Belden’s manufacturer representative.

 

REVConnect revolutionizes RJ45 connectors with a reliable, easy and versatile termination that utilizes a single method for all Category 5e, 6 and 6A terminations while significantly reducing rework and training—even for workers who have never terminated a cable. 

 

This accelerated installation approach kept the project on track even when construction stopped during the pandemic. Once installers were able to get back on the jobsite, REVConnect was vital to maintaining the original timeline despite unanticipated delays.

 

 

Results

GEODIS Park gives Nashville SC the home it deserves and a place to create its own history. It also increases business and financial opportunities for the club, giving it more space to sell concessions, more seats for ticket sales (the team already has 23,000 season ticket holders) and more advertising options for sponsors. According to Ayre, sponsorship dollars have already doubled with the move to the new stadium.

 

In spite of challenges with product lead times and costs spurred on by the pandemic, GEODIS Park was completed seven weeks ahead of schedule—thanks in part to Belden’s planning, coordination and easy-to-install solutions.

 

“Belden was one manufacturer that was able to cover all media applications,” says Plummer. “It was one source to speak with and one hand to shake, which saved everyone valuable time.”