Mercedes Benz Arena Enhances Data Speed & Reliability with Hirschmann Solutions
While they may not be traditional industrial settings, outdoor sporting stadiums face similar challenges to factories. Maximum reliability for mission-critical communications. Large quantities of data transferred quickly. Extreme temperatures in the summer and winter seasons. Safety and security threats.
This is an excerpt from a case study. Read the full story here.
The VfB Stuttgart sports club – based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg – is the fifth largest sports club in Germany. The stadium has undergone a number of renovations since its initial construction in 1933. Its most recent upgrade in 2011 increased the capacity to more than 60,000 visitors.
To accommodate growing numbers of fans at events held nearly every weekend, the stadium needed to increase the reliability, speed and accuracy of the ticket collection process. This helped avoid long lines and improve visitor safety. Games are also broadcast to viewers all over the world. The stadium needed fast data, audio and video transmission to enable the local and regional media to broadcast the games and their coverage.
“Thousands of visitors arrive in a very short window. It isn’t an option to have systems go down or have slow data transmission. Our fans expect tickets scanned quickly. We chose Hirschmann for the reliability of their solutions. By properly segmenting our network traffic, we can identify orders of priority and ensure the network enables processing of critical communications during these peak periods.”
– Bernd Burger, Director ICT & Payment at VfB Stuttgart Arena Betriebs, GmbH
To support automation processes, VfB Stuttgart pursued an upgrade to the stadium’s networking and communications infrastructure. Given the environmental conditions, the team aligned on the need for industrial-grade components.
As a longstanding manufacturer of high-quality industrial cabling, connectivity and networking components, Belden was tapped by VfB Stuttgart to share its expertise and enable more efficient, reliable and safe operation of the stadium.
Solution
The stadium’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) group partnered with a Belden certified partner, RW-electronic. Together, they designed a comprehensive network infrastructure to handle the facility’s requirements.
“By choosing a qualified partner such as Belden, we’ve successfully completed many complex network projects. We appreciate the collaborative solutions-oriented approach Belden sales and technical support teams take when uncovering the best option for our end customers. Product quality is extremely critical, which is why we continue to collaborate with Hirschmann for the highest quality, most reliable network components.”
– Frank Rappold, Managing Director at RW-Electronic
For trouble-free operation, industrial-grade products were selected and installed, including 250 switches and network management software, 300 km of fiber cable and 100 km of copper cable. This approach enabled a flexible infrastructure to support future growth.