These days, Wi-Fi is everywhere. Jason D. O’Grady, writer of “The Apple (News - Alert) Core” for ZDnet, reports that there are 12 new additions to the world of Wi-Fi that will make sports fans very happy: Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, Chicago’s Soldier Field, DFW’s AT&T (News - Alert) Stadium, Miami’s Sun Life Stadium, Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, Detroit’s Ford Field, New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC; and Phoenix’s University of Phoenix Stadium.
The addition of Wi-Fi to Lincoln Financial Field, O’Grady says, was part of a $125 million renovation, and it can accommodate a whopping 45,000 simultaneous users.
While it may seem as though it defeats the purpose of paying the king’s ransom charged to attend a live game, where people should, ostensibly, be engaged with real life, on May 22 of last year, the NFL website published a video of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell extolling the benefits of having Wi-Fi in NFL stadiums. Some of the benefits include the ability to engage in social media, the ability to access fantasy football, access to highlights, and access to Red Zone. Recognizing these benefits, Goodell wants all NFL stadiums to offer Wi-Fi. When asked how much such an undertaking would cost, there were, understandably, a few chuckles from the crowd, and Goodell called that “the trick.”
At this time, there is still a lot of work to get all 31 stadiums Wi-Fi capable. Fans that live in the cities that have installed the Wi-Fi are pleased with its capabilities. While the stadiums make enough money to initiate these upgrades, despite their tremendous cost, fans may want to bear in mind that the reason these stadiums are able to pay for Wi-Fi is that they shelled out big bucks to see a game live—fantasy football and highlights are great at home, but a live game is one of the rare opportunities left to engage with the world, instead of a screen.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson