On May 15th Huawei, Signal Iduna Park stadium and CIONET hosted the session 'Smart Stadium - Connecting to the Future'.  Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, Germany is the home of football club Borussia Dortmund. This afternoon a unique group of CIOs and IT directors came together representing football clubs and stadiums from all parts of Europe. From France, Norway, Italy, Netherlands, Spain to UK: AC Milan, Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Real Club Celta de Vigo, Feyenoord, PEC Zwolle, FC Twente, FC Utrecht, Wolfsburg.

The presentations covered best practices and solutions from Huawei and their partners FanPlay and Atos, responsible for the Olympic Games. Ajax together with the Arena and the VW Stadium Wolfsburg presented case studies and their vision on what a smart stadium is. Fan engagement was a key topic. How can you provide high speed access to a stadium filled with up to 80.000 people? What kind of options are there to engage with Fans before, during and after the game where the offers are fully personalized and based on someone's profile, location and time? The conference was followed by a BVB tour showing the history of Borussia Dortmund and the day ended with an informal dinner.

Those present were very positive about the event and most have indicated an interest to come together again to learn from each other, share experience and jointly develop a best practice for a Smart Stadium. CIONET plans to do another session later this year. CIONET has the ambition to organize more vertical market sessions for its members in the near future.  Want to learn more, please contact us.
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