New Cardinals Stadium, Enhanced with Insight IT Solutions, Will Immerse Fans in Technology to Enhance the Football
28 April 2005
As the exclusive IT partner for the Arizona Cardinals, Insight North America ("Insight"), a subsidiary of Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: NSIT - News), will build front- and back-end technology into the Cardinals' new stadium in Glendale, Ariz., to provide fans and players alike with benefits and conveniences unmatched by any other National Football League (NFL) stadium. Scheduled for completion in July 2006, it will be the NFL's most technologically advanced stadium, with an IT infrastructure designed to maximize the experience of attendees and players while providing additional revenue streams thanks to the extraordinary flexibility of its technology.
Insight is also enabling the Cardinals' Tempe training center with many of the same integrated solutions, allowing seamless voice, data and video communication between all Cardinal facilities. The training center is expected to be fully IT-enabled in July.
Under the terms of their partnership, Insight will be responsible for delivering, configuring, integrating, deploying and maintaining the stadium's networking, computing and telecommunications systems, all of which will operate off a single IP voice-data-video networking backbone. These systems will be built directly into the stadium's infrastructure at the time of construction and are designed to integrate athletics and technology. The converged IP network will facilitate the use of state-of-the-art Cisco IP phones throughout the stadium and training facility.
"Insight is creating much more than an IP phone system," said Dino Farfante, president of Insight North America. "It will immerse the fans in an IT-enabled experience that directly relates to their experience with what's happening on the field. For example, IP phones with touch-screen LCDs in the suites will allow attendees to play 'fantasy football' in real time, picking players off a virtual roster during the game. Using the phone's touch-tone color screen, they'll also be able to buy tickets for future games, shop at the Cardinals store, order food and pull up football statistics. It is a blend of sports and IT on a scale we have never seen before in any NFL stadium."
Insight will also be implementing a wireless infrastructure into the stadium as it is being built, giving it the capability to support virtually every form of wireless communication now on the horizon. This will facilitate uninterrupted cell phone usage and wireless Internet access within the stadium, so fans with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and PDAs will be able to play fantasy football and surf the Internet.
The Cardinals players and staff will benefit from the IT infrastructure as well. Digital video technology operating off the converged network will allow team members to participate via video in real-time training sessions from both the stadium and their Tempe training facility simultaneously, bringing a new dimension to the process of game preparation. Video-enabled IP phones for executives will facilitate video conferencing, and staff at both facilities will be able to send data, game film and marketing materials over the wire from one facility to the other, saving time and expense. The systems at both facilities will be fully linked, fully integrated and fully redundant, each providing disaster recovery for the other.
"One of the great advantages of having such a tightly integrated IT infrastructure in the stadium is the flexibility it offers us," said Cardinals Vice President/General Counsel Michael Bidwill. "This flexibility will allow the stadium to be used for multiple purposes. The cabling and wiring is in place to accommodate those who may want to use the stadium for trade shows, conventions and conferences. Since the technology is entirely IP-based and software-driven, it can all be customized to meet the needs of multiple users. This combined with the stadium's fully retractable field and roof will make it one of the most versatile, multifunctional sports venues in the entire world."
Insight will be involved for a minimum of eight years in providing the stadium with IT products and services, and will have full-time staff onsite every day. Insight will be providing the stadium and training center with nearly 700 IP phones, many miles of cabling, hundreds of notebook and desktop computers, a fleet of high-performance servers, as well as an array of network-related products including routers, switches, cables and access points.
"While Insight is providing all of the hardware and software for the stadium and training center, what matters most is the company's role as a total solutions provider to the Cardinals," said Rich Fennessy, CEO of Insight Enterprises. "The value-add Insight brings is the technical expertise to integrate these products into solutions that address the client's specific needs, from stadiumwide wireless access to real-time video training to IP phones that act as a concierge. With all these services integrated on a single converged network, the new Cardinals Stadium will stand as a model of the sports venue of the future. Insight is proud to be providing the technology behind the team."
About Insight
Insight North America Inc. ("Insight") is a leading provider of IT products and services to businesses, government and educational institutions in the United States and Canada. Insight's offerings span the entire IT lifecycle with more than 200,000 name-brand hardware, software and peripherals -- the largest selection in the industry -- along with a full line of services tailored to support the changing and unique needs of technology buyers. Insight is a wholly owned subsidiary of Insight Enterprises Inc., ranked No. 552 on Fortune Magazine's 2005 "Fortune 1000" list. For additional information call 480-902-1001 or visit www.insight.com.
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Contact:
Insight North America
Richard Burger, 480-333-3198
E-mail: rburger@insight.com
or
Arizona Cardinals
Mark Dalton, 602-379-1720
E-mail: mdalton@cardinals.nfl.net
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Source: Insight North America
Source: Business Wire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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