«Gottardo Arena enhances the fan experience with modern technology »
Swisscom's inhouse mobile services provide optimal internet coverage in the Gottardo Arena, making it a state-of-the art and unique sports and event arena.
Guaranteed 4G and 5G internet coverage for the Gottardo Arena 5 Min.
- Opening of the state-of-the-art sports and event arena in 2021
- Home of the Hockey Club Ambrì Piotta (HCAP)
- Equipped with 4G and 5G technology
- Inhouse Mobile Services 4G & 5G
- Guaranteed internet coverage, even when the arena is sold out
- Planning and realisation of the project within 6 months to ensure operation during the opening game
“We had so much to do, with so little time to do it in. We knew that we were facing a mammoth task, but we believed in our goal and ultimately achieved it. Thanks to our collaboration with Swisscom, we managed to complete a modern sports arena with state-of-the-art technology in just a few months,” said Filippo Lombardi, President of Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta (HCAP), who was able to open the Gottardo Arena on 11 September 2021 after years of negotiations and a tight schedule. The arena is the new home stadium of the HCAP ice hockey club and was fittingly inaugurated with a 5:2 victory for the home team against Freiburg.
In 2011, the Ambrì-Piotta ice hockey club had to give up its beloved Valascia stadium, which was built in 1953. It enjoyed cult status (and was known as the coldest stadium) in Swiss ice hockey. However, the arena no longer met the standards demanded by the Swiss ice hockey league to obtain a game licence. After a thorough review by the authorities, renovation of the popular arena was ruled out as a small part of it was located in an avalanche hazard zone. A new building was therefore planned.
THE CHALLENGE: Ensuring optimal Internet coverage in the sports arena, even when the stands are sold out
Essentially, two requirements had to be met: fulfilling the high standards demanded by the league in terms of comfort and safety, and generating the necessary revenue to finance the team. For the new stadium and its architect, Mario Botta, the main objective was to offer the future audience a first-rate experience – not only at ice hockey matches, but also during other events held at the new arena. “A mammoth task”, was how club president Filippo Lombardi described the challenge – including the technology issues.
“At that time, 5G was a hot topic of discussion among the public and politicians,” he recalls. “I was convinced that this technology would pave the way for us to fulfil our requirements and meet the expectations of our visitors.” Swisscom was therefore tasked to asses the project and propose some solutions. The arena was a major project for Swisscom, too. The stadium was planned as a multi-purpose facility for year-round use, with four restaurants, eight bars and cafés, numerous lounges and areas reserved for athletes.
The Swisscom experts knew the hurdles, with connectivity a common problem in ice rinks and sports stadiums because of difficulties guaranteeing adequate coverage for the athletes and fans via WLAN. The customer’s requirement was clear: to guarantee optimum network coverage, even when the Gottardo Arena is sold out.
INHOUSE – Eine wegweisende Lösung für Schweizer Sporthallen und Stadien
After extensive votes and discussions, the Inhouse Mobile Services Solution was chosen. A simple name for a complex, ultra-modern 5G-based technology that allows the Gottardo Arena to set itself apart as a ground-breaking project in Switzerland.
The solution provides mobile coverage for the stands and other areas of the arena. This is achieved by the highly discreet installation of small, barely visible antennas throughout the arena. This mobile coverage enables everyone in the stadium to communicate easily, with 5G and 4G combined to make the connectivity even more efficient. The solution enables the best possible network coverage for ice rink users and all the facilities required for the smooth running of sporting events (e.g. back office, box office and ticket scanning systems, music and lighting effects, commentators, TV broadcasting and journalists), even in the midst of increased social media traffic from the fans. “In the crucial moments of a match, we can handle peaks of 14 hours of talk-time in 15 minutes, as well as 20 GB of data traffic with 5G or 16 GB of traffic with 4G,” the Swisscom expert, Andrea Galeazzi, explained.
If you take a closer look at the peaks in the communication flow and the antennas that measured them, it is easy to see which team scored a goal, and when. Such peaks also occur frequently during training times. These are related to the sensors used for player analysis.
The entire network project was completed within a very short time. The project was planned and implemented within six months of the contract being signed. Even though the schedule came under pressure when geopolitical events created uncertainty over the supply of materials, the project was still completed in time for the opening match. “I was always confident that we’d manage it,” said hockey club president Lombardi. However, he also has an admission: “Up until three days before the match against Freiburg, we reserved the right to cancel the game in consultation with the league and the opposing team.” But everything went according to plan.
Thanks to Inhouse Mobile Services, the ambitious and unique project of the Gottardo Arena is now a showcase for sports and event arenas throughout Switzerland, which has laid the foundations for a better experience for fans.