Venue News: NYC Eyes The Bronx for MLS Team, Stadium; Ottawa Senators Add Cisco StadiumVision

Compiled by Karen Hogan, Associate Editor, Sports Video Group

Mayor Michael Bloomberg may have just a few weeks left in his term, but he hasn’t given up on his administration’s dreams for a major league soccer arena in New York City. The New York City Football Club, a consortium backed by the Yankees and Manchester City owner Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, has been working with the Bloomberg administration to hammer out the broad outlines of an agreement to build a soccer arena just south of Heritage Field, the site of the old Yankee Stadium. According to a confidential outline of the formative deal obtained by Capital New York, the 10-acre site would encompass three of Yankee Stadium’s financially troubled parking lots, a portion of 153rd Street, and a building on the same street now occupied by an elevator parts company called GAL Manufacturing that employs about 400 people…

…The Ottawa Senators, along with partners Canadian Tire and Cisco, announced the addition of Cisco StadiumVision, which will be branded Canadian Tire Centre Vision in the venue. Canadian Tire Centre will be the first NHL venue in Canada to incorporate Cisco’s innovative digital video and content distribution system that centrally controls and delivers targeted high-definition video and highly relevant digital content to Canadian Tire Centre guests. Canadian Tire Centre Vision will allow the entire venue to change content, color and branding on a moment’s notice. The system will provide an unparalleled visual experience that will transform and amplify the intensity of any event for attendees…

…Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns and manages Verizon Center in Washington, DC, announced that Mobilitie, a leading provider of wireless infrastructure in the United States, will be installing a new distributed antenna system (DAS) at the arena. The new antenna system will provide an enhanced overall wireless experience across multiple wireless carriers for fans of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the NCAA’s Georgetown Hoyas, and other concert and event patrons. The Mobilitie DAS network will provide high-speed wireless connectivity and services to the arena’s 2.5 million annual visitors at more than 220 world-class sporting events and concerts…

…If you have been a Carolina Panther’s fan for a while, and you’ve attended games at Bank of America Stadium, you know it hasn’t always been easy to use your smart phone. With so many people in the stands trying to text, Tweet, Facebook, and call all at the same time, the service could be slow and spotty. Before the start of this season, the team partnered with AT&T to upgrade the wireless capabilities throughout the stadium.  Today they made public their efforts. Now there are nearly 200 more wi-fi access points in the stadium which will allow for speedy service. So far this season, 50% more data has been exchanged by fans in the stadium than last year.