Allianz Field

With VITEC’s EZ TV & Digital Signage Platform, Allianz Field home to Minnesota United Football Club (MNUFC), delivers the very best experience to its fans as well as operators and advertising staff. With the solution, staff can quickly, easily, and reliably distribute not only the game-day feed to every screen with the very best quality and ultra-low latency but also ensure attention-grabbing content is sent to every screen. It’s a complex job, but VITEC integrates all these capabilities into one user-friendly program. EZ TV exceeded MNUFC’s operational and technological IPTV vision and fit within the organisation’s budget. With the power of VITEC, Allianz Field is one the best, most technologically advanced soccer stadiums in the world. It is inspiring a new wave of soccer venues where IPTV and digital signage streaming are paramount to the fan experience.

American soccer is fast becoming one of the favoured sports in the country, with Major League Soccer (MLS) reported to have experienced a 27% rise in popularity since 2012. For many soccer organisations across the nation, it’s meant the development of new stadiums specifically appointed for teams and their fans. Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota, home to the MNUFC, is the latest venue designed from ground up with the goal of delivering a vibrant experience fans can’t experience watching at home. The $250 million venue encompasses 32,144.5 sq metres and has a seating capacity for 19,400 fans. The new stadium is an icon for the city of Saint Paul as well as a dynamic venue boasting the most state-of-the-art video technology available. While Allianz Field features a stunning 6.7-metres x 35.4-metres videoboard that delivers all the expected action of the game to fans in the stadium, MNUFC wanted to go above and beyond the traditional visual features of a soccer stadium. With that in mind, the team needed an IPTV system capable of not only delivering a high-quality, ultra-low-latency live feed of the game to more than 200 displays installed in its premium hospitality clubs, retail store, and concessions but also integrating digital signage capabilities. With digital signage tools, MNUFC would be able to achieve its digital advertising strategy and boost revenue. With such a large number of screens, the team also required an easy-to-use platform that can be operated by one person, allowing them to power, control, and monitor the status of each screen.

Only with VITEC’s EZ TV platform and its extensive family of high-performance appliances did Allianz Field crush its visual challenges and set the visual technology bar in the soccer stadium market. Any IPTV could deliver a stream to a display, but it was VITEC that went beyond all the team’s requirements for cost and functionality. Fans enjoy a high-quality, broadcast-grade video feed of the game with low-latency distribution and flawless synchronisation between displays over its IP infrastructure. Suite holders enjoy an enhanced visual experience with access to additional cable channels, real-time updating of the electronic program guide, and video-on-demand content. Staff have an easy-to-use solution that not only allows them to quickly and efficiently manage and distribute a live feed of the game to 200 screens throughout the stadium but also access digital signage capabilities to create and display compelling creative content. EZ TV’s built-in digital signage creation tools enabled the organisation to achieve a dynamic digital signage strategy where they easily distribute targeted campaigns to specific displays throughout the venue. Finally, with integration between VITEC and the Allianz Field Daktronics board Show Control System, the staff is able to trigger updates to signage for each screen during the games from the same Show Control System. The interoperability makes it effortless and simple for a single operator to change campaigns from pregame, to in-game, halftime, and post-show sponsorships during games. In addition, concession data from Appetize is combined with EZ TV’s sophisticated and automated food menu board capabilities, which will allow the organisation to easily create and update every menu board, based on inventory and demand. EZ TV & Digital Signage Platform is a winning combination of features that treats fans to an eye-catching experience while being seamlessly managed from one platform.