Gloucester Rugby is pleased to announce two new initiatives to enhance the match day experience for supporters next season at Kingsholm. Lots of work has been going on behind the scenes to create an infrastructure at Kingsholm that will allow visitors to have a more interactive experience and enjoy the benefits of a fully connected stadium.
For the fans, one benefit will be free to use, high performance Wi-Fi at Kingsholm.
The infrastructure at Kingsholm has been fully revamped and the club will have a cutting-edge Wi-Fi system ready for all fans to benefit from, with this service being scheduled for the start of next season.
Testing of the new service has been ongoing at home matches this season and we are thrilled to be able to offer high capacity Wi-Fi capability, built by digital infrastructure experts, Landways.
The new stadium-wide digital infrastructure will deliver market-leading Wi-Fi, very fast speeds and ‘always-on’ connectivity, essential for the new generation of live digital services being developed for the new app. Fans will also be able to communicate with friends, browse the internet and seamlessly access all the data services on their phones.
Chris Smedley, Chief Executive of Landways, said:
“We have deployed a record quantity of optical fibre throughout the stadium, as well as several unique technical designs, to manage the huge forecast growth in demand for wireless data over the next few years.
“We will be monitoring the network closely and, as required, working with Gloucester Rugby to install upgrades to ensure that the Wi-Fi system does not run out of capacity and that Kingsholm remains one of the UK’s best-connected sports venues.”
As a result of the new capability, Gloucester Rugby are excited to announce we will be also launching a new Fan Experience mobile app, being created by digital agency, Clock. Clock, is using its Colooder platform to deliver a range of experiences such as half-time quizzes, games that allow children to interact, play and understand the game of rugby, a range of live audio feeds to enhance what’s going on in the game, pre-ordering of food & drinks, rewards & offers, debates and discussions, live Man of the Match voting, a fans’ gallery of pictures, click & deliver, and exclusive content around players, the game and fans.
The app will be launched in time for the new season with a whole range of new and exciting features. The mobile app will be the portal to get access to the new stadium Wi-Fi.
Stephen Vaughan, Gloucester Rugby CEO commented:
“We are firmly in a digital world and part of the ‘future proofing’ of the club going forward is to ensure we are at the forefront of technology that allows us to give everybody that visits Kingsholm stadium not only fast connectivity but also gives us the ability to engage our audiences better. The app will allow visitors to Kingsholm to access high speed Wi-fi and a range of services designed to improve the experience on a match day.
“We are delighted to be partnering with both Landways and Clock to help provide a more connected environment for our fans.”
Ben Silcox, Chief Strategy Officer of Clock, said:
“We are very excited to be bringing to life Gloucester Rugby’s vision for a truly connected stadium and mobile app to make the fan experience easier, richer and more unique than any other rugby club.”
Landways and Clock are investing heavily in this project as a sign of their commitment and belief that Gloucester Rugby fans will benefit from a world class experience.
We look forward to learning more from the fans, getting feedback and delivering something everyone can be very proud of, while helping power the club forward”.
About Gloucester Rugby
Formed in 1873, Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club who, in 2018-19, will compete in the Gallagher Premiership, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Over 120 Gloucester Rugby players have played international rugby and the team management is currently headed up by Director of Rugby David Humphreys, who is a former Ireland international and Head Coach Johan Ackermann, a former Springbok.
The club has won the domestic cup competition on five separate occasions and the European Rugby Challenge Cup twice.
Kingsholm in recent seasons has established itself as a regular venue for international as well as club rugby. The stadium hosted four matches in Rugby World Cup 2015 and has also hosted the likes of Barbarians, Australia, Ireland, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Georgia.
The club has also developed a reputation for hosting live music concerts during the close season. Since May 2011, when The Wanted became the first band to perform live at Kingsholm, the stadium has hosted concerts by the likes of Elton John, Jess Glynne, McFly, Lionel Richie and Madness. Sir Tom Jones has even played at Kingsholm on two separate occasions! However, the biggest concert held at the stadium was in June 2017 when Little Mix attracted a crowd of 19,000.
About Landways
Landways is a specialist in the design, build, financing and operation of next generation integrated digital infrastructure for high density in-building environments, based upon strong long-term relationships with site-owners to help deliver their objectives in a digital world.
Formed in 2017 by former senior managers from Geo Networks and backed by US internet infrastructure investors, Columbia Capital, Landways offers a range of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solutions to help its customers make the transition to a “Wireless First” access model, supporting very high levels of concurrent device usage and best in class service levels.
Through the design, build, financing and operation of digital infrastructure, Landways delivers future-proofed optical fibre-based networks that grow and evolve to support the ever-increasing use of data by users in high density environments, where digital coverage is often poor. Its designs avoid the need to rip out and replace legacy systems, thus saving significant sums for its customers.
Further, Landways’ data and power infrastructure designs are capable of being extended to provide highly efficient ways of integrating other parallel and synergistic areas of in-building technical facilities management, such as LED lighting upgrades, audio systems, digital signage connectivity, CCTV, security, smart monitoring, building management, power generation and storage.
Landways adopts an open access model enabling multiple service providers to use its wireless infrastructure, thus allowing access for third party providers such as mobile networks and other digital operators to launch new and innovative products and services to all users within the venue.
Landways works closely with its customers’ chosen partners to ensure that the best possible use is made of its enabling digital infrastructure to deliver a range of innovative new digital services to customers and visitors, allowing these locations to be at the forefront of the new generation of highly connected venues.
Want to read more? Click here to go to our Gloucester Rugby Case Study
About Clock
Clock have delivered uniquely valuable experiences for clients for over 20 years. Our clients typically need to bridge the physical and digital in order to find new growth. We design, build, engineer and execute digital products and services across the customer experience.
Clock was founded in 1997 with a grant from the Prince’s Trust, pioneering many of the first applications of digital technology into brand experiences and communications. Since then Clock have worked with a range of clients across sectors that include publishing, media, retail, hospitality, betting, sports, eSports and electronic games; awarded many times over the past decade, most recently for work with Leicester Tigers.
Clock provides consultancy and project delivery as well as investment into collaborative long term partnerships. By aligning strategic, delivery and commercial goals with a long history of expertise in deploying technology and customer experience solutions – we are able to help with the messiness of everyday business.
For more information about Gloucester Rugby, please contact:
Duncan Wood, Media Manager
M +44 (7833) 795745 E duncanwood@gloucesterrugby.co.uk
For more information about Landways and Clock, please contact:
Andrea Sexton, AS PR