Access to data during a major event is a critical part of the modern stadium experience. 

The Adelaide Oval is the largest stadium in South Australia and host to football, cricket, rugby and many other live sports and events. 

Following the redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval in 2013/14 that increased its capacity to more than 50,000 patrons, the Ventia Specialised Coverage Solutions (SCS) team delivered a Hybrid Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) In-Build Coverage (IBC) system. This was the first Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) stadium solution to be delivered in Australia. 

Our team undertook the overall construction, commissioning and management of the project which included 43 remote units located throughout the oval via fibre optic links which were powered by two on-site Base Transceiver Stations (BTS). 

Working around the busy event schedule 

Being a major stadium, our team was required to work around a number of events throughout the summer including a heavy cricket schedule that featured test matches, one-day internationals and domestic Twenty20 games. 

In addition, there were a number of heavy rain periods over the summer where work was further delayed. 

Despite these challenges the team were still able to deliver the project on-time.  

Testing our work

After handing the site over, it was only a few days later that it was really put to the test when the oval hosted the semi-final of the cricket Big Bash featuring the hometown Adelaide Strikers. With a crowd of 52,000 at the game the client happily confirmed a very successful
trial and observed spectacular data speeds with tests recording over 100Mbps during the game.