Barclays is "the most connected stadium in the world"

In an article on how sports stadiums (stadia?) and arenas are upgrading their communications technology, Tech Republic says Barclays Center "is considered the most connected stadium in the world" ... at least until the 49ers open their new stadium this summer.

The technology magazine says that by doing things like improving Wi-Fi access and setting up special apps for the arena and team, Barclays and the Nets have created a standard others will have to meet. Reporter Teena Hammond describes what you can find at the Brooklyn arena...

An average of 4,000 to 5,000 fans accessing the 17,500-seat arena's Wi-Fi on any given night, and using the in-house team app to get instant replays and watch multiple camera angles on their mobile devices. Fans can also order drinks and food from their seats, and upgrade those seats as soon as they walk into the arena.

Chip Foley, Forest City Ratner's Chief Technology Officer says that the capability is reliable ... and scalable.

"We've been open a year and a half, we've had no outages, no technology issues," said Foley. "If you build it robust enough, when a show comes in, it's an easy add on. They need a 10 [Mbps] pipe, boom, we give them a 10 [Mbps] pipe."

In a separate interview with NBA TV, Foley says a big part of the Nets strategy is "cut down the time people spend in line and spend more time in your seat enjoying the game."

In line with that, the next innovation is they're going to add in cameras that show the restroom lines, and fans will get notifications on which restrooms near them have the shortest wait times, Foley said.

• Stadiums race to digitize: How sports teams are scrambling to keep Millennials coming to games - Teena Hammond - Tech Republic
• How connected stadiums are changing the sports experience (Video) - Teena Hammond - Tech Republic
• Charles Foley Executive Interview - Cisco Connection Series (Video) - NBA.com