Improving Technological Accessibilities at

University Stadium
Recommendation Statement for
Paul Krebs
Vice-President of Athletics at The University of New Mexico

Proposed on
November 25th of 2015
By Kene Okonkwo
Consultant of Paul Krebs

Table of Content
Abstract.................................................................................................................1
Introduction..............2
Methodology &Criteria......3 and 4
Results4. 5 and 6
Discussion & Analysis of the
Results...6, 7, and 8
Conclusion & Recommendation.8
References.9

Abstract
This report was written at the request of Lobo fans, Alumni, and the many people
who live in Albuquerque. Many Lobo sports fans and alumni contacted me and
asked me if I could improve the technological accessibilities at University
stadium. Three options are presented in this report. The first option being
implementing a free powerful Wi-Fi service into the stadium. The second option
was to create a Lobo Football mobile app. And the third option was to implement
Mobile point-of-service or (POS).
There was also a four phase research plan that was conducted. The first phase
was coming up with some sort of evaluation criteria. The second phase was to do
survey hand-outs. The third phase was to have a hands on experience. And the
final phase was conducting online research.
The three options that I listed earlier were evaluated based on the following
criteria; effectiveness, cost, and fan benefit. I concluded with the
recommendation University stadium implement a free powerful Wi-Fi service.

Introduction
Wi-Fi Access in football stadiums have become a trend is something that many
fans and football front offices see as a necessity to enhance the experience that
watching a football game offers.
Data and new technology are changing fan experiences at stadiums and venues
like never before. Teams and venues are using Wi-Fi, Apps, and mobile point of
interest of (POS) to improve operations, player performance and fan
experiences. The top priority of the technology in football stadiums is to get fans
off their seat at home and into the stadiums, the technology in stadiums is also
used to put the fans in the center of the action and to create a fun experiences
that keeps them coming back.
Across the U.S., teams are spending millions to bringing connectivity and
convenience to stadiums. In-stadium fans want to be able to share, interact and
stay social during games. While many college teams still dont provide Wi-Fi
access in their stadiums, thats quickly changing.
Live events are not just about watching a game or concert from your seat at
home anymore. Fans expect a stadium experiences with a mix of both the
physical and digital experiences across their phones, digital screens, and
concession stands and pretty much every area of their football stadiums
Nielsen Company and Cisco Sports and entertainment did a study in 2008 where
they discovered that there are more mobile connected devices than there are
people on the planet. There was also a study again by Nielsen Company in
which they discovered that 61 percent of all mobile phone subscribers owned a
smartphone.
The amount of fans that can occupy University stadium is 39,224 in 2014
University Stadium has only averaged a total of 21,937 tickets sold and of those
ticket sold on average only 19,955 people actually used them. Which means that
University Stadium is losing fans per game because of their lack of technological
accessibilities.
In this report I will discuss the importance of improving university stadium and
making in more technologically accessible by implementing technologies such as
Wi-Fi, Mobile Apps, and Mobile Point-of-Interest of (POS)

Methodology & Criteria

I used these three phases in order to determine which technological accessibility
option I wanted to use.
Phase 1: Evaluation Criteria
Phase 2: Surveys (Hand-Outs)
Phase 3: Hands on research
Phase 4: Online Research

Phase 1: Evaluation Criteria

We have decided that the best option in terms of making University Stadium
more technologically accessible should be determined to this criteria. I came up
with this criteria based on how the NFL and NCAA make their final
decisions/evaluations.

Fan Benefit
Cost
Effectiveness

These three criteria will later be used to decide which option we should use.
Which will be discussed in more detail in the discussion and analysis section of
the report.

Phase 2: Surveys (Hand-Outs)

I decided that in order to really determine whether or not University Stadium was
technologically accessible that would give out surveys which we handed out in
person Our target audience really had no limit we surveyed students, former and
current athletes and fans of all ages. The survey asked the following questions.
1. Do you think University Stadium is technologically accessible?
2. If Not. What do you think is the best solution to solve this?
A) Free Wi-Fi
B) Interactive App
C) Mobile Point-of-Service (POS)
3. Would making one of the following improvements make you want to come
to University stadium.

After conducting these surveys I obtained more than enough information to work
with in terms of what people thought would be the best solution in improving the
technological accessibilities at University stadium.

Phase 3: Hands on Experience

I was able to speak with Bob Davie head coach of the football team and he gave
me access to University Stadium. With this access I was able to experience the
technologies made available at University Stadium. So what I decided to do was
to conduct a hands on experience by test out the technological accessibilities
made available at University Stadium. What I tested was how effective the Wi-Fi
was that they already had in place I also explored the technological
accessibilities that they already had such as the big screen and how affective
that was. What I discovered during this hands on experience was that University
Stadium was for the most part really boring due to the fact that it had no
technological accessibilities except for the giant video screen and because the
Wi-Fi that they had already in place was poor and you couldnt even get service.

Phase 4: Conducting Online Research

Since I am not an expert I the field of technology I had to get most of my
information and knowledge form the use of the internet. This phase is definitely
the most important seeing how during this process is where I gained a bulk of my
information form. The place where I went online to gain information were places
such as NCAA documents, Lobo Sports articles etc. When it comes to the terms
that I searched I looked up things such as technology in Stadiums and The
Importance of Technology in stadiums. The information that I gained also
opened up new ideas in terms of what would be the best idea of improving
technological accessibilities at University Stadium.

Results
Option 1 Free Powerful Wi-Fi
Fan Benefits- The benefit of free power Wi-Fi is that it allows the Lobo fan base
to be entertained not just socially but also through a connective service. The
addition of Wi-Fi as you can see by the graph below (Graph A) shows that the
Lobo attendance could potentially rise with the simple addition of Wi-Fi.
Cost- Setting up hundreds of access points and paying for the service could cost
more than $6 million

Effectiveness- It would allow University Stadium to appeal to younger fans and

also improve the student section of the Stadium. It will also prevent the younger
from leaving the stadiums during halftime just because they cant connect to the
internet. Also if University stadium offers Wi-Fi that would mean that we could be
able to partner with third party companies such as Cisco, Verizon, and AT&T so
that we could offer a fast, reliable and secure connectivity.

Attendance with and with out WI-FI

Predicted Attendance (With Wi-Fi)

Attedance (No Wi-Fi)

5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000

(Graph A) This Graph shows how the Attendance at University stadium has
looked without the incorporation of Wi-Fi (Blue) and what University stadiums
Predicted attendance amount could be with the inclusion of Powerful Wi-Fi
(Red).
Option 2 Interactive App
Fan Benefit- The technological accesibilty of an interactive app is that it would
allow fans to do things such as purchase premium seats, watch instant replays,
view exclusive content, and give them the ability to also get traffic information
and find the fastest rout back to their homes after the games. It would also allow
fans to participate in group chats.
Cost- The cost of creating an interactive app would be around $50,100
Effectiveness- Creating an interactive app would definitely be an effective tool to
have because of all that it would offer.
Option 3 - Mobile Point of Service (POS)
Fan Benefit- The benefit that the fans can find from the POS services is how
convenient it would be. It would also be beneficial to the fans in terms of making

sure that the are able to stay and watch the halftime show because they wont
have to leave during halftime to get their food instead they could just simply order
it and the food will come to them during the halftime break which is very
beneficial.
Cost- $50 to $80 per month
Effectiveness- It would allow hundreds of vendors at University stadium to make
tons of money selling things such as merchandise, food, and beverages. It would
also be effective in terms of providing a secure merchandise and secure
concession sells while also offering savings on time and manpower. As you can
see in (Graph B) the addition of the technological accessibility of (POS) could
improve concession stand sells significantly.

CONCESSION STAND SELLS WITH AND

WITHOUT (POS)

$80,000

$49,887

Without (POS)

With (POS)

(Graph B)

Discussion & Analysis of the Results

The three option that I selected were all analyzed based off of the criteria that I
established in Phase one.
Fan Benefit
Free Powerful Wi-Fi - Great! It is a technological tool that would allow the fans to
stay connected and was one of the most popular technological accessibilities that
the fans wanted to see.

Interactive App - Beneficial in that it allows the fans to stay connected to their
Lobo football team like never before.
Mobile Point-of Service (POS) - Very convenient and is a technological
accessibility that is all about pleasing the fan and making them happy which is a
good thing.

Cost
Free Powerful Wi-Fi - this is the most expensive technological accesibilty sitting
at 6 million dollars but it also worth every penny spent
Interactive App - Will cost around about $50,000 which is a good solid price.
Mobile Point-of-Interest (POS) - The (POS) technology will cost about $50 to $80
dollars per month which is a reasonable amount of money to spend per month on
a quality system like the (POS).
Effectiveness
Free Powerful Wi-Fi - Very effective in terms of drawing bigger crowds and is
something that will be good in the long term.
Interactive App - Is effective in the short term because you have many other apps
such as ESPN, Sports center, etc. that do the same thing
Mobile Point of Interest (POS) - effective in the long term of things because of
how effective it potential could be to concession sells.

Based on the analysis that I conducted and more importantly the voice of the
fans that I was able to hear through the surveys I conducted (Graph C) I believe
that the best option to improving technological accessibilities at University
Stadium would be to integrate a Free Power Wi-Fi system.
The reason being is because without a powerful Wi-Fi and an accessible network
connection all of my other options wouldnt be able to happen. So I suggest that
the best option to go with is to establish a Free Powerful Wi-Fi at University
Stadium and once we have that then many more doors will open up.

Most Popular Vote % (Survey Results)

5%

10%

Free Powerful
Wifi
Interactive App

POS

85%

(Graph C)

Conclusion & Recommendation

So in order to improve the technological accessibilities of University stadium the
following actions are recommended:

Hire a Wi-Fi Setup service such as Geek Squad, Charter Wi-Fi etc.
Hire a Profession IT security professional to set up your network
Choose a Wi-Fi provider such as AT&T, Karma, Century Link etc.
Install the Powerful and Free Wi-Fi Service into University Stadium with
help from provider.

In conclusion based on the option that I have selected University Stadium could
increase its game attendance form just 19,995 per game to 34,200 per game
with Wi-Fi seeing as how University stadium only seats 39,224 people the
inclusion of Wi-Fi guarantees that we could potentially max out the stadium on
game nights. So with the technological accessibility of Wi-Fi University Stadium
could see ticket sells go up which means more money.

References
"10 Ways Stadiums & Venues Are Using Technology to Delight Fans & Keep
Them Coming Back." Umbel. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.
"The Importance of Wi-Fi Access to the Stadium Experience." POPULOUS The
Importance of Wi-Fi Access to the Stadium Experience Comments. N.p.,
11 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.
"Poor Football Ticket Sales Drain UNM Athletic Budget." ABQJournal Online.
N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.