Cool gadgets streamline the view at stadium

Scanners, which double as phones, will check for stolen tickets. Photo / Richard Robinson

It might not be able to guarantee a win for the home side, but the technology upgrade to Eden Park means sports fans will never have to miss a game-winning try - even if it comes as they grab a drink or go to the toilet.

The digital stadium experience aims to drag sports watchers off the couch and into the stands with a "gold class" experience making it better to be at the game than sitting at home.

Eden Park's technology director Glen McCracken said the technology available to the armchair sports enthusiast had raised the bar for what people expected from events.

Television viewers got a plethora of angles and slow motion replays, surround sound and had a beer fridge on hand.

"So we really have to up it with respect to what we can offer - rather than just being 'oh, it's a great atmosphere'," said Mr McCracken.

With 10km of fibre optic cable in addition to nearly 70km of high-spec cabling under the hood, everything from the 100-plus CCTV cameras through to the touch screen tills in the food and beverage outlets is now connected and run by computer software.

The technology boost will ensure spectators at Eden Park get into the ground and to their seats quickly, avoid queues for food and drinks and, with 300 plasma screens everywhere from the concourse to the toilets, will never miss that crucial try.

The first difference Eden Park spectators will notice are the electronic turnstiles on arrival.

Gone are the queues as security guards inspect tickets - instead banks of express turnstiles scan a ticket barcode to allow entry.

CCTV cameras monitor the arriving crowd, at the turnstiles and on the streets around the stadium.

Any sudden increases in numbers at the turnstiles can be dealt with by security staff opening additional gates and using hand scanners to check tickets.

Once inside, electronic signs on the 300 newly installed plasma screens direct people to their seats.

The screens, placed everywhere from the main concourse areas to the toilets, will keep spectators up-to-date with the game action, the location of the nearest food and drink outlet, lost children and the quickest after-game exit route.

The electronic signs can be quickly updated and customised to enable advertising in one part of the stadium or throughout it.

They are part of a specialist package called StadiumVision, produced by the American technology giant Cisco.

It is in about a dozen large stadiums in the US, but Eden Park is the first place outside of the States to use the technology.

Mr McCracken said StadiumVision could be set up to so spectators could do everything from ordering food from their smart phones to selecting a specific camera angle for the TVs in the corporate areas.

But at this stage he is keeping it simple.

"We do strike a balancing act between putting in the most cutting edge technology that we possible can, and putting in stuff that will make people feel alienated because they can't use that technology."

Mr McCracken said technology partners Gen-i initially offered Eden Park a simple solution, but came up with a second option - which it chose - to do something really smart.

"We wanted to put in the smartest network we could which would allow us to switch things on if we needed to in the future," he said.

He said it was like having a lovely retro car that looked stunning but had been kitted out with the latest gadgets, making it more efficient and enjoyable to drive.

"You've got the best of the legacy of Eden Park," said Mr McCracken. "You still have the whole atmosphere, the whole passion, the whole history, but you've got all these really cool gadgets."

The first big test for the stadium will be on November 6 when Eden Park hosts a rugby league double header in which the Kiwis play Australia, preceded by a clash between England and Papua New Guinea.

If Auckland secure a home final for rugby's ITM Cup competition, Eden Park could have rugby action on November 5.

But the new system allows for the electronic information to be switched over at the touch of a button.

Tweaking the stadium's technology for future events would be done based on spectator feedback from these events.

"This is the first step," said Mr McCracken "We've got the foundation in place; now we need to figure out what things do customers want when they come here and what can make it more compelling than sitting at home and draw people to Eden Park."

Eden Park exposed to ticket scam

Eden Park is not immune from a ticketing scam that hit the Wellington Phoenix Football Club.

Fans there discovered they could gain entry to the club's home games at Westpac Stadium for a reduced price by using children's tickets at the stadium's electronic turnstiles.

Adult patrons could halve the entry price by taking advantage of the security loophole.

Eden Park's ICT manager, Glen McCracken, said the same scam could be used to gain entry to Eden Park through its upgraded electronic turnstiles.

He said hand-scanners used by security staff would display the ticket information and enable a visual check to be made of the spectator.

But the turnstiles do not differentiate between different ticket types.

"The turnstiles are dumb in that sense. They're quite binary," said Mr McCracken.

"I don't think it is an issue at this stage. If we saw it was an issue there a things we could do.

"We could change the colour scheme on the back of the ticket. There are things we could do, but at this stage we just want people to use the turnstiles."

While the express turnstiles won't be able to pick up people fraudulently using children's tickets, they will enable stolen or scalped tickets to be easily identified.

McCracken said strict ticketing controls for the Rugby World Cup meant it was unlikely a scam like the Wellington one would work for the big event next year.