Convergence and Autonomous Management Make Modern Network for New Stadium
From strategy to success: Allied Telesis designs a state-of-the-art large-venue solution for Steaua Stadium in Bucharest.
Customer: | Industry: | Location: |
Steaua Stadium | Hospitality | Bucharest, Romania |
Steaua Stadium has been reborn like a phoenix from the ashes and is presented in an extremely modern form.
Prime Minister of Romania, present at the launch ,
Rebuilding an Icon
First opened in 1974, Steaua Stadium was one of the first football-only stadiums in Romania, a nation captivated by football and with a huge professional market for the sport. The stadium, owned by the Ministry of National Defense and managed by the Steaua Army Sports Club, is located in the Ghencea neighborhood and is the home of the Steaua Bucharest football team.
Maintenance included renovations in 1996 and 2006 when the stadium hosted the UEFA Champions League. In 2018, the original building was demolished, and construction began of the ultra-modern multifunctional new stadium taking its place. As well as a football stadium seating over 30,000 patrons, the new complex houses the CSA Steaua Bucharest club museum, restaurants, shops, a press area, a gym, locker rooms, and a hotel, plus office space and conference rooms. A massive undertaking with a build area of 82,000 sqm, the project cost in excess of €94.5 million euros.
Partner Profile
With over 30 years of experience, HELINICK is an undisputed leader in the electronic security and safety market in Romania. Thanks to their extensive history of success with clients from utilities, retail and governmental sectors, HELINICK was hired in 2019 to manage the creation of security systems for the new Steaua Stadium.
Why Allied Telesis?
This next-generation stadium required a next-generation network infrastructure solution, built from the ground up. HELINICK looked for products with high levels of security and performance, and wanted to achieve a unified communications infrastructure that would encompass all the stadium’s various online systems.
HELINICK had worked with Allied Telesis before with great success. Allied Telesis has a long history of providing contemporary, customer-focused solutions, delivering added value alongside high-quality service and support. Allied Telesis technology also has a very high performance-to-cost ratio, which was key to providing the state-of-the-art technology required within the budget available. The choice was easy.
Thanks to the history of successful collaboration between our companies, and to our complete faith in the high quality of Allied Telesis equipment, an Allied Telesis solution was the obvious choice for Steaua Stadium.
Sales Manager,
Large Venue Requires Robust Solution
With 31,254 seats, the new Steaua Stadium is one of the most modern in Eastern Europe. The playing surface alone is 105 meters by 68 meters, with in-built heating, defrosting, drainage and irrigation. The complex has systems for fire detection, carbon monoxide detection, public address, evacuation, video surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, ticketing and more. The brand-new network had to converge all of these online systems into a single cohesive and easy-to-manage solution.
A robust and high-performing network infrastructure was essential—images from the video surveillance system are transmitted to both the stadium’s dispatcher and the Gendarmerie, creating an extremely large and ongoing volume of data traffic. Always-on, optimized Wi-Fi was crucial and had to cover the entire complex, with thousands of users connecting simultaneously across the stadium, restaurants, press and VIP areas, and more.
Maximizing the Visitor Experience
The stadium’s new network features Allied Telesis high performing xSeries managed switches, for a superior solution with the capacity and always-on availability to support the many digital systems that enable smooth stadium operation. Key functions—like ticketing, which uses fixed booths as well as mobile ticket validators, and video surveillance for security—ensure smooth visitor access and a safe environment during events.
The high-performing network includes powerful Wi-Fi capabilities for both staff and visitors, with Allied Telesis TQ5403 Hybrid Wireless Access Points (APs) providing optimized wireless across the complex. These APs are managed by Autonomous Wave Control (AWC), an intelligent wireless controller which analyzes signal coverage gaps and AP interference, and then automatically optimizes the Wi-Fi network, to deliver a seamless user experience and the best possible performance for all visitors.
Intelligence and Automation = Lower Operating Costs
The AWC self-tuning wireless network is paired with the Allied Telesis Vista Manager™ EX network management platform to provide visual management and monitoring of Wi-Fi performance and operation. Vista Manager EX enables proactive wireless network management, with simplified administration reducing ongoing IT cost and complexity for the stadium.
Another innovative Allied Telesis technology in use is Active Fiber Monitoring (AFM) which provides the stadium with non-stop, automated monitoring of all optical fiber with no need for expensive third-party equipment. Any tampering or intrusion on optical links would be quickly detected and can be automatically stopped, so the stadium is assured their network is secure.
The new network is not only easy to manage with its powerful automation and visibility features reducing administration, it also comfortably supports the many online systems critical in running this world-class stadium—and most importantly provides a great experience for all sports fans and other visitors.
Looking to the Future
After seeing the benefits of AWC automated wireless optimization, the stadium plans to introduce Allied Telesis Autonomous Management Framework™ (AMF), which enables automated management of the wired network devices. Vista Manager EX will provide a single-pane-of-glass view of all AMF devices, with the network map showing these devices alongside the AWC wireless devices, for complete network visibility and control.
