The Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in Arlington, Texas, the nation’s largest and most spectacular domed venue, will have no equal when it opens this summer. Befitting a site of this stature, it will operate the most sophisticated, high-performance and world-class communications infrastructure of any sporting facility in the world, courtesy of CommScope.
The Dallas Cowboys' spectacular new stadium in Arlington, TX, slated to open in June, will rely on communications network infrastructure from CommScope to support all of the stadium's core operations and communications requirements for fans, staff and public safety officials. (Photo: Business Wire)
CommScope was chosen to provide network infrastructure and cellular coverage and capacity solutions for the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium. Through its Enterprise Solutions™ and Andrew Solutions™ businesses, CommScope is furnishing and installing advanced connectivity solutions that will support the stadium’s core operations and communications requirements for fans, staff and public safety officials.
“The Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium will become one of the most visible buildings in the world and, as a part of that, we needed the most advanced communications network we could find—not just for today but also looking into the future,” said Jerry Jones, owner and general manager, Dallas Cowboys Football Club. “CommScope helped us craft one of the finest high-performance networks on the planet. We have a vision for a place that reflects the emotion and competition encapsulated by the stadium, and CommScope has helped bring that to life.”
The state-of-the-art venue, scheduled to open June 2009, will use CommScope’s SYSTIMAX® high-performance network solutions to create the world’s largest internet protocol television (IPTV) installation and operate the stadium’s data center and other technical operations. In addition, the stadium will feature an extensive in-building wireless communications network from Andrew that will provide complete cellular coverage in the stadium and its surrounding property for all spectators and team officials, coaching staff, employees and public safety agencies.
“We are extremely proud that this first-class stadium also will be a showcase for CommScope and its advanced network connectivity solutions,” said Brian Garrett, president and chief operating officer, CommScope. “This is the one of the most prominent examples to date of CommScope’s capabilities to support customers with multiple application requirements, in this case wireless and enterprise connectivity infrastructure. This breadth of solutions is a differentiator for CommScope that delivers great benefit to customers such as the Dallas Cowboys.”
Enterprise Infrastructure
With CommScope’s enterprise solutions fueling the network, stadium managers will have complete control over the Dallas Cowboys stadium’s core operations. The SYSTIMAX solution will provide enhanced network intelligence to systems such as digital audio and video, voice over internet protocol phones, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), access control and most building management applications, giving the Dallas Cowboys IT staff increased vision, knowledge and control that heighten the stadium experience.
In addition, the converged CommScope network will bring streaming video to the one-of-a-kind, four-sided scoreboard featuring the world’s largest LED high-definition video displays and the stadium’s 2,800 TV monitors.
“The Jones family did a fantastic job of creating a stadium where sports and entertainment meet technology,” said Randy Crenshaw, executive vice president and general manager, CommScope Enterprise Solutions. “The CommScope network will play a major role in providing all who enter the stadium with a unique interactive experience, while supporting the operations needs of the Dallas Cowboys organization.”
The SYSTIMAX products will harness the new stadium’s technology and link building systems over a converged network infrastructure in order to supply more efficiency, higher productivity and increased comfort. Network convergence brings a host of opportunities. The same IP network that provides video content to the high-definition LED video displays will control air conditioning, the phone and data systems, roof movement, lighting and many other applications that help complete the ultimate fan experience.
The stadium also will use the SYSTIMAX iPatch® Intelligent Infrastructure Solution to strengthen stadium and network security. The stadium IT staff will rely on iPatch to eliminate the blind spots in the network, detect unauthorized network access in real-time and the location of the breach, monitor all network moves/adds/changes, eliminate documentation errors and quickly solve network troubleshooting. With the Cowboys utilizing VoIP phones in the new stadium, iPatch also handles E911 calls, aiding emergency responders in finding a person in need when emergency numbers are dialed.
Wireless Infrastructure
Stadiums present unique challenges in providing wireless services, with game days requiring a cellular network that supports the equivalent of a small city in a massive structure notorious for difficult signal penetration.
Andrew is a global industry leader at solving the technical challenges posed in providing coverage and capacity solutions in stadiums, subways, airports, skyscrapers and related structures. With its size and elaborate design, the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium required one of the largest and most complex indoor cellular systems of any stadium in the world.
Andrew furnished and is installing a complete multi-carrier, multi-service wireless solution that supports commercial cellular services for general fan and employee usage; public safety services for police, fire, ambulance and federal agencies; and private, internal services for coaching staff and game officials’ communications. It features active (ION™ optical repeaters) and passive (cable, antennas and components) products for a turnkey integrated distributed antenna solution covering more than 20 stadium operations and functions, including ticketing, concessions, halftime staging, data center, maintenance and team offices. In addition, a special UHF frequency can support coach-to-coach and coach-to-player communications, while a VHF channel supports FBI services and 700 MHz and 800 MHz channels link police and fire crews in and around the stadium.
“In addition to being a football showcase, the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium will feature the world’s leading technology solutions,” said Matt Melester, vice president and general manager, Wireless Innovations, Andrew. “Andrew is proud to contribute its extensive expertise to this project as the only provider who can offer turnkey, end-to-end RF wireless infrastructure solutions. The result will be a more positive experience for fans and greater communications capabilities for Cowboys officials and staff.”
Dallas Cowboys’ New Stadium Network Facts
- The new stadium’s infrastructure required more than five million feet of CommScope SYSTIMAX copper and fiber cabling, roughly the walking distance from Dallas to Chicago. Of that amount, the stadium will use approximately 2.7 million feet of SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED X10D® cabling. That entire cable length would stretch approximately from Dallas to Houston to Austin and back to Dallas.
- With its enormous 600-ton scoreboard and the roughly 2,800 monitors positioned throughout the stadium, the stadium will be the world’s largest IPTV installation.
- The new data center at the stadium will serve as the Cowboys’ enterprise data center, supporting the stadium and the Cowboy’s facilities at Valley Ranch.
- The CommScope network installations, which started in September 2008, will have taken nine months to complete.
- The Cowboys’ SYSTIMAX iPatch System installation will be a first for NFL stadiums. The system will help Dallas Cowboys IT staff document and manage activity from more than 40,000 copper and fiber ports.
- The stadium will have 69 intermediate distribution frames (IDFs) and a single data center.
CommScope Enterprise Solutions, a division of CommScope, Inc., offers a complete portfolio of network infrastructure solutions that enable enterprise customers, regardless of size, industry or IT budget, to take advantage of business and technology opportunities. The division’s SYSTIMAX® and Uniprise® product lines offer voice, data, video and converged solutions ranging from mission-critical, high-bandwidth and emerging applications to applications that demand unrelenting reliability and quality for everyday needs. Backed by CommScope Labs, the product lines are delivered through a global channel network of industry-leading BusinessPartners and distributors, ensuring a consistent and high-level of service and support worldwide.
Andrew offers operators worldwide a complete portfolio of coverage and capacity products that includes Node repeaters, indoor antennas, and passive devices in addition to ION optical distribution systems and RADIAX® radiating cable. The company boasts over 15 years of experience in designing, testing, installing and managing complicated wireless signal distribution systems for metropolitan railways, tramways, and other large-sized construction projects. Among numerous other projects, Andrew previously was chosen to provide coverage and capacity for the Turin, Italy underground in advance of the 2006 Winter Olympics and for many of the 2006 World Cup venues in Germany. The company has installed systems on numerous high-speed rail systems, including those in Taiwan, Spain, Switzerland, Norway and People’s Republic of China.
SYSTIMAX, GigaSPEED X10D,iPatch, Uniprise and RADIAX are registered trademarks of CommScope, Inc.ION, Andrew Solutions and Enterprise Solutions are trademarks of CommScope, Inc.
About CommScope
CommScope, Inc. (NYSE: CTV)(www.commscope.com) is a world leader in infrastructure solutions for communication networks. Through its Andrew® brand, it is a global leader in radio frequency subsystem solutions for wireless networks. Through its SYSTIMAX® and Uniprise® brands, CommScope is a world leader in network infrastructure solutions, delivering a complete end-to-end physical layer solution, including cables and connectivity, enclosures, intelligent software and network design services, for business enterprise applications. CommScope also is the premier manufacturer of coaxial cable for broadband cable television networks and one of the leading North American providers of environmentally secure cabinets for DSL and FTTN applications. Backed by strong research and development, CommScope combines technical expertise and proprietary technology with global manufacturing capability to provide customers with infrastructure solutions for evolving global communications networks in more than 130 countries around the world.
This press release includes forward-looking statements that are based on information currently available to management, management’s beliefs, as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results to differ materially from those currently expected. For a more detailed description of the factors that could cause such a difference, please see CommScope’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In providing forward-looking statements, the company does not intend, and is not undertaking any obligation or duty, to update these statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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News Media Contact:
Rick Aspan, CommScope
+1 708-236-6568 or publicrelations@andrew.com
or
Brett Daniels, Dallas Cowboys
+1 972-556-9954 or bdaniels@dallascowboys.net
or
Investor Contact:
Phil Armstrong, CommScope
+1 828-323-4848