1899 Hoffenheim
Top-of-the-league ICT
Bundesliga soccer club 1889 Hoffenheim recently built a state-of-the-art stadium, the Rhein-Neckar Arena, and introduced a leading-edge end-to-end ICT infrastructure.
Making the Bundesliga was always the plan, but it happened sooner than expected. When the team was promoted to Germany’s top soccer league in 2008, 1899 Hoffenheim had very little time to build a stadium that met the high standards of national and international governing bodies. Yet the Rhein-Neckar Arena was complete a mere 20 months later. Located near the town of Sinsheim, the 30,000-capacity stadium is admired throughout Europe for its design and facilities. T-Systems was tasked with ensuring that the stadium itself, the club’s training center, and its offices are supported by state-of-the-art ICT technology. “Without the right IT, managing a stadium to today’s exacting standards is simply impossible,” explain 1899 senior executives Jochen A. Rotthaus and Frank Briel.
End-to-end ICT package for secure data transfer within the stadium and beyond
The Rhein-Neckar Arena construction project was divided into 70 contracts, with seven being awarded to T-Systems. The Deutsche Telekom subsidiary was responsible for telephone and PA systems, audiovisual equipment and for the entire ICT network (linking the stadium and other club facilities), and a comprehensive security solution. All voice and data traffic passes over an IP network, which also grants access to the core SAP system. The result is better internal communications and faster decision-making. What’s more, digitized business processes are generating tangible savings, for example by replacing physical meetings with video conferences. And the stadium clearly impressed FIFA: the international soccer federation chose the Rhein-Neckar Arena to host a number of games at the 2011 Women’s World Cup in Germany.
More about 1899 Hoffenheim customer reference
The customer
- Soccer club based in Sinsheim, Germany, with around 5,500 members
- Soccer team has played in the Bundesliga since 2008
- Built one of Europe’s most state-of-the-art stadiums, with capacity for over 30,000
- Stadium selected to host a number of matches for the 2011 Women’s World Cup
The challenge
- Implement entire communications infrastructure
- Connect stadium, offices and other facilities via network – and integrate with SAP system
- Simplify communication and collaboration between employees, coaching staff and players
- Meet the standards of both German governing body and FIFA, including data security
The solution
- Redundant IP network infrastructure for voice and data, plus WLAN
- Unified communication & collaboration solution (UCC)
- Managed security package, including firewall
- Centrally managed audio and video technology (large video screens, flatscreens, projectors and audio components) for the stadium
- Mobile connectivity with support for key decision makers, including for professional squad players
The benefits
- Compliance with requirements of governing bodies; stadium selected to host 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup matches
- Video screen availability of 99.9 percent, essential for TV rights and sponsors
- UCC solution, combining landlines, cell phones and emails
