Stadiums built purely for ninety minutes of action are a thing of the past. Fans now arrive expecting a connected, hospitality-led experience that extends far beyond their seat, and venues that can’t deliver reliable Wi-Fi, fast-moving queues and engaging content throughout the concourse risk falling short of that expectation. As European stadiums look to compete with the scale and ambition of their US counterparts, and new developments in cities like Birmingham and Oxford push towards 365-day, multi-use destinations, the pressure on technical infrastructure has never been greater.

To understand how operators are meeting that challenge, MONDO | STADIA spoke with Fran Williams, Technical Commercial Director at Diversified, about why AV and IT can no longer sit in separate departments, what it takes to design a venue for flexibility from the ground up, and how AI is starting to prove its worth behind the scenes rather than on the pitch.

The AV inside stadia and venues seems to just be getting continually more advanced. What’s changed for stadiums over the last few years that demands such huge AV outfits?

The expectations around the stadium experience have changed dramatically. Ten years ago, the focus was largely on getting fans through the gates, watching the game and getting them home. Today, the game is just one part of a much bigger experience and fans increasingly expect venues to deliver something memorable from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

We’ve seen the US continually push the boundaries of what that can look like, and the World Cup has put many of those stadiums and experiences firmly in the global spotlight. Fans from the UK and Europe visiting these venues can see the difference first-hand. That creates both an opportunity and a challenge for European stadiums. There’s pressure to invest and keep pace at a time when many venues are also facing significant financial constraints. Better experiences can also create new opportunities to generate revenue, increase dwell time and give people more reasons to come back.

Read the full interview from ISSUE 49 below: