Using digital two-way radios to improve stadium management

From football to boxing, live music to circus acts, stadiums across the world host millions of people each year.

These stadiums, previously only used for sporting events, have quickly become “complete” entertainment venues, offering everything from food and drink to their own conference centres. Just look at Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium!

But while the transformation and expansion of stadiums bodes well for visitors, they have created a number of additional operational challenges.

Security, capacity, facilities management and – perhaps most crucially – communication are put under greater strain. Without the right infrastructure that delivers clear and immediate communication, problems can quickly spiral out of control.

In this blog, we’ll highlight how digital two-way radios can help stadium staff and managers to communicate effectively and keep attendees safe and secure.

Meeting expectations and keeping things under control

For attendees, there’s nothing more frustrating than missing a chunk of entertainment because of waiting in line to buy food or drink.

Managing concession stands at a stadium will always be a challenge, that may never change, but what can be changed is the speed of service delivery – and communication plays a key part.

For example, if the stadium’s concession stands are understaffed due to capacity oversight, the manager responsible needs to request further support. However, emailing or messaging the facilities management provider will take far too long and the manager can’t afford to have dissatisfied customers.

Instead, a facilities management provider and concession managers equipped with a lightweight digital two-way radio can communicate in real time and request assistance as and when it’s needed. This will help to avoid unnecessary delays, keep customers happy and ensure service flows as normal.

The Motorola SL2600, for instance, is a sleek and lightweight digital two-way radio for front-of-house teams. It blends seamlessly with professional attire and its lightweight construction means it doesn’t inhibit movement. Wireless accessories can also be connected to allow for hands-free communication – ideal in fast-paced concession and front-of-house operations.

Check out our guide for more information on choosing the right digital two-way radio accessories.

Managing security in a large, complex environment

Stadium security is one of the more challenging aspects of stadium management; security teams have to deal with intoxicated attendees, stop violence, control crowds, confiscate drugs and patrol the premises. All of this can be difficult without real-time communication, and as security teams are often spread across the site, response time is crucial.

If a large fight breaks out, security teams need to be able to mobilise quickly to minimise damage and disruption, as well as promptly restrain any other attendees that might feel compelled to do the same.

But without a real-time communications solution to get in contact with other security teams (and the police/emergency services) as soon as the problem occurs and consolidate efforts, a fight could escalate into a riot and involve innocent bystanders. Timely and clear communication can also be challenging given the background noise within incredibly loud stadiums.

Digital two-way radios such as the Motorola DP4401e are ideal in this scenario. Featuring intelligent, best-in-class audio, the front-facing speaker automatically adjusts the radio’s volume based on the environment’s noise level. Bluetooth wireless earpieces can also be connected to the radio to improve audio and allow for discreet, hands-free communication.

This will also ensure that if there is a sensitive security issue, it can be kept private and avoid panic.

Furthermore, it comes with an emergency button to send an alert to a supervisor or dispatcher (such as the police/emergency services), integrated GPS for location tracking (enabling security teams to rapidly locate incidents) and text messaging for instances where voice is not possible.

Team-based and wide-area communication infrastructure

As stadiums expand and implement new services, it’s crucial that the teams responsible for those services can communicate amongst themselves and other teams when necessary.

It would be counterproductive and distracting for teams to all use a single communications channel to relay updates, especially in fast-paced environments like stadiums. Important messages could be missed or misheard, leading to problems later on.

Instead, it makes more sense to have dedicated communication channels for each individual team. This enables team leaders to provide instructions and updates to team members without interruption and any general updates that affect other teams can be delivered over the group channel.

A digital two-way radio system is ideal for this cross stadium, multi-team, real-time communication. Simple to install and entirely scalable, radios can be integrated seamlessly with existing communications to provide hybrid infrastructure that meets every communication requirement.

How can 2CL Communications help?

As two-way radio experts, we can help with the deployment and installation of two-way radios and two-way radio systems. We also offer a range of two-way radio accessories.

If you operate and/or manage a stadium, you no doubt know just how important resolving the above challenges are – but they can be easily addressed with the right communication solution.

Two-way radios provide a completely scalable and customisable communication solution that can be applied across the entire stadium. If you’re interested, we can help. So, whether you want to purchase or hire, just get in touch!