The Aviva Stadium, Dublin, is the heart of Irish sport with capacity for over 51,000 spectators and the home venue for both the Irish Rugby Union and Soccer teams. Having been chosen in recent years to host marquee events including the UEFA Europa League Final, the Nations Cup and will host the 2013 Heineken Cup Final, they added further to their growing reputation by being chosen to host the US College Football game between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen, a game dubbed the Emerald Isle Classic.
The event was held on the 1st September, and joining the sportsmen from across the Atlantic were 35,000 American and 15,000 Irish sports fans filling virtually every seat in the Aviva Stadium, and creating a carnival atmosphere in Dublin.
With the game bringing an estimated 100million Euros into the local economy, it was vital that the Aviva Stadium team maximised their own revenue potentials, and so decided to take advantage of their existing screen real estate by investing in a digital media solution; a solution which used a mixture of digital signage, live TV, match day feeds and video streaming straight from post production suite.
With over 200 screens around the site the advertising possibilities were great, and with the option to stream the game live to each screen simultaneously they could also enhance their customers’ experience. Making matters even simpler, the entire solution was controlled from a single, central, web based management system, ensuring it was simple and quick to update or amend anything on their screens. Ronan Burke from the Aviva Stadium team was delighted with the performance of the system; “This was a real one off opportunity for the Stadium and so we knew we had to get it right. Thanks to the support of the Tripleplay and NextGen teams we did, and we sent 50,000 college football fans home happy having had a top class experience.”
Since the Notre Dame-Navy game, the Aviva Stadium has also utilised their signage for other events and, most notably, music concerts, including Lady GaGa’s recent appearance at the stadium. Again, the screens were used to advertise and show special in-stadium offers, ensuring maximum use of their digital media solution.
Tripleplay’s Paul Harris was delighted to be a part of the event; “Working with our partner Nextgen on this project has been a pleasure. It was a great example of how effective our solutions can be and how they can enhance great events such as these!”
