- Olympia Entertainment chose CenturyLink to provide the network infrastructure for Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Little Caesars Arena is part of a 50-block, mixed-use development led by the Ilitch organization called The District Detroit. Accommodating up to 20,000 people, the arena serves as the new home of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and many other sports, entertainment and community events. In total, more than 1 million guests have passed through the doors of Little Caesars Arena since it opened three months ago.
With the goal of keeping fans connected during their visit, CenturyLink designed, engineered and installed a converged local-area network (LAN) for the venue, which also serves as the communications cornerstone for The District Detroit. Every communications platform, component or device within Little Caesars Arena can be connected to the CenturyLink network.
CenturyLink built the network based on the company’s significant experience powering similar venues, and Little Caesars Arena offers another proof point of how committed CenturyLink is to building high-capacity networks in public spaces.
“Building a world-class communications infrastructure was critical to the success of the arena, and CenturyLink delivered,” said John King, vice president, information & innovation for Olympia Entertainment, Inc., which provides facility management services at Little Caesars Arena and serves as the sales and marketing organization for the Detroit Red Wings. “The arena’s advanced communications network helps us keep our guests connected in multiple ways as they’re enjoying our events, while enabling the operations staff to keep everything running smoothly and at peak efficiency.”
The arena’s communications infrastructure features more than 12,000 active internet ports, over 200 virtual LANs (VLANs) and 45 intermediate distribution frames (IDFs), which connect telecommunications cables between end-user devices and a main distribution frame. The core network is capable of supporting 40 gigabits of data throughput, with a redundant 20-gigabit uplink to each IDF serving the facility. CenturyLink also powers the arena’s call center by providing voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) service for approximately 700 wired phones in the arena and adjacent operations offices.
In addition, the arena features digital signage and internet-protocol televisions (IPTV) powered by CenturyLink that display updated information on the event in progress or other relevant, customized content. Little Caesars Arena staff can control screens throughout the facility via a central command center. The IPTV platform feeds approximately 1,700 video display screens, including the giant screens in the common areas. Additionally, CenturyLink supports telephony, ticketing, parking, concession point-of-sale terminals and event-day technical assistance, enabling operations to run efficiently for both guests and staff.
