Technology is changing the game – for fans, athletes and the businesses behind them.
Traveling to a live sporting event, getting tickets and booking a room can be difficult and expensive, making it inaccessible for many. People watching at home want to capture as much of that live experience as possible – sharing stats, videos and reactions – from anywhere.
5G is democratizing access to the fan experience, so everyone can be a part of the action.
Las Vegas Grand Prix is one of the biggest sports events in the world, and the racing fan base has grown substantially in recent years. These fans have long wanted an experience that connects them to other fans, drivers and race operations.
Las Vegas Grand Prix needed a partner with a powerful network and scalable, customized solutions. They turned to T-Mobile for America’s largest and fastest 5G network, naming us their official wireless, internet and business solutions provider.
300,000 people are expected at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. With such massive crowds, plus a big geographic footprint, connectivity has long been a pain point at race events. Even locals had spotty coverage or no reception at all when race fans came to town. Our massive network investments have enabled the scalability and speed to connect an event of this size and complexity – to create a new fan experience and to provide smooth operations for everyone on the ground, including race operations, and even small shops selling merchandise.
5G does more than connect people at sporting events. The speed and low latency of 5G also enhances data collection and sharing for race teams – which is critical to analyzing and visualizing data to maximize performance. Data is a competitive equalizer – when everyone has it, they can determine their own strategy to win. 5G is not only democratizing access to the fan experience, but it’s democratizing access to data.
We’re seeing this dynamic play out across many of our sports partnerships. We worked with Major League Baseball to create an app that uses augmented reality (AR) to give fans 3D visuals on the field, like ball distance, launch angles and an interactive strike zone to view and replay pitches. Our 5G POV cameras captured live video of the action for fans at an astounding 500 frames per second. And fans can watch live broadcast feeds from on-board athletes with action cameras on SailGP’s boats, powered by sensors that feed hundreds of thousands of data points.
And now we’re ready to power our largest event ever here at Las Vegas Grand Prix.
A dedicated 5G hybrid network from T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions (ANS) will boost the Ultra Capacity 5G performance to support critical operational needs, garages and staff communications. It will deliver high-speed, high-capacity and low-latency, greater privacy and security, and reduced signal interference. Our 5G macro network will ensure a smooth ticketing experience at the gate – no need to screenshot or save tickets to phones. That goes for cashless concessions, too.
We also co-created the first-of-its-kind Las Vegas Grand Prix app, a one-stop digital destination for attendees to access everything during race weekend, including event schedules, tickets, track and team information and merchandise. There’s innovative wayfinding within the app, so fans can easily navigate the circuit with interactive maps to entry points and seating areas. Directions will be updated in real time based on trackside conditions to help reduce congestion.
For fans outside Las Vegas, the app will have an interactive driving experience, delivering a first look at the race circuit with 360-degree high-definition views around the track captured via 5G-connected cameras. Every turn can be paused and explored using on-screen controls, so no one misses any of the action.
And 5G is going to make the race fun. T-Mobile Zone at Sphere will be one of the largest spectator footprints on the grid. It will look great in magenta! We’ll hand out custom LED bracelets for all fans within the zone on Saturday, November 18. They will be synchronized to glow magenta each time the race leader passes Turn 5G. That’s also the spot where fans can enjoy live entertainment and our VIP area – Club Magenta.
Every day, the T-Mobile for Business team is working alongside our business, government and education customers to develop innovative solutions to help them realize their own digital transformations. The Las Vegas Grand Prix will demonstrate our capacity to do bigger and bolder things – and deliver experiences we have yet to dream up.