American Football
It has been billed as the most technologically advanced stadium in the National Football League, but the media and fans are giving Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, mixed reviews.
Levi’a Stadium made its debut on 2 August 2014, when 48,000 soccers fans showed up to watch the San Jose Earthquakes defeat the Seattle Sounders by a score of 1-0.
Two weeks later, the Santa Clara 49ers, I mean San Francisco 49ers, played their first game at Levi’s Stadium, falling to the Denver Broncos by a score of 34-0.
Located south of San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley in Santa Clara, California, Levi’s Stadium has been billed as “one of the most technologically and environmentally advanced buildings in all of sports and entertainment, with the largest high definition outdoor screens in the world”.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The stadium so far has been getting mixed reviews from fans and the media. Some love it, others are less than impressed.
Ryan Lawler of Tech Crunch Network is full of praise.
“What’s really cool about Levi’s Stadium is the technology that has been built into it,” Ryan says.
“Fans will be treated to arena-wide WiFi, with more than 1,000 access points scattered throughout the stadium. It will have 40 Gbps of connectivity coming in, which is about 40 times the capacity of even the most connected stadiums out there.”
CBS San Francisco is equally upbeat.
“The $1.2 billion stadium will showcase and integrate the technology for which the Silicon Valley is known, including a stadium-wide Wi-Fi network that will allow 68,500 fans to connect simultaneously and run apps, view streaming video and order food online,” CBS says.
“Another aspect of the stadium is it’s environmentally-friendly features, such as a green rooftop on the tower of suites and and solar panels throughout the stadium site. It’s also home to the 49ers Museum.”
Making a Real Statement
But Ashlee Vance is BloombergBusinessweek is clearly not a fan of the new football stadium.
“… with Levi’s Stadium, the 49ers had a chance to make a real statement,” Ashlee says.
“The team had shifted from the old, decrepit Candlestick Stadium, caught in a no-man’s-land between San Francisco and the monied suburbs of Silicon Valley. The 49ers could have built something as beautiful at AT&T Park—something with character and unique architectural elements. Instead, they built something that is nice, functional, and unspectacular. Wasn’t the whole point of Levi’s Stadium to appeal to the ultrarich who spend their days immersed in technological wonder?”