ESSMA-BASIS Smart & Sustainable Stadium Workshop: Day 2 in Review

Day 2 of the Workshop was kicked off with an introduction by RFU’s Sustainability Manager, Dru Morton. After he welcomed the participants, members were taken on a behind-the-scenes tour of Twickenham Stadium where Morton disseminated a lot of technical data regarding the venue, its operations and sustainability credentials. 

Stadium Energy Management

After the behind-the-scenes tour, Morton gave a presentation about Stadium Energy Management and Monitoring, Metering & Targeting (MM&T). In terms of the drivers for MM&T, he outlined these as: increasing venue consumption; increasing energy costs; increasing venue utilisation; strategic flaws in building operation; and inconsistent standards.

Conclusively, Dru outlined the key benefits that could be realised by undertaking MM&T actions:

• Reductions in energy consumption
• Improved budgeting
• Improved planned preventative maintenance
• Better contractor control
• Improved event costing
• Reductions in waste

Hospitality & innovative ticketing in smart stadiums

George Vaughn, RFU’s Senior Project Manager, continued the workshop with a presentation on hospitality & innovative ticketing in smart stadiums titled ‘Connected Stadium: An operational approach to technology'.

Subjects included Click & Collect (pre-order F&B), Connected Hawking (contactless system) and the benefits of technology at Twickenham Stadium.  

Make sure you have visibility on every penny spent in the stadium; with real-time data from every till, including spend per head, and headline reports should be sent to management every 15 minutes.

George Vaughn - Senior Project Manager RFU

Furthermore, Vaughn explained there is no room for complacency and that the impact of computerisation and digitalisation can't be ignored. The three pillars to achieving this are: connect; communicate; transact. 

Here at Twickenham, we are working on replacing the information screens with their digital counterparts, able to deliver real-time data, with a modern look and feel, over the next 12 months. We are also looking at way-finding using sales data to inform visitors and fans and using app technology to provide items and services including: Order2Seat, digital programmes, seat finder, ticket delivery, ‘Find a Hawker’, news feeds and video replays/exclusive content. VR/AR technologies also offer opportunities to engage with the millions of fans who can’t make it to the venue. Give those fans something unique that even in-stadium fans can’t have. Basically, if you employ technology effectively, it will deliver returns.

George Vaughn - Senior Project Manager RFU 

Panel discussion: Stadium energy management

Next to deliver their insights were: Russell Seymour, Sustainability Manager at Marylebone Cricket Club/Lord’s Cricket ground and leading light at BASIS; Sander van Stiphout, Director, Amsterdam ArenA International; Dru Morton, Sustainability Manager, RFU; Kees Klein Hesselink, Arena Solutions, Philips Lighting; and BASIS representative, Blair Bartholomew, who tackled the topic of ‘Stadium Energy Management’. 

When it comes to different stadiums and their different energy needs, you need to be able to carefully track your consumption and submit budgets accordingly. You must be in control of your energy and the only way to ensure this is by effecting accurate monitoring and metering. 

Blair Bartholomew, BASIS representative

Amsterdam ArenA: Innovation Arena

In his presentation, Sander van Stiphout provided details firstly on the Amsterdam ArenA itself and then on the Amsterdam Innovation Arena. The Amsterdam Innovation Arena is a living lab where ideas and technologies grow into innovative Smart City and Smart Stadium products and services. Moreover, he provided participants with knowledge and examples regarding field of innovation, green credentials, customer journey and fan experience & key challenges moving forward.

When it comes to Amsterdam ArenA’s green credentials, van Stiphout advised that it is naturally sustainable with 4,200 solar panels on the roof, an energy storage battery in car park P1, energy-generating escalators, LED lighting, and a windmill.  

Amsterdam Innovation Arena (AIA) themes include: digital connectivity; fan experience; customer journey; safety & security; sustainability & circular economy; and facility management. In regards to Big Data, we are utilising area management and stadium management systems to track the fan experience, customer journey, safety & security, sustainability, and asset management. The benefits of this, together with Wi-Fi tracking, include: being able to optimise the customer journey and increase retail turnover; manage crowds in and around the venue, increasing safety and security; and our cleaning efforts can be based on usage, meaning lower cleaning costs.

Sander Van Stiphout, Director Amsterdam ArenA International 

With the main objectives of the two days – to share valuable content; have discussions on the future of smart stadiums; to provide an opportunity to ask specific questions and seek peer-to-peer solutions; and to ensure strong industry networking – being delivered upon extremely successfully, with in-depth discussions possible thanks to the interactive nature of the Workshop. 

NB: In the coming days, we will be bringing you an article highlighting the Key Takeaways from the ESSMA-BASIS Smart & Sustainable Stadium Workshop.