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Yes, it’s 2012 and I want a smooth, reliable mobile and Wi-Fi experience everywhere I go and especially when I'm at Milwaukee area sporting events.
I want replays. I want to know where my friends are and what they’re doing. I want special offers. I want to be able to access and set my DVR from my Bradley Center, Miller Park or Lambeau Field seat. I want to watch that blown call by my favorite referee even though the in house jumbotron won’t show it. I want it all.
So, will I get it? Maybe. Cisco is on a mission to connect stadiums around the world. Yet today, and sadly, all of our major sporting venues in Wisconsin are lacking when it comes to free, fast Wi-Fi.
How do we solve this?
How about personal mifi devices (compact wireless routers) for season ticket holders, or every ticket holder for each individual event? I realize there are carrier challenges, but this may be a creative solution.
I asked Steve Costello at the Bradley Center. He and great team are, of course, aware of the Cisco solution and they "recognize the interest of our fans in staying connected while attending events." "Our first priority is to assure all our local wireless carriers have solid signal in the Center for their cellular customers," said Costello.
This is great news as I can barely text while inside BC.
Costello continued, "We continue to work with our cellular carriers and third party system designers to identify solutions to assure both continued strong cellular signal and future wifi capabilities at the Bradley Center. Designing solutions to provide robust wifi capacity in large arenas and stadiums is far more complex and expensive than in other types of venues due to the high concentration of users."
So, when is this going to get done? "While we don't today have a confirmed timetable for rolling out Wi-Fi, it is on our radar and we expect to know more by the end of 2012," said Costello.
If massive places like Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells can do it, I trust and expect our sport stadiums to follow very soon.
Let’s hope the Wi-Fi ball continues to roll at the Bradley Center, Miller Park, Lambeau Field, U.S. Cellular Arena and all other sports venues this year!
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
