Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
ERA® digital DAS helps Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse build a frictionless fan experience.
Located in the heart of downtown Cleveland, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is home to the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the AHL’s Monsters. It can seat almost 19,500 basketball fans or 19,000 hockey fans and hosts more than 200 events a year.
“It’s been great for us to see the increase we’ve had with both the customer satisfaction and the amount of revenue that we can pull in across a two-and-a-half-hour window.”
Michael Conley, Chief Information Officer
Cleveland Cavaliers
Originally known as Gund Arena, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse opened in October 1994 as part of Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex in an effort to revitalize the downtown area. Although equipped with a state-of-the-art communication system at the time, the FieldHouse was built when telecom gear wasn’t complicated and the internet had just started to become mainstream.
Despite attempts to keep the wireless network operating as efficiently and effectively as possible, Conley knew it was time for a new solution. "After years and years of short-term solutions,” said Conley, "we finally had a chance to do it correctly. At the core was our need to build out a sustainable network infrastructure that will allow us to survive for another 15 to 20 years." CommScope’s ERA all-digital DAS met all their goals.
“We’ll be reducing footprint from the old system by close to 85%,” said Conley. The new digital DAS is also expected to provide Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with substantial savings on capital expenditures (CapEx) and operation expenditures (OpEx). But what got Conley really excited is how this new system will improve how the FieldHouse can engage with visitors and guests.
Using the new ERA digital DAS, Conley can now use geofencing to make the trip to the FieldHouse more memorable. From prompts with local traffic updates or parking recommendations to directions on where to find your seat, the FieldHouse can engage with the fans from curb to curb. “Our goal is for each [fan] to feel very special—from when they’re planning to come down to when they get to the venue, to when they get to their seat to when they make a purchase, to when they leave the venue,” said Conley.
