Monday, August 9, 2021

Texas Rangers' new ballpark deploys Aruba ESP-based network

The Texas Rangers Baseball Club has deployed an end-to-end Aruba ESP-based network at its new 40,518-seat Globe Life Field stadium to power everything from a 5.5-acre retractable roof to an immersive baseball app that enables delivering modern, digitally enhanced game day and special event experiences. The wireless network is comprised of Aruba Wi-Fi 6 indoor access points (APs), outdoor APs, and mobility controllers. For wired networking, the Rangers implemented Aruba’s access switches at the edge and CX Series switches for aggregation and in the data center.

Visitor-facing connectivity includes features like mobile ticketing for speedier contactless entry as well as two massive Daktronics videoboards, which display live and replay images plus granular real-time game-play statistics such as spin rate and exit velocity.

“Our network serves as the nervous system for a large public venue that is chock full of electronic sensors and controls,” explained Michael Bullock, vice president of Information Technology for the Rangers. “Aruba’s solutions have enabled us to engineer the equivalent of a living, breathing facility, while minimizing IT and back office overhead by giving us intelligent, automated networking infrastructure.”