The Sacramento Kings announced on Dec. 17 that the NBA team's Golden 1 Center will rank among the world’s most connected indoor sports and entertainment venues as the result of a new multi-year agreement with Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA).
According to a press release, "Comcast Business, the business services unit of Comcast, will deliver a connectivity platform with unparalleled bandwidth [to the venue] by installing fully redundant transport facilities and two 100 Gigabit Ethernet dedicated Internet circuits. The services will provide the back end infrastructure enabling the team to provide free Wi-Fi for fans, power the Kings mobile app, and supply cloud-based voice and unified communications services for team members at the arena and at the team’s corporate offices. As a result, the Internet connection at Golden 1 Center, as well as the [attached] public plaza and Downtown Commons (DOCO), will be over 17,000 times faster than the average home Internet connection, with the ability to handle more than 225,000 Instagram photo posts per second."
In addition, Comcast Business will provide the in-house video feed to all television monitors throughout Golden 1 Center, allowing patrons to access ancillary programming while attending concerts and other events at the arena. The new agreement continues an existing partnership that includes a long-term broadcast partnership with Comcast SportsNet California, the exclusive local television home of Sacramento Kings basketball which airs nearly 500 hours of Kings-related programming each year, including 80 2015-16 regular-season games.
“We’re pleased to extend Comcast’s ever-evolving partnership with the Sacramento Kings and honored that Comcast Business will allow the fervent fans at Golden 1 Center to experience a live event in innovative and exciting ways, from ubiquitous Wi-Fi to advanced mobile applications and rich video content,” said Comcast’s regional vice president of business services for California, Ted Girdner. “This agreement is representative of how Comcast can deliver reliable, high-capacity Internet connectivity for fans, media and arena team members while supporting various multimedia initiatives by deploying our full suite of consumer and business products.”
“The best fans in the world deserve the most connected arena in the world,” added Kings president Chris Granger. “Our partnership with Comcast enables fans and visitors to share their experiences and connect online seamlessly. It also ensures that Golden 1 Center, the public plaza and DOCO’s connectivity will remain well above industry standards, even as consumer technology improves.” The Golden 1 Center and DOCO sites are also expected to serve as a major catalyst for development throughout the Sacramento region. For more information, visit www.Golden1Center.com and www.DOCOSacramento.com.
