Etihad Stadium gets smart seats via Telstra & Samsung connectivity

Telstra has announced the launch of new smart seats at Etihad Stadium to give fans access to a range of new content right from their ticketed seat while enjoying the big game in front of them.

The seats were installed into the “Medallion Club” where members now get a luxury leather seat which is kitted out with a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 inch tablet for content display.

One thousands tablets are planned to be rolled out in the stadium, while Samsung have assisted with developing content and app updates to the devices.

The lucky ducks in the smart seats will be able to see the game they are watching with all the TV replays, as well as all Fox Sports and free-to-air channels and Sky Racing, and a scoreboard feed.

If you’ve dragged the kids along and they aren’t as into the game as mum or dad, there’s also Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. channels too.

Etihad Stadium acting CEO Michael Green said the Smart Seat technology is raising the bar, combining the very best of being at a live event with the great recent advances made through technology.

“Under our roof, the atmosphere is already fantastic but now we can offer fans a live match along with HD replay action, virtually in the palm of their hand,” Mr Green said.

“We have canvassed the globe and looked at technology at some of the world’s great venues and ultimately in association with our partners Telstra and Samsung, we believe we have produced a global first product which takes the in stadium sports’ experience to another level.

Telstra Executive Director Telstra Business, David Coventry said expectations of fans and how they want to connect at events are changing.

“Fans want to watch live sport but also be in touch with the outside world; keeping up to date with other sports, news and using social media. This, new game day technology, combined with Etihad Stadium’s free WiFi will continue to enrich the fan experience,” said Mr Coventry.

It’s perhaps best to see this as a trial of IP content at stadiums like this, with a likely future application being BYOD style approach allowing patrons in any seat to see content on their own devices as we’ve seen with Telstra’s LTE-B testing at major events.