NG Bailey ups intelligence factor at Belfast Arena

Firm's IT services division recently secured a deal to transform stadium's IT infrastructure

NG Bailey's IT services division has overhauled the IT at an 11,000-seat stadium in Belfast in just eight weeks after securing the contract under a tight schedule.

The £1.2m deal with SSE Arena in Belfast was awarded to NG Bailey by the Odyssey Trust, and involved 120km of structured cabling to install a next-gen CCTV with facial recognition, high-density WiFi, ePOS terminals and digital signage; all of which were IP-converged and could be managed centrally.

Brian Hughes, head of facilities at SSE Arena, said: "NG Bailey really delivered for us. We had a challenging and immovable completion date which required the team to draw on its experience and expertise with intelligent systems installation. Multiple contractors were working on-site, which required both a collaborative spirit and a flexible approach in order to get the job done. The end result is excellent. It's a huge asset for the people of Northern Ireland and thanks to its future-proofed IP-based systems, will remain at the forefront of intelligent stadium design for years to come."

Lawrence Flavelle, general manager of KNI, the wholly owned trading arm of NG Bailey's IT services division, said: "This is the kind of contract that really gets us excited. Following this installation, the SSE Arena is now a world-class intelligent stadium. The WiFi system, for example, transmits a zone-by-zone high-density signal, enabling the crowd to connect to the network with 50Mbps-plus speeds and interact with the shows using social media in real time.

He added: "The IP-CCTV and access control systems can use facial recognition, which can track the eviction of troublemakers throughout the stadium and into the perimeter grounds beyond. The live update feeds displayed on the digital signage can be dynamically overridden to display evacuation instructions in case of emergency. Not only is the arena now more functional and convenient for visitors, it also enhances security and safety, which is paramount to the organisation."