Liverpool have confirmed a key commercial partner that will aid the club's future matchday experience at Anfield.
Extreme Networks, whose deal with the Reds was first reported during the summer, were confirmed on Thursday as the official Wi-Fi solutions partner for the football club, agreeing a multi-year deal.
As a part of the agreement, Extreme, who partnered with Manchester United on an Old Trafford project earlier in the year, will fit Anfield with their Wi-Fi 6E access points, which will deliver the latest generation of wireless connectivity, and enable fans to take advantage of the club’s digital offerings, including mobile ticketing and membership rewards.
It will also provide the club with the infrastructure to roll out immersive new services like AR/VR in the future, something that will aid the future growth of revenue streams related to new technologies.
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With ExtremeAnalytics, Liverpool will gain real-time data, including fan foot traffic and app usage across the stadium. It will also allow the club to identify the points in games when fans are most digitally engaged.
These insights will inform data-driven decisions and help deliver more personalised fan experiences, while improving operational efficiencies on matchdays.
The wireless network will be managed by ExtremeCloud™ IQ, which helps stadium officials monitor and control Wi-Fi capacity and efficiency, configure devices and gain visibility into real-time analytics. This will help the club streamline management and performance of the network and scale IT operations within Anfield.
Drew Crisp, senior vice-president of digital at Liverpool, said: "We’re delighted to be teaming up with Extreme to deliver outstanding in-stadium connectivity and analytics.
"This deal will provide supporters with the latest generation of wireless connectivity and enable them to take full advantage of our best-in-class digital offerings, while visiting Anfield.
"Our home stadium is renowned for its storied history and Extreme will enable us to improve the digital fan experience in the ground, while also providing the critical insights we need to keep innovating and improving digital journeys for our fans."
Liverpool, who have announced a number of lucrative commercial deals in recent months including Standard Chartered's extension of their front of shirt sponsorship, Nivea MEN and Coca-Cola, have been looking at ways that the adoption of immersive technology can aid the fan experience and add additional revenue streams to the club.
Norman Rice, chief operating officer at Extreme Networks, said: "Connectivity is the foundation of next-generation mobile services like biometrics, interactive stadium apps and on-demand concessions at large venues.
"In a stadium like Anfield, which houses 54,000 fans, Extreme will provide next-generation wireless connectivity and deliver a goldmine of network insights that will help Liverpool Football Club better understand its fanbase, unlock new revenue streams and improve overall matchday operations.
"We’re proud to play such a pivotal role in the ongoing development of one of the most-loved sports organisations in the world."
The project, set to get underway before the end of the year, will be done as a partnership between California-based Extreme and one of the world's leading technology providers, Verizon Business.
Earlier this year, Extreme and Verizon Business announced a partnership to create 'best-in-class' connectivity and network insight solutions for large venues and stadiums across the European and Asia Pacific regions. Verizon and Extreme has a successful history of joint deployments for organizations like the NHL, NASCAR and the NFL, among others.
Massimo Peselli, chief revenue officer of global enterprise and public sector, Verizon Business, said: "We’re excited to be joining forces with Extreme to transform Anfield into a place where the digital experience in-stadium is best in class.
"As we continue to bring our expertise to major venues around the globe, we’re making innovative fan experiences a reality, shortening queue times, streamlining matchday operations and more."
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