Published: Aug. 24, 2018
Fiserv Forum to open Sunday
Official calls new Bucks home the ‘Tesla of
technology’
By Nicholas Dettmann
ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043
MILWAUKEE — With the Fiserv Forum, the new
arena for the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s going to be hard to find a spot where
you’re not connected to the game in some fashion.
There are nearly 850 video screens throughout
the arena, which opens to the public Sunday with an open house, and enough data
bandwidth and speed to support the 17,000-plus fans inside the arena. There are
about 500 Wi-Fi access points scattered throughout the arena.
“It’s exhilarating,” said Robert Cordova, chief
technology officer for Fiserv Forum, about the upcoming open house. “There’s
nerves but there’s also excitement.”
Cordova called the Fiserv Forum the “Tesla of
technology because of all the stuff we have going on here.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony is noon Sunday on
the plaza outside of the arena. Several dignitaries are scheduled to attend —
Bucks players Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe, Donte DiVincenzo, Thon
Maker, Khris Middleton and D.J. Wilson; Bucks alumni Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Vin
Baker and Michael Redd; Bucks owners Wes Edens, Marc Lasry, Jamie Dinan and
Mike Fascitelli; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, former Sen. Herb Kohl, Gov.
Scott Walker, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee Common Council President
Ashanti Hamilton, Fiserv President and CEO Jeff Yabuki and Bucks President
Peter Feigin.
The public is invited to attend.
In addition, Kohl, the Bucks’ former owner,
will be honored with the dedication of Herb Kohl Way.
Following the ribbon cutting, Fiserv Forum will
hold an open house for the community to get its first look inside the arena.
Visitors can go on self-guided tours of the venue to see the atrium, the arena
bowl, BMO Club, Mezzanine Club, Panorama Club, main concourse, upper concourse
and suite level. The concession stands throughout the arena will be operational
and the Bucks Pro Shop inside Fiserv Forum will also be open.
BMO Harris Bank card holders will have the
opportunity to tour the Bucks’ locker room. A limited number of locker room
tours will be available to BMO card holders who register for a tour at the BMO
Harris Bank tent near the BMO Entrance to Fiserv Forum on Juneau Avenue.
The celebration is all part of the fourth
annual Bucks Summer Block Party presented by Klement’s, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Technology to provide ‘a unique experience’
Inside, the Fiserv Forum is all about the
future of technology.
“From the technology, it will be an experience
you’ve never had based on all the technology in the building and the
connectivity,” Cordova said. “It will really be a unique experience.”
Fans will learn that right away with a large
and wide LED screen in the main atrium that can play any desired video, such as
highlights from a previous game.
A trip up the escalators from the atrium is
another large and tall LED screen that has similar capabilities.
From there, the LED screens
of all sizes are peppered throughout the
concourses to make sure fans don’t miss any of the action on the court.
“Our competition are those big screens in your
living rooms,” Cordova said. “We want to go way beyond that.”
Among those technology features is the push
toward all digital tickets. Print-athome will no longer be an option but those
who don’t have a smartphone can pick up printed tickets at the ticket office at
the arena.
“It is a way to be a little more green,”
Cordova said. “We felt that it was a more efficient way to do that. It also
gets rid of a lot of the problems inherit with having multiple ways to copy a
barcode.
“I can print that out, if I was a bad guy, sell
it to somebody, sell it to another and three people would come in here with the
same barcode and then we have to resolve the problem because they bought it
from a crook.”
Other technology features include the
scoreboard hanging over the court, which, Cordova said is about two semi-truck
trailers tall.
Ron Kiepert, executive director-operation
technology, said it is the largest squared scoreboard in North America.
About 500 wireless access points are scattered
throughout the arena to help accommodate however many people inside the Fiserv
Forum want to use it. In addition, the arena is, or will be, connected to all
major cellphone providers, such as Verizon, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Sprint,
allowing for high-quality cellphone reception.
There are also 250 miles worth of fiber cables.
Milwaukee to Eau Claire is roughly 246 miles.
“The past few months, we’ve been tuning all the
antennas so that every seat is covered,” Cordova said.
Some of the security measures for the arena
include fingerprint scanners and laser eye-reading for the home team locker
room.
To accommodate all the technological upgrades
from BMO Harris Bradley Center, the staffs for the video and technology
departments have doubled.
On a game night in the BMO Harris Bradley
Center, there’d be — at most — seven people working the technology features. At
Fiserv Forum, as many 14 people will be on-hand. In the video room, staff goes
up from about 12-14 to 25. Plus, six-plus cameras will be spread throughout the
arena to help capture a fan’s experience.
Each suite will have an iPad that can control
the television screens and other features inside the suite.
Other technology is geared more toward the
Bucks and visiting teams with data science. There will be recordings done of
players’ activity on the court, such as how fast they’re running or how much
space is between a ball-handler and a defender.
“It’s never been too much,” said Cordova when
asked if all the technology upgrades got overwhelming. “The biggest thing was
getting the right talent on the team to really run this as it needs to be run.”
And because of all this new technology, the
creative minds of the team’s technology and video staff have picked up.
“The possibilities are infinite,” Cordova said.
Family-friendly space
The Bucks along with Kohl’s have paired to
offer an interactive family-friendly space at the Fiserv Forum — Kohl’s Court.
On the northeast corner of the main concourse,
Kohl’s Court is a child-friendly space featuring several interactive activities
for families to take part in during all Bucks games and Marquette men’s
basketball games in addition to concerts and other events. The Kohl’s Court was
unveiled at a ribbon-cutting Thursday at Fiserv Forum.
Featured in the Kohl’s Court are two replica
Bucks lockers, a live DJ during Bucks games, fun and interactive size
comparisons for kids to see how they measure up against their favorite players,
an oversized basketball hoop and several photo opportunities for families. The
Kohl’s Court will also serve as a central location for the Kohl’s Fan of the
Game.
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