Case Study: The SSE Arena, Belfast achieves seamless high-density Wi-Fi, boosted revenues and stronger security with HPE Aruba Networking

Aruba wi-fi + airwave lifts visitor experience, boosts revenues and security at the odyssey trust site – the sse arena, belfast, belfast giants and w5

The SSE Arena Belfast, part of the Odyssey Trust site that includes the Belfast Giants and W5, faced an aging network that could no longer support its ambition to become a “digital arena.” The venue needed high‑density, unified wired and wireless access, a visitor app and scalable guest access across a 23‑acre site (requiring 120 km of cabling) — all delivered to tight deadlines and able to cope with sudden peaks of up to 11,000 simultaneous logins before events.

Partnering with KNI, the Trust deployed an Aruba solution—802.11ac indoor/outdoor APs, 7200 Series controllers, Mobility Access Switches, ClearPass and AirWave—to unify and secure the network. The upgrade delivered omnipresent high‑bandwidth Wi‑Fi, 200+ digital signs, 115 EPoS terminals, 140 IP CCTV cameras, and an app with 50,000+ downloads that drives incremental F&B revenue (about 10% of orders at Giants games). The result is improved security and guest experience, rising network usage (1M sessions in Jan 2017) and consolidated customer data to support future CRM and engagement initiatives.

The SSE Arena, Belfast

Clara Killen

Digital Comms & Development Manager