Gloucester Rugby announce exciting developments for Fans’ Experience for next season

Gloucester Rugby is pleased to announce two new initiatives to enhance the match day experience for supporters next season at Kingsholm. Lots of work has been going on behind the scenes to create an infrastructure at Kingsholm that will allow visitors to have a more interactive experience and enjoy the benefits of a fully connected stadium.

For the fans, one benefit will be free to use, high performance Wi-Fi at Kingsholm.

The infrastructure at Kingsholm has been fully revamped and the club will have a cutting-edge Wi-Fi system ready for all fans to benefit from, with this service being scheduled for the start of next season.

Testing of the new service has been ongoing at home matches this season and we are thrilled to be able to offer high capacity Wi-Fi capability, built by digital infrastructure experts, Landways.

The new stadium-wide digital infrastructure will deliver market-leading Wi-Fi, very fast speeds and ‘always-on’ connectivity, essential for the new generation of live digital services being developed for the new app. Fans will also be able to communicate with friends, browse the internet and seamlessly access all the data services on their phones.

Chris Smedley, Chief Executive of Landways, said:

“We have deployed a record quantity of optical fibre throughout the stadium, as well as several unique technical designs, to manage the huge forecast growth in demand for wireless data over the next few years.

“We will be monitoring the network closely and, as required, working with Gloucester Rugby to install upgrades to ensure that the Wi-Fi system does not run out of capacity and that Kingsholm remains one of the UK’s best-connected sports venues.”

As a result of the new capability, Gloucester Rugby are excited to announce we will be also launching a new Fan Experience mobile app, being created by digital agency, Clock. Clock, is using its Colooder platform to deliver a range of experiences such as half-time quizzes, games that allow children to interact, play and understand the game of rugby, a range of live audio feeds to enhance what’s going on in the game, pre-ordering of food & drinks, rewards & offers, debates and discussions, live Man of the Match voting, a fans’ gallery of pictures, click & deliver, and exclusive content around players, the game and fans.

The app will be launched in time for the new season with a whole range of new and exciting features. The mobile app will be the portal to get access to the new stadium Wi-Fi.

Stephen Vaughan, Gloucester Rugby CEO commented:

“We are firmly in a digital world and part of the ‘future proofing’ of the club going forward is to ensure we are at the forefront of technology that allows us to give everybody that visits Kingsholm stadium not only fast connectivity but also gives us the ability to engage our audiences better. The app will allow visitors to Kingsholm to access high speed Wi-fi and a range of services designed to improve the experience on a match day.

“We are delighted to be partnering with both Landways and Clock to help provide a more connected environment for our fans.”

Ben Silcox, Chief Strategy Officer of Clock, said:

“We are very excited to be bringing to life Gloucester Rugby’s vision for a truly connected stadium and mobile app to make the fan experience easier, richer and more unique than any other rugby club.”

Landways and Clock are investing heavily in this project as a sign of their commitment and belief that Gloucester Rugby fans will benefit from a world class experience.

We look forward to learning more from the fans, getting feedback and delivering something everyone can be very proud of, while helping power the club forward.

About Gloucester Rugby

Formed in 1873, Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club who, in 2018-19, will compete in the Gallagher Premiership, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

Over 120 Gloucester Rugby players have played international rugby and the team management is currently headed up by Director of Rugby David Humphreys, who is a former Ireland international and Head Coach Johan Ackermann, a former Springbok.

The club has won the domestic cup competition on five separate occasions and the European Rugby Challenge Cup twice.

Kingsholm in recent seasons has established itself as a regular venue for international as well as club rugby. The stadium hosted four matches in Rugby World Cup 2015 and has also hosted the likes of Barbarians, Australia, Ireland, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Georgia.

The club has also developed a reputation for hosting live music concerts during the close season. Since May 2011, when The Wanted became the first band to perform live at Kingsholm, the stadium has hosted concerts by the likes of Elton John, Jess Glynne, McFly, Lionel Richie and Madness. Sir Tom Jones has even played at Kingsholm on two separate occasions! However, the biggest concert held at the stadium was in June 2017 when Little Mix attracted a crowd of 19,000.