VIDEO INTERVIEW: Juan Iraola, Head of IT, Real Sociedad

LaLiga side Real Sociedad has chosen eleven start-up companies with innovative ideas to improve the fan experience at the new Anoeta stadium, as Juan Iraola, Head of IT, explains during this video interview with Sports Venue Business filmed during last month’s World Stadium Congress at Johan Cruijff ArenA.

A competition called Sport Thinkers Smart Stadium was launched in July 2018 and attracted submissions from 82 companies, with just 11 being chosen.

The winning companies are now developing their projects to add another unique dimension to the new-look Anoeta ground.

The club is working hard to make this a technologically-advanced facility, with Microsoft as a partner. To begin with, Wi-Fi connectivity will be made available throughout the stadium.

As one of the ten founding clubs of LaLiga, Real Sociedad is a historic Spanish institution and will celebrate its 110th anniversary in September 2019. The expectation is that these improvements will convert Anoeta into a world-class stadium that will last even longer than Atotxa, the former home of the club from 1913 to 1993.

While the main works on the northern stand should be completed by September or October of this year, thanks to the round-the-clock efforts of a group of 200 specialists, further improvements will still be made in the future.

Real Sociedad is the latest in a long line of LaLiga clubs to embark on an exciting new era of redevelopment.

Real Sociedad’s Head of IT, Juan Iraola, is one of almost 30 industry experts joining the stellar speaker lineup for ALSD International – Europe’s one and only event dedicated to the Premium Seat & Hospitality sector – being held at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin this October, 28-29.

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