Cracovia Stadium

Situated within Kraków, Poland, the Józef Piłsudski Cracovia Municipal Stadium is home to KS Cracovia, one of the oldest and most successful Polish football clubs. KS Cracovia has been recognized as a five-time Polish champion and winner of the Polish Cup and the Polish SuperCup. Initially constructed in 1912, the Cracovia Stadium was rebuilt in 2010 and hosted a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match. Capable of seating more than 15,000 fans, the Cracovia Stadium features luxury suites and skyboxes for guests to watch KS Cracovia. With guest entertainment remaining paramount for the Cracovia Stadium, the technology integration was a crucial investment to the guest experience.

Expander, a Polish systems integrator, and Polsound, the exclusive distributor for Visionary in Poland, were selected to design, engineer and integrate technology throughout the Cracovia Stadium’s suite spaces. “The Cracovia Stadium includes luxury suites, including four gold zones and three silver zones, for guests to uniquely experience KS Cracovia,” said Anna Stachyra, key account manager for Polsound. “The zones are the most exclusive class of seating in the Cracovia Stadium, which meant the guest experience had to be first-class. The zones feature restaurants, bars and merchandise offerings that are exclusive to the VIP members.”

Each zone was designed as a smaller room with the ability to open the room into larger, multifunctional spaces for larger gatherings, special events and other activities. “Cracovia Stadium’s zones are designed to be utilized for various purposes,” said Stachyra. “A flexible, high-quality video matrix with ultra-low latency was a necessary solution. Multiple NEC displays were paired to five PacketAV E4100 Encoders and six PacketAV D4100 Decoders to enable transmission of audio and video to different zones. An additional PacketAV E4100 Encoder is included in the rack to transmit a live video feed from the football field.”

“Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series is adaptable, which enables the client to expand the system at any time without the need to replace any devices. If the client requires more outputs or inputs, it’s simple to add the appropriate encoders and decoders and cost-effectively configure the system.”

~ Anna Stachyra, key account manager for Polsound

Expandability was a critical consideration when designing Cracovia Stadium’s AV structure. “It was important that the client had a scalable system,” noted Stachyra. “Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series is adaptable, which enables the client to expand the system at any time without the need to replace any devices. If the client requires more outputs or inputs, it’s simple to add the appropriate encoders and decoders and cost-effectively configure the system.”

Stachyra added, “The energy efficiency of the AV system and the generated noise were a top priority for the client. Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series was selected because the devices are powered in the PoE standard and each device consumes less than 10 watts of power. The PacketAV Encoders and Decoders feature passive cooling, which does not generate any noise and enables the product to be installed directly within the zones.”

Visionary’s PacketAV Series is designed for standard network infrastructure, which allowed the integrator to quickly install the AV system at Cracovia Stadium. “The installation had to be completed in between games and events at Cracovia Stadium; therefore, the client required a flexible video solution that was fast and easy to install,” noted Stachyra. “Visionary’s PacketAV Matrix Series was plug and play, which made it possible to complete the installation in a short time without interfering with the events taking place at Cracovia Stadium. The AV system was installed in such a way that the client did not feel the integrator’s presence at their stadium. The final result is a simple-to-use video and audio solution that’s flexible for various unique events in the Cracovia Stadium.”