MLB’s Texas Rangers Standardize on Aruba at Globe Life Field to Deliver Premier, Immersive Fan and Event Experiences

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company (NYSE: HPE), today announced that the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, the Arlington-based Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, has deployed an end-to-end Aruba ESP-based network at its new 40,518-seat Globe Life Field stadium to power everything from a 5.5-acre retractable roof to an immersive baseball app that enables delivering modern, digitally enhanced game day and special event experiences.

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MLB's Texas Rangers' new 1.8 million-square-foot ballpark relies upon an Aruba ESP-based network to power giant HD videoboards, a mixed-reality baseball app and other amenities. (Photo: Business Wire)

To create its next-generation venue, the Rangers deployed a combination of Aruba’s wired, wireless and security solutions that support the ballpark’s technology infused amenities. Visitor-facing connectivity includes features like mobile ticketing for speedier contactless entry as well as two massive Daktronics videoboards, which display live and replay images plus granular real-time game-play statistics such as spin rate and exit velocity.

At an operational level, connectivity ranges from sensors that track paper towel dispenser levels to advanced building automation systems to keep the ballpark at a comfortable 72 F. The Club also maintains over 200 business, facilities management and IT applications, from common cloud-enabled tools like Box, Slack and Monday to highly specialized systems such as the retractable roof controls – all of which enable the Rangers to run its lean organization efficiently and effectively.

“Our network serves as the nervous system for a large public venue that is chock full of electronic sensors and controls,” explained Michael Bullock, vice president of Information Technology for the Rangers. “Aruba’s solutions have enabled us to engineer the equivalent of a living, breathing facility, while minimizing IT and back office overhead by giving us intelligent, automated networking infrastructure.”

In collaboration with trusted technology partners Lumen and KLA Labs, the Rangers selected and deployed a future-ready wireless network comprised of Aruba Wi-Fi 6 indoor access points (APs), outdoor APs, and mobility controllers. For wired networking, the Rangers implemented Aruba’s access switches at the edge and CX Series switches for aggregation and in the data center.