Capital One Arena Receives New Tech Enhancements to Upgrade the Fan Experience

Monumental Sports & Entertainment developed the new Cisco Command Center for all of the building's technology

Prior to the start of the busy October schedule that coincides with the beginning of both the NHL and NBA regular seasons, Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) continued the transformation of Capital One Arena - the permanent home of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards - to futureproof their tech stack, along with their partner Cisco. Centered around the Cisco Command Center, the company worked tirelessly to improve gameday for both fanbases.

Build tomorrow, operate today: that's been the mindset over this three-year project, says Charlie Myers CTO, Monumental Sports & Entertainment. There's been multiple phases and finding the time to make changes that don't impact a game, so it took a lot of pre-planning to get everything ready together once the season started.

The new production space is a major step forward in MSE's multi-year renovation. (Photo: Monumental Sports & Entertainment)Charting a Road Map: Team Brainstorms Solution to Meet Fan's Needs

This portion of the building's overhaul was focused on updating the technologies that power what fans are seeing the second they walk through the front door. Many aspects of this project were focused on premium spaces that patrons could enjoy before the game, at halftime, and after the game, but on this front, the venue's tech stack received an additional set of workflows. Months before the new system went online, the crew came together to refine their scope on what they wanted to achieve. For me and my team, it was really about reimagining the fan experience by understanding fans' habits through data, says Myers. Some fans want to get to their seat right away so they don't miss any of the action, while some fans prefer to go back and forth between the club and their seats.

From fans interested in staying up to date on the game's statistics or perusing social media, some of the finer details cater to both parties including the installation of High-Density Wi-Fi 7 to handle 20,000+ simultaneous mobile devices and Cisco ThousandEyes for insights into network performance. Elsewhere, while fans are headed towards their seat, Wipro VisionEDGE is controlling their IPTV system on more than 1,200 screens. On the production side, the bulk of this effort went towards the Cisco Command Center: the hub of the venue's tech operation that drives all in-venue shows. Every aspect is being managed by Cisco IP Fabric for Media via Cisco Nexus switches to securely deliver 4K video content throughout the arena.

The venue partnered with Cisco and the company's IP Fabric for Media system. (Photo: Monumental Sports & Entertainment)All of these enhancements were chosen based on internal discussions, but also through conversations with teams working at other sports venues. These include advice from Los Angeles Clippers' Chief Technology and Digital Officer George Hanna about operations at Intuit Dome.

[The conversation] helped others in the organization understand why the Clippers did what they did, adds Myers. It also helped us decide the outcomes that we want and find a way to go about getting there.

A look at the tech stack that's running the building's new enhancements. (Photo: Monumental Sports & Entertainment)Adapting to New Workflows: Three-Year-Long Project Comes with Challenges

Over the course of three years, the tech team at MSE had to toe the line between adjusting to the learning curve that comes with this new solution and producing high-quality shows with the system's fullest potential. We're changing the tires on the bus while it's going 80 miles per hour, continues Myers. We spent a lot of time picking the right partners, and Cisco has been an incredible partner that understood our challenges.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment has been an entity in the sports-video-production industry that has dared to innovate and experiment. Leaning on years of rolling with this mentality, which included developing a SMPTE ST 2110-powered facility featuring five control rooms and four studios, the Cisco Command Center is essentially a sixth control room at Capital One Arena. This enables both the venue and production staff at Monumental Sports Network to work in tandem for a more integrated experience for both fans in the venue and those watching at home.

The upside is that we can easily do content exchange without having to patch cameras together, says Myers. Our in-game entertainment team was thrilled when it was first launched last year, but now it's an improvement on what they had before. We built a strong foundation for the company to be able to story tell, and now it's helping them make the best use of these tools.

Already in use for the 2026-27 NBA and NHL seasons, this new Command Center is future-proofing Capital One Arena. (Photo: Monumental Sports & Entertainment)This phase was made possible by a host of experts within MSE, including SVP, Media Engineering & Operations, Tim Mazzacua; SVP, Engineering & Technology, Hasan Chaudhry; VP, Technical & Broadcast, Quentin Addison; Chief Network Architect Peter DeNitto; Senior Director, Media Engineering & Operations, Moo-Yenny Louie; Supervisor, Media Engineering & Operations, Benjamin Seigel; Broadcast IT Engineer II Andrew Heller; Technology Project Manager Christopher Marrow; Business Process & Solutions Architect Michael Pena; Infrastructure Engineer Jacques Minselbe; and IT Manager Deji Akinshola. Similar to previous years of work, this current project will build towards the final product.

I cannot wait for next season where the entirety of the arena is complete, adds Myers. Technology allows us to extend a newness of the arena over the next five years and provide a best-i

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/11/11/capital-one-arena-receives-new-...
	See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines