Yorkshire County Cricket Club strike new 10-year deal with intechnologyWiFi

Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) has signed a 10-year contract with intechnologyWiFi for the delivery of free WiFi coverage across Headingley Cricket Ground.

The announcement comes following the start of YCCC’s County Championship campaign last month, and with the First Investec Test Match between England and Sri Lanka taking place at Headingley, 19–23 May.

The WiFi will be completely free to use, without requirements for payment details or restrictions on time, and the network will allow fans open access to browse the internet, post on social media, follow the game online or check for updates on the weather.

intechnologyWiFi, based in Harrogate, agreed a major deal with The Football League in March to provide stadium WiFi connectivity and mobile applications to clubs across its portfolio, and will install and operate the WiFi network at 17,250 capacity Headingley on behalf of YCCC.

The WiFi network area will cover all the main seating areas across the ground (with the exception of the Main Stand, due to ongoing development work), concourses and key internal hospitality areas.

The hardware has already been installed at Headingley and is currently being tested/optimised ahead of a summer of fixtures, starting with the England vs. Sri Lanka Test Match 19–23 May.

Andy Dawson, commercial director, YCCC, said: “We are absolutely delighted to announce that we will be providing all our members and customers with free WiFi at Headingley this year.

“We continually strive to improve the match day experience at Headingley and the provision of free WiFi is a huge step forward for us.

“The feedback we have received has shown us the huge importance of WiFi to our customers, and the ability to share their experience in real-time with their friends on social media is a vital ingredient to their day.”

Peter Wilkinson, CEO of Intechnology plc, added: “Believe it or not, the contract to provide the WiFi at Headingley was not all about seeing Steve Denison be put through his paces out in the middle at the hands of Liam Plunkett.

“As an avid cricket fan myself, I know how much of an enhancement having free WiFi available during a game will be – whether it is for following the game on digital radio, or making your pals jealous with a photo sent from your smartphone.”

Natalie Duffield, CEO intechnologyWiFi, also commented: “We’re proud to be partnering with such a near neighbour and sporting institution as YCCC to provide our services to loyal cricket fans.

“In an increasingly digital-led era for sports, YCCC has got ahead of the game in providing free WiFi at Headingley. Fans of all sports now expect to be able to log-on and consume the latest content on-the-go from their smartphone, and doing this from their stadium seat is no exception.”

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