Ohio Stadium is getting a technology upgrade that will improve wireless connectivity for fans, staff and operations ahead of the 2026 football season.
The Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) is modernizing Ohio Stadium’s Wi-Fi and network infrastructure by replacing the stadium’s existing 1,600 wireless access points (APs) and adding more than 400 new APs throughout the seating bowl and concourses. Once the project is complete, the stadium will have more than 2,000 APs.
“OTDI is executing a major transformation and expansion of Wi-Fi and network infrastructure at Ohio Stadium to improve fan connectivity, operations and event-day performance,” said Ryan Holland, director of Enterprise Networking for OTDI.
The project is a collaborative effort between OTDI, Ohio State Athletics, Facilities Operations and Development (FOD) and several other contributing groups. While OTDI is leading the network modernization, Athletics and FOD have played key roles in coordinating access, construction logistics and installation work throughout the stadium to ensure the project stays on track ahead of the 2026 season.
The work is being done between concerts and other summer activities so it doesn’t disrupt the stadium during use. Crews are replacing the stadium’s legacy wireless access points, which are mostly located in the handrail enclosures throughout the seating bowl, while installing new APs in the middle areas of seating between aisles using an under-seat method.
“Due to limited space in the stadium during these events, a lot of the material staging, preparation, and labeling occurred at the Telecommunications Network Center,” said Brent Reeb, associate director of telecommunications infrastructure for OTDI.
In addition to wireless improvements, OTDI has upgraded the stadium’s wired network switches to support higher bandwidth speeds within the stadium.
The project builds on Ohio State’s first comprehensive Wi-Fi deployment at Ohio Stadium, which launched in 2019. After reviewing network performance during the 2025 football season, OTDI saw ways to improve.
“Wi-Fi performance during the 2025 Football season highlighted opportunities to address both coverage and capacity constraints with a modernization effort of the stadium Wi-Fi,” said Holland.
OTDI will follow its standard process for decommissioning legacy network hardware by working with Ohio State’s Surplus Department.
The completed project will use HPE Networking’s Juniper Mist Wi-Fi solution, which uses artificial intelligence to enhance network performance. Once complete, Ohio Stadium will be the largest stadium HPE Juniper Mist Wi-Fi deployment in the country.
The upgrade is expected to be complete before the first game of the 2026 football season. Once finished, fans can expect more consistent Wi-Fi coverage and a better user experience throughout the stadium.