The Buffalo Bills’ new Highmark Stadium is designed around a shared Cisco network that supports more than fan Wi-Fi: reported uses include broadcast video, digital signage, staff calling, location data, security, and venue operations. The case’s most transferable choices are organizational as much as technical: bring IT into construction early, plan for integrated visibility, and set clear controls for equipment brought in by outside partners.
The figures below are reported by the Bills, Shaun Handley in an interview, or Network World; they are not results from an independent performance test. The Bills announced their Cisco partnership on August 26, 2025; Handley spoke with Stadium Tech Report on August 10, 2026; and Network World published its account on September 23, 2026.
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What “one network” means at Highmark Stadium
The Bills’ August 2025 announcement described a multi-year Cisco partnership to connect and protect operations ranging from team facilities to the stadium. It specifically named high-density Wi-Fi 7 access points and Cisco IP Fabric for Media for 4K video delivery. Dan Evans, the Bills’ vice president of technology, called it a step toward a “world-class experience at Highmark Stadium.” That is the team’s stated ambition, not an independent assessment of the result. Buffalo Bills announcement, August 26, 2025.
Network World’s September 2026 account describes a broader converged design: a common infrastructure and management approach supporting distinct applications across the venue. “One network” should not be read as one undifferentiated public network. The systems still have different functions and security needs; the reported design brings them into a more unified operational environment.
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Reported applications on the infrastructure
- Fan connectivity: Cisco Wi-Fi 7 for spectators, with access points positioned to serve the seating bowl and field-level event areas.
- Broadcast: SMPTE 2110 video carried over Cisco IP Fabric for Media.
- Venue information: Cisco Vision Edge for digital signage.
- Staff communications: Webex Calling.
- Location and security: Cisco Spaces location data feeding Splunk, with Cisco Secure Firewall at the network perimeter.
- Data center: Cisco UCS integrated with Nutanix.
- Operations support: Network World reported that Cisco AI IQ was being tested with Catalyst Center to flag potential problems before outages. This was a test in progress, not evidence of a mature or proven predictive capability.
These systems illustrate the breadth of the reported architecture; the available accounts do not detail every network boundary, traffic policy, or application dependency.
How the fan Wi-Fi design addresses stadium coverage
Stadium Wi-Fi has to serve a dense crowd in a difficult physical environment, not simply provide a strong signal in an empty building. Shaun Handley, the Bills’ IT infrastructure project director, told Stadium Tech Report that the new canopy enabled hyper-directional Cisco Wi-Fi antennas, while MatSing antennas were used for cellular coverage. He identified Cisco CW9179F Wi-Fi 7 access points and said the design serves the seating bowl and field-level event areas. The interview also described work with Verizon on a neutral-host distributed antenna system (DAS), and plans to extend fan-facing cellular and Wi-Fi service into parking areas and approaches. Those details reflect the interview’s August 10, 2026 context. Stadium Tech Report interview with Shaun Handley.
Handley said the previous stadium had connection problems, with fans going “in and out of service.” Network World later reported an estimated 1,300 access points and coverage of about 64% of the venue. Those are the publication’s reported deployment figures, not independently verified counts or a coverage map. Coverage of a portion of the venue also does not, by itself, establish how well service performs in every seating section, at peak demand, or in the surrounding areas.
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What the reported usage figures do—and do not—show
Network World compared roughly 840 GB of Wi-Fi data used during a 2025 preseason game at the old stadium with 16 TB during the 2026 preseason opener at the new stadium. It characterized the latter as roughly 19 times higher. This comparison indicates a large difference in reported usage across those events; it is not a controlled speed, capacity, reliability, or like-for-like user-experience test. The account does not establish how attendance, devices, event behavior, measurement methods, or other conditions differed.
For venue operators, usage is useful operational evidence: it can help show whether people are connecting and using the service. It is not a substitute for measures such as connection success, throughput under load, latency, coverage by location, or failure rates. The published figures should therefore be treated as a reported snapshot of activity, not proof that Wi-Fi performance improved by a particular multiple.
Why construction sequencing mattered
Network World reports that the stadium’s separate technology center is about 18,000 square feet, including roughly 9,000 square feet allocated to DAS. It also houses video production, common-carrier rooms, and broadcast infrastructure. According to the publication, separating this technical space from the main stadium construction sequence allowed the Bills to begin installing IDFs, switches, and cameras roughly eight months before the stadium was complete.
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The project lesson is practical: network rooms, pathways, power, cooling, carrier access, broadcast needs, and equipment installation dates should be coordinated with the building schedule rather than left until the venue is nearly finished. Early access can create a longer commissioning window, but it does not guarantee readiness; teams still need to coordinate dependencies, test systems, and plan for changes during construction.
What IT leaders can take from the Bills’ approach
Bring IT into the building plan early
Identify technical spaces, risers, cable routes, power and cooling needs, carrier facilities, and installation access while design and construction decisions are still being made. The reported eight-month head start at Highmark illustrates the potential value of sequencing—not a universal timeline or promised outcome.
Design for shared visibility, with clear boundaries
Handley told Network World that the goal was a “single pane of glass” so staff would not have to jump between multiple vendors, particularly on game day with 60,000 people in the venue. A unified operational view can make it easier to spot and investigate issues across systems. It does not remove the need for application-specific controls, network segmentation, access permissions, and security ownership.
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Plan for partners and temporary equipment
Broadcast crews, carriers, concessionaires, event producers, and other vendors may bring devices or request connectivity. Establish who approves equipment, how it is authenticated, which systems it can reach, how it is monitored, and how access is removed after an event. This governance is essential when many operational services share infrastructure.
Measure activity and service quality separately
Usage totals help answer whether fans are using connectivity, but they cannot alone answer whether service is dependable. Pair traffic and location telemetry with measures of connection success and performance at busy times, and define how teams will investigate complaints or alerts. The Highmark usage comparison is a useful example of activity data, not a complete service-quality scorecard.
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Compare architectures by operating needs, not vendor claims
The Bills case suggests useful questions for any venue project: Can operations teams see relevant network and application signals together? Does the design fit the canopy, seating, field, and surrounding areas? Can it support broadcast and facility systems alongside guest access? Are partner devices governed securely? Does construction timing allow installation and commissioning? What evidence will show whether users are actually receiving the intended service? The published accounts do not provide a controlled comparison with another stadium or competing vendor, so they support these decision criteria—not a vendor ranking.
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What is established—and what remains unproven
The Bills announced a Cisco partnership and identified Wi-Fi 7 and IP media capabilities. Handley described the Wi-Fi and cellular approach and its intended coverage areas. Network World reported the wider systems list, deployment estimates, usage comparison, and construction sequencing. Together, these sources offer a useful case study in converged venue infrastructure and project coordination.
They do not provide independent measurements of Wi-Fi speed, reliability, or coverage, a controlled comparison with the old stadium, or a vendor-neutral assessment of outcomes. Nor does the report that AI-based issue flagging was under test establish that it prevents outages in routine operation. Those distinctions matter when translating a high-profile deployment into requirements for another facility.
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