Featured Project: Cleveland Arena Uses Digital Wayfinding to Keep Attendees Informed

The Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (formerly Quicken Loans Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the official home arena of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA and other major Ohio sports teams.

In 2019, the arena underwent a renovation. Aside from the arena being completely reworked, it also boasts an updated visitor, fan, and user experience. An eight-story-high glass atrium greets fans as they enter the facility. Fan gathering places were added to give the arena a destination feel. The building features technology details, including an immersive sensory experience that uses 8K video and LED panels called the Power Portal.

To meet the challenge of providing a user experience within the arena, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (RMFH) sought an interactive wayfinding solution from 22Miles.

The initial project saw the addition of a double-sided kiosk from 22Miles, providing wayfinding for accessibility seating, concessions, clubs, merchandise locations, and entertainment, including a custom selfie feature. The kiosk includes two 75″ LG 4K touchscreens displays and two Intel i7 players with a custom enclosure by signage company BESCO.

While the kiosk provided a central place for visitors to navigate the facility, the safety and protection of attendees brought new concerns. RMFH went through a period of assessment on how to keep visitors and employees safe during the pandemic.

22Miles interactive wayfinding with navigational mapping integration was added into the CAVS official mobile app, allowing users to view the building’s maps on the go. In addition to the mobile app, 22Miles built out more functionality into the RMFH digital wayfinding platform, adding QR codes to digital displays. Six displays throughout the arena feature a “You Are Here” QR code so that users can look for bathrooms, concessions, parking, and other destinations.

A portion of the displays also feature rotating health and safety messaging. Arena management also has the capability for the broadcast of evacuation and safety videos through timed script technology.

With the wayfinding and software updates for mobile devices and displays in the arena, visitors can navigate throughout the building while remaining distanced and access real-time announcements. The wayfinding feature was integrated into the existing CAVs app design, so there were no additional links or apps.

Nate Ferrall, director, IPTV, Cleveland Cavaliers, says, “It’s all working perfectly and looking really good, and we are very pleased that part of the screen can be used for our health and safety messaging, as well as video broadcast of evacuation and safety. 22Miles wayfinding is live within our app (championed by Westfield), and this is the official mobile app of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers.”