- Verizon has deployed 2,400 antennas in a MetLife stadium update
- This includes massive MatSing ball antennas installed at the top of the stadium
- A Verizon engineer tells Fierce that part of the update is the improve the uplink available via 5G
Verizon has updated the MetLife stadium in Meadowlands, New Jersey, with a plethora of new 5G antennas, fiber and more, ahead of events including the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Last Friday, Verizon toured Fierce Network around the stadium to show off its updates. Your correspondent saw new 5G antennas set up to serve customers inside and outside the stadium, as well as in seating above the field itself.
Verizon principal engineers Michel Brennan and Peter Festa explained that it installed 2,400 antennas supported by 6 million feet of fiber throughout the stadium.
Festa explained that this coverage extended outside the building to the parking lot. He also noted Verizon deployed 5G antennas outside the building that pointed indoors, as well as antennas outdoors to provide outdoor coverage.
Festa noted that AT&T and T-Mobile can install antennas and equipment in amidst the Verizon radios, however, that Verizon was the priority operator for the venue.
Brennan showed off the large generator that Verizon had set up at the edge of the stadium. This was just ahead of the large server room that Verizon had set up to cover the Meadowlands Stadium.
On the pitch
Verizon said that it had deployed a variety of antennas and above the pitch itself. This includes the highest MatSing ball antennas deployed in a stadium in the U.S. The larger one in the picture below covers 4G, while the smaller ball next to it, delivers 5G.
In the stands
The updates didn't stop in the tailgating areas or on the field (aka pitch). Verizon's Brennan showed off the under-seat antennas that Verizon has installed to improve the fan experience.
Brennan said that the updates in the stands hadn't stopped yet. "I've got another one coming up with 85 [5G] millimeter wave antennas," he said, noting that his sports-fan family members already text and call him about the stadium to say that the coverage and data speeds offered by the updates already installed are great.
Brennan noted that the network is being designed to support more uplink because fans are typically uploading video from the games or concerts while they are at the event.
Future-proofing the network
Verizon told Fierce that they have been working on this project for around a year and a half. The FIFA World Cup will be held at MetLife - as well as other stadiums in the U.S. - in the summer of 2026. As well as the World Cup, major concert draws like Ed Sheeran will be at MetLife in 2026.