The technology boss of the high-tech Las Vegas stadium that hosted the NRL's opening round will visit Brisbane this month as one of the special guest speakers at the inaugural Future of Sport Conference at QUT.
Matt Pasco is the Vice President (Technology) of the Las Vegas Raiders (NFL) and the man behind the world-leading features of the US$1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium, which is regarded as the most technologically advanced football stadium in the United States.
He led the technology design for the 65,000-seat stadium, which opened in 2020 after being designed and built in just three years.
On March 27, Mr Pasco will feature in a panel discussion on smart stadiums at the Future of Sport Conference, and also take part in a Q&A hosted by QUT Professor Sarah Kelly, a globally recognised sport researcher and sports administrator.
The smart stadiums panel will include:
- Matt Pasco, Vice President (Technology), Vegas Raiders NFL & Allegiant Stadium
- Brenda Suh, Director (Business Technology), SoFi Stadium & Hollywood Park
- Travis Auld, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Grand Prix Corporation
- Manny Spanoudakis (MOD), Senior Vice President, Commercial - International Markets, PMY Group
- Ben Shields, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management
Allegiant Stadium is the purpose-built home to NFL team the Las Vegas Raiders, but has switched codes for three years in a row to host Australian rugby league teams during the opening round of our NRL season.
In its first five years, the stadium has also hosted pop superstars such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Ed Sheeran, and been the venue of high-profile live sporting events ranging from the 2024 Super Bowl to the recent boxing match between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez that streamed internationally on Netflix.
Regarded as a modern marvel of architecture and engineering that offers an unparalleled spectator experience, the roofed stadium features over 2500 Samsung screens and a mobile natural grass field that slides in and out for football, over a concrete floor used for concerts.
The stadium's landmark exterior features a 27,000-square-foot LED mesh technology panel, while the interior includes three enormous 4K HDR scoreboards that are part of the venue's 66,000 square feet of LED displays.
Mr Pasco said he would discuss smart stadiums at the Future of Sport Conference and the expectations of modern spectators – whether they were at a football game or concert – including seamless WiFi experiences for social media posts and livestreaming.
"We have a 'guest experience first' strategy in everything we do in technology design and implementation at Allegiant Stadium," Mr Pasco said.
"We offer 100% connectivity coverage on the interior and exterior of the building for both WiFi and DAS. We remain the record holder three years running (in NFL games) for WiFi throughput.
"We also have a mobile-first approach to guests interfacing with the building. We are cashless, encouraging the use of mobile wallets, mobile ordering and mobile tickets.
"And we have 'just-walk-out' concession stands (food stands) powered by AiFi (an automated payment system without traditional registers that uses cameras and digital payment deduction)."
Mr Pasco said Allegiant Stadium also used AI to ensure the most efficient use of electricity and water, and assist the venue's comprehensive sustainability mission, including waste diversion and energy optimisation.
Tickets are now on sale for the 2026 Future of Sport Conference. Visit the conference site
