Stadium Wayfinding: Safety & Digital Signage in Stadiums

When fans head to the stadium, they’re hoping for a great match or a memorable event. But there’s something else a little less ‘exciting’ that they expect, too; that’s a safe, secure, and stress-free experience. 

At Yodeck, we can help you deliver exactly that for all your audiences. Communicate with everyone in the stadium, reassure them of the steps you’re taking to keep them safe, and do simple things like help them get to their seats. With our digital signage for stadium wayfinding, we make it all easy. 

In this article, we show you how. Discover how digital wayfinding signage can help you fulfill your obligations, and what you need to know to get started.

Why Does Stadium Wayfinding Matter? 

Stadium wayfinding is the term for the way that audiences are directed around stadiums and arenas. Since the days of the Colosseum in ancient Rome, stadiums have used signage to help direct people to their seats and around the site easily and efficiently. 

These days, it’s not wall inscriptions that are used so much as a combination of physical and digital signage. Meanwhile, with a greater range of concessions and services available in stadiums—as well as more regulations—wayfinding has become a little more complex. 

Despite the changes, though, there are some enduring reasons why wayfinding will always be central to the way you run your stadiums:

• Wayfinding signage helps prevent fans from getting lost. Audiences don’t want to miss the action because they’re looking for their seat or the restroom. In fact, according to Deloitte’s The Stadium Experience study of 15,000 fans, three quarters of stadium-goers cite easy navigation and accessibility as a priority.

• It keeps fans safe. A well-managed flow of fans throughout the venue prevents things like crowd crushes and even just audience discomfort. Effective and clear signage ensures that audiences can reach wherever they need to go in safety and without disruption.

• The right signage can help you increase revenue. Signs and displays that lead to concessions increase awareness and sales. Deloitte found that quality concessions are a fundamental expectation of fans in stadiums. Make sure that audiences know where they can be found.

• It’ll help you reassure crowds in an emergency. According to the UK’s Health and Safety Executive, communication is one of the key elements of crowd control in emergencies. Signage like Yodeck’s that’s easily updated, centrally managed, and visually striking will help you give audiences all the information they need.

Ultimately, effective wayfinding signage in stadiums increases safety, boosts the fan experience, and can help you increase profits. It will also help you ensure you’re complying with regulations too.

What Signs Will You Need in a Stadium?

Wayfinding signage in stadiums doesn’t need to be digital. But with so much that you might want to communicate with your audiences, it definitely helps. 

This is what you’ll need—and what digital signage can help you make a reality:

• Safety signage. There’s some signage that’s mandatory in stadiums, such as emergency escape and first aid signs, prohibition signs (e.g. “no smoking” signs), and warning signs (e.g. that say “uneven steps”). 

Often these are required to be specific sizes, colours, and shapes. You can find more information about what’s needed in the Green Guide, the globally recognised best practice guide on stadium safety.

• Information signs, including wayfinding. This is stadium signage that includes:
  • Maps or plans of the stadium
  • Directional signs, inside and around the stadium
  • Seat indicators 
  • Any regulations, such as prohibited items.

There are no specific rules on how you present this information, so you’re free to be creative with digital displays and your own branded visuals, as long as it’s clear. However, these signs shouldn’t detract from the information in the safety signs.

• Commercial signs. Finally, you’ll likely use commercial signage, including adverts, billboards, totems, and more. This will guide fans to concessions, advertise special offers and third-party products, and showcase your brand and future events. 

All of these can be improved with digital signage. While safety signs are legally required, you can reinforce their messages by showing them in digital signs too. 

Case Study: How RSC Anderlecht Used Digital Stadium Signage to Improve Communication and Boost Revenue

RSC Anderlecht is Belgium’s most successful football team. They came to Yodeck in search of an easy way to show sponsorship content across the 140 screens in their stadium. 

And that’s exactly what we provided—and more. They could:

• Centrally manage content for different screens across three locations.
• Directly upload whatever media they wanted, or stream content from YouTube
• Provide player-facing screens to provide teams the info they needed
• Increase the amount of revenue secured through advertising, thanks to the new technology. 

“Why should someone use Yodeck? It’s very complete, the software doesn’t take up much space, and it allows us to do digital signage at a decent price. What’s more, the easiest thing is to be able to use Yodeck anywhere in the world—I can manage all my screens remotely.

“It’s all really easy. With a first screen, you can test out all of the technology’s possibilities for free. Now, we can display any kind of content, from videos to PDFs, all on the same system.” (Didier Desmet, RSC Anderlecht)

Read the whole case study: RSC Anderlecht: Football Club Digital Signage