Behind the Scenes: Data Centers Powering Sports' Biggest Events

This weekend marks two of the biggest sporting events on the planet - the 2026 Winter Olympic Games kicking off in Italy and the Super Bowl at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. As millions tune in to watch these spectacular events, there's fascinating technology infrastructure working behind the scenes that most viewers never see.

The Secret Data Center Inside Levi's Stadium

When you're watching the Super Bowl this year, here's a fun fact to share with your friends: there's actually a data center inside the stadium. Not just some networking equipment, but a full-fledged data center located right where the action happens.

I had actually asked for maybe a year or two to get inside the stadium and do a tour. Then it happened very quickly - we got the OK and were on the plane only a few days later. If you were to bet that there is a data center inside the stadium, we have the tour to prove that there is indeed a data center in Levi's Stadium.

The data center serves multiple critical functions for the stadium operations. It handles everything from ticketing systems and security cameras to the massive Wi-Fi network that keeps 70,000+ fans connected during games. The infrastructure also powers the stadium's app, which provides real-time stats, replays, and even helps fans find the shortest bathroom lines.

AI-Powered Athlete Scouting at the Paris Olympics

While the Super Bowl showcases American football at its finest, the Winter Olympics represent the pinnacle of international athletic competition. Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games, where I discovered how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing how future athletes are identified and developed.

We explored how AI platforms are being used to scout future athletes at the Olympics. The technology analyzes everything from biomechanical data to performance metrics, helping coaches and national teams identify promising talent that might otherwise go unnoticed. This represents a significant shift from traditional scouting methods that relied heavily on human observation and subjective judgment.

Digital Twins and Traffic Analytics

Another fascinating aspect of the Paris Olympics was the use of digital twins - virtual replicas of the actual venues. These digital models allowed organizers to simulate various scenarios, from crowd flow patterns to emergency evacuation procedures, before the games even began.

We also examined the traffic analytics at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 venues. Managing transportation for athletes, officials, and spectators across multiple venues in a major metropolitan area like Paris is an enormous logistical challenge. The data center infrastructure processed real-time traffic data to optimize routing and reduce congestion during the games.

The Strict Reality of Olympic Media Coverage

A fun story about our coverage: since we did horizontal video, the process was very strict. We actually started the process in January 2024 and secured all of the international broadcast rights holder approvals to do the video only a few weeks before the opening ceremony.

My original idea was to get a ticket to the opening ceremony and then grab some shots for our video. That was not allowed. In fact, I was not allowed to take video at any venue - we needed to have the official videographers and photographers for anything taken inside the venues. This highlights just how tightly controlled media access is at the Olympic Games, with strict protocols in place to protect broadcast rights and ensure consistent coverage quality.

A Weekend of Sporting Spectacles

For golf fans, we'll quickly note that this weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona, is the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC of Scottsdale, where there are over 100,000 people a day. That makes getting to the STH Studio challenging all week, but it's part of the excitement of this massive sporting weekend.

From the slopes of Italy to the gridiron of Santa Clara, and even the fairways of Scottsdale, this weekend showcases how modern sports rely heavily on sophisticated technology infrastructure. Whether it's the data center powering your Super Bowl experience or the AI systems identifying the next Olympic champion, technology has become as integral to sports as the athletes themselves.