German Bundesliga football club Borussia Mönchengladbach has selected Finnish smart security company iLOQ to install more than 2,000 battery-free smart locks at its 54,000 seater stadium in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia.
The novel locks utilise power generated by inserting a digital key, or from Near-Field Communication (NFC) induction loops provided by smartphones, to recognise access rights and open locking mechanism automatically.
Smart locks to the VIP boxes at the Borussia-Park stadium will allow full access via smartphone, with visitors able to grant and revoke access through a dedicated iLOQ’s app to ensure family and friends can enter with ease while maintaining complete security.
Access rights will also be controlled centrally in real-time to allow only authorised visitors to access different parts of the stadium when required.
Sales Manager and former footballer Patrick Herrmann, who spent his entire professional career plaaying as a right winger for the club, says: “The partnership with iLOQ brings our two forward-thinking organisations together.
Their contribution to upgrading our stadium facilities will make life easier for everyone at the club and our fans.
"Having iLOQ as a long-term partner will improve our security standards and make our fantastic stadium even better,”
Football stadiums are enormous, complex structures with thousands of areas that different people need to access...
Sascha Hilgers, iLOQ's country managing director for Germany, says: “I am a lifelong fan of Borussia Mönchengladbach and have been going to games since my childhood.
Being able to provide this support for the club I love is a dream come true.
"Football stadiums are enormous, complex structures with thousands of areas that different people need to access, so I'm happy the facility managers at Borussia-Park will no longer have to carry bulky, impractical keychains, and players and staff will be able to go where they need with ease, allowing them to focus on bringing results on the pitch.”
Heikki Hiltunen, iLOQ President and CEO, adds: “This partnership is an important step for iLOQ in the German market, and will provide a significant boost to our visibility and reputation with our customers, channel partners, and users throughout Europe.”
As part of the agreement, the iLOQ brand will be featured prominently in the stadium, media areas, and across the club’s digital platforms reaching millions of fans globally.
Large public venues including sports stadiums, music venues and museums typically require large numbers of keys and continuous maintenance to keep mechanical security systems functional in contrast to smart locks which are virtually maintenance-free.
