Why do so many venues fall behind before they're even finished?

ISE News and Insights

20 Jul 2026

New stadiums, arenas and theatres can fall behind technologically before they are even finished because buildings and technology operate on very different timescales.

Updated 9 September 2026

A major venue may take years to plan and construct, while networking, AV, software and audience expectations continue evolving throughout that period. Future-ready venue design therefore depends less on predicting which products will be needed at opening and more on creating flexible infrastructure that can accommodate change.

Calling a new venue "future-proof" has always been risky. Today, it is becoming harder still.

A display, processor or control system specified early in a project may have moved on significantly by the time the building opens. New production workflows emerge. Bandwidth requirements increase. Software changes. Meanwhile, operators discover new ways of using their venues that may never have appeared in the original brief.

The challenge is not simply choosing the latest technology. It is reconciling long construction cycles with much shorter technology cycles.

Future-proof venue design starts with infrastructure

Trying to predict the exact technology a venue will need a decade from now is unlikely to work. Designing infrastructure that allows technology to change is a more practical objective.

That puts greater emphasis on elements audiences may never see: network capacity, fibre and cabling pathways, power provision, equipment spaces, IP architecture and the ability for different systems to exchange information.

AV-over-IP can play an important role because it makes signal distribution less dependent on fixed point-to-point connections. The choice of architecture matters too. Commercial Integrator notes that open AV-over-IP platforms can provide greater interoperability and hardware freedom, while closed ecosystems trade some of that flexibility for tighter manufacturer control.

For a venue expected to operate for decades, that is more than a technical decision. It can affect how easily systems can be expanded, reconfigured or replaced later.

Multi-use venues make flexibility even more important

Technology planning is becoming harder because the purpose of the venue itself may change.

An arena designed primarily for sport may also need to accommodate concerts, esports, conferences, exhibitions, hospitality and content production. Each places different demands on displays, audio, connectivity, broadcast infrastructure and production workflows.

A current example comes from Coventry Building Society Arena. In August 2026, Coventry City FC and the arena announced a ten-year partnership with Legends Global, backed by joint investment of more than £15 million over the next three years. The ambition is to develop the site as a 365-day destination for sport, live music, exhibitions, conferences and hospitality.

It demonstrates why venue technology cannot be planned solely around the event format that dominates when the original brief is written. The business model itself can evolve.

Build for expansion, not permanence

There is a useful lesson here from ISE 2027 exhibitors LANG AG and NETGEAR.

LANG originally created a permanent two-switch AV-over-IP network so its engineers could test ST 2110 and IPMX equipment without repeatedly building temporary networks. As its requirements grew, so did the infrastructure. The network expanded from two switches to four, then ten and eventually 22 switches across multiple buildings, supporting testing, training, meeting and production environments.

The value lies not simply in its scale but in the way it evolved. LANG's Sven Bauschke describes being able to make changes across different buildings because they are part of the same network – flexibility that the company's previous traditional infrastructure could not provide.

A stadium or arena is clearly a very different environment, but the principle translates. Requirements changed, the network expanded, and the underlying architecture was able to accommodate that growth.

That shifts the idea of future-proofing away from permanence. The more useful objective is upgradeability.

Venue technology planning needs to start earlier

Achieving that flexibility also changes when AV decisions need to be made.

AV, IT and digital infrastructure cannot be left until a building is largely designed and treated as equipment that will simply be installed into finished spaces. Decisions made much earlier about architecture, cable routes, networks, power and equipment spaces can determine what becomes possible later.

Commercial and operational teams also need a voice. What events might the venue host? Could it become a broadcast or content-production environment? How might sponsorship change? What digital services could audiences expect? How quickly will spaces need to switch between different uses?

Those are business questions, but increasingly they have infrastructure consequences.

This is particularly important as AV and IT continue to converge. A venue's network may ultimately need to carry or connect everything from digital signage and production video to audio, control, ticketing and audience-facing digital services. Designing each technology as an isolated system can make future changes much harder.

ISE 2027 exhibitors including Luminex Network Intelligence are helping venues build high-performance network infrastructures designed to support increasingly connected AV environments. At the visual layer, Brompton Technology develops LED video processing technologies that give venues and production teams greater flexibility in deploying large-format displays, while Stage Precision provides software that connects and controls multiple production technologies within a unified environment. Together, these technologies illustrate an important principle of future-ready venue design: flexibility depends not on any single product, but on an infrastructure in which networks, displays and production systems can evolve as requirements change.

The best future-proofing strategy is to expect change

At ISE 2027, technologies relevant to this challenge span the show floor, from networked AV and control to professional audio, large-format displays and live production.

But for venue owners, architects, consultants and technology teams, the bigger question comes before individual products are selected: how easily will this venue accommodate technologies and uses that haven't been specified yet?

No venue can be genuinely future-proof. Displays will be replaced, software will evolve and audience expectations will change.

The goal should therefore be to make change part of the design. A venue built around accessible, scalable infrastructure may still need significant technology investment throughout its life – but it is far less likely to find that the building itself stands in the way.

Frequently asked questions

What does future-proofing a venue mean?

Future-proofing does not mean installing technology that will never become obsolete. It means designing networks, cabling, power, equipment spaces and other infrastructure so technology can be upgraded or replaced without extensive redesign.

Why should AV technology be considered early in venue design?

Early decisions about network capacity, cable pathways, equipment locations and power provision can determine how easily AV systems can be installed, expanded and upgraded later.

How does AV-over-IP help venues adapt?

AV-over-IP distributes audio and video using network infrastructure rather than relying entirely on dedicated point-to-point connections. Depending on the architecture chosen, this can make systems easier to expand and reconfigure as requirements change.

Why do multi-use venues need flexible technology?

Sport, concerts, conferences, esports and other events can require very different audio, display, production and connectivity workflows. Flexible infrastructure makes it easier for a venue to accommodate those changing requirements.

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