SPIE designs and implements the network infrastructure of the new CO'Met event complex for Orléans Métropole

The challenge for the community and the operator is to enable the simultaneous connection of visitors and offer them new uses around the different event formats planned in this unique place in France.

The CO'Met event complex in Orléans Métropole is made up of three buildings: a sports hall for 10.000 people, a convention center and an exhibition center. The Zénith d’Orléans completes this set. Inaugurated on January 7, 2023 for the final phases of the French Handball Tournament, it will be used for the next major international sporting events, which Orléans Métropole will host.

SPIE ICS and SPIE Building Solutions, subsidiaries of the SPIE group, independent European leader in multi-technical services in the fields of energy and communications, combined their expertise to meet the needs of the metropolis while the building was still under construction .

The designed solution includes the implementation and installation of a complete infrastructure covering Local Area Networking (LAN), WIFI, data center, network administration and cybersecurity. The choice of a single solution, based on Cisco technologies, ensures perfect consistency between these different building blocks. This infrastructure provides seamless connectivity for organizers, operators and visitors. It meets strong connection challenges for ticketing, checkouts, technical management of buildings and public wifi (10.000 simultaneous connections).

The SPIE Building Solutions teams were responsible for installing the equipment and carrying out additional cabling in this complex environment, since the work was carried out at a height of 12 to 23 meters. They also deployed their expertise in design and concealment of installations (for example, for wifi terminals) in order to adapt to the characteristics of the premises and their uses, while facilitating future maintenance.

The work carried out by SPIE ICS and SPIE Building Solutions began in April 2022 and ended at the start of 2023. Their intervention continues with the connection to the CO'Met complex at the Zénith d'Orléans, an immediate neighbor and an integral part of the complex.

For all of this work, the SPIE teams demonstrated great agility in project management in order to adapt to the context of extended delivery times for electronic components. Temporary technical workaround solutions have been put in place to guarantee the holding of professional and sporting events planned for the 2023 calendar.

For Delphine Ferrier, director of Greater Atlantic activities at SPIE ICS: “This atypical file required innovative assembly engineering which was created in co-construction with our client's teams in order to offer services worthy of a 3.0 event complex. Our biggest challenge was to achieve a WiFi connection for 10.000 people, simultaneously and in complete security, resistant to all hazards. »

For Sébastien Yvan, department head at SPIE Building Solutions: “The intervention of the SPIE Building Solutions teams carried out on an occupied site demonstrates our ability to adapt and our responsiveness. Certain elements of the solution were designed on site in order to adapt to the specific constraints of this location dedicated to events. »