A push towards energy efficiency will contribute to sports stadiums taking up building automation software at a record rate over the next five years.

Venue managers will increasingly turn to the technology – which centrally controls the heating, lighting, ventilation and air conditioning – to make their stadiums more sustainable, cost efficient and easier to maintain.

The integration of building automation software will help the global smart stadium market size reach $12.5bn by 2023, up from the $4.6bn the market is worth now. This will represent a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 22.1% over the five-year period.

Smart stadiums are venues that embrace digital transformation, using technology to streamline energy use, wifi networks, food ordering and bathroom queuing support, ticket management and security support.

According to a report by ResearchandMarkets.com, Smart Stadium Market by Software, Service and Region – Global Forecast to 2023, Europe hold the largest share of smart stadiums in the world with 1,335.

The Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam’s prominent smart stadium, has been asked to design a smart city concept by Amsterdam’s municipality following its own extensive work with sustainability and smart technology.

However, major growth is expected to occur in Japan, China Australia and southeast Asia due to the hosting of large sporting events, such as the Olympics (Tokyo 2020), Rugby World Cup (Japan 2019) and T20 Cricket World Cup (Australia 2020).