Protecting football, rugby, and event attendees at the home of Grenoble Foot 38 and the FC Grenoble rugby club.

The Stade des Alpes is a rugby and football stadium in Grenoble, France with over 20,000 seats. It hosts two resident professional clubs, Grenoble Foot 38 and the FC Grenoble rugby club, along with conventions, gala dinners, exhibitions, and concerts. On average, between 150 and 200 sporting and corporate events are organised at the stadium each year.

Bringing video up to date with new expectations

The Stade des Alpes team needed to update its existing system and bring it up to date with the requirements of the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel). In particular, there was a need to monitor sensitive areas with high footfall, namely entry and exit points, routes up to the stands, refreshment areas, and the stands themselves. The new video system needed to deliver clear and accurate images back to operators to help protect visitors, players, and officials during match days and other events.

Julien Janin, Conducteur de Travaux at Aximum explains, “We had worked with Hanwha Vision and Genetec a number of times before and found it’s a partnership that works really well. Hanwha’s cameras have the reliability and range that we needed for this project.”

In total 136 cameras were installed across the site including the XNP-6321H and XNV-9082R dome cameras, XNO-9082R 4K bullet camera, TNV-8010C compact corner mount camera,, the XNB-9002 box camera with deep learning AI video analytics and the PNM-9085RQZ multi-directional camera. The latter is equipped with motorised PTRZ gimbals which reduce on-site times as they enable installation engineers to remotely pan, tilt, rotate and zoom the lens’ positions in order to set the cameras’ field of view.

There are notable features that help the Stade des Alpes team better secure the stadium throughout the year, including during high-footfall match days and events. These include 4K resolution in some of the models, vandal resistance, and video analytics such as defocus detection, audio detection, and shock detection.

A challenging installation

The installation team needed to work flexibly and quickly in a phased approach at the Stade des Alpes. The site remained open for matches at the weekend, so all equipment had to be taken out before match days. Furthermore, dome cameras were installed on the building’s roof, requiring Rope Access Technicians to reach the highest installation points.

Due to the tricky positions of some cameras, their reliability was of the utmost importance as repairs and maintenance would require repeat visits from Rope Access Technicians. Julien Janin adds “As a Hanwha Vision partner, the 5-year guarantee provided extra peace of mind for the customer and a real value add to our bid for the work.”

A complete overview

The result is a comprehensive video security system with PTZ cameras spanning the stadium’s field and stands with a wide field of view, while dome cameras provide more detailed visibility of internal areas and the stands.

Jean Mouton, Director of the Stade des Alpes said, “Not only have we increased the number of cameras across the stadium but they are delivering exceptional images back to operators. We are very satisfied with how the cameras are working. They are supporting our events like football, rugby, and concerts. Additionally helping local police to identify any possible antisocial or criminal behaviour.”