Donbass Arena

The Donbass Arena was opened on August 29, 2009, with a sensational ceremony that was attended by Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko. Many national and international pop stars performed at the opening celebration. The arena is the first Eastern European football stadium that meets the criteria by UEFA as an Elite Stadium and it will host an important venue -the UEFA EURO 2012 Football Championship Games, including the semi-final game. The new home stadium of the 2009 UEFA Cup Winner, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, offers seating for more than 51,000 spectators.

Architectural Highlight

Even before entering the arena, visitors stop to admire the world’s largest "floating" football made of granite. Carved from a single piece of stone, the football floats on a thin surface of water. Outside the stadium, the 24,000 square meter shiny façade especially catches the visitor’s eye. Inside the stadium, the spectator seats are arranged in an unbroken oval shape ensuring that the football field is perfectly visible from every seat so that nobody misses a crucial moment in an exciting football game. This phenomenal building is even more fascinating at night when the sophisticated lighting illuminates the Donbass Arena in blue. In addition, after sunset, some 272 floodlights illuminate everything that is happening on the field.

Fully Equipped And Securely Designed

The Donbass Arena also accommodates three restaurants, four bars, a lounge area, fitness studio, fan café, the FC Shakhtar museum and a merchandising shop along with 53 food stalls. Visitors will find everything they need, whether attending a football game or another major event such as a concert or a show. Of course, security is critical here. It can take up to one hour for all 51,504 spectators to find their seats, but it only takes eight minutes to evacuate the entire stadium in an emergency. "We want our visitors to feel safe here and enjoy their stay. This is why we only use cutting-edge security technology," said the Director of the Stadium, Oleksandr Atamanenko. The number of video surveillance cameras installed is very impressive, but hardly surprising considering how large the area is: 528 MOBOTIX cameras, supported by 58 Bosch PTZ cameras, are keeping an eye on everything in and around the Donbass Arena.

High Resolution Is Crucial...

The tasks the video system must perform in order to ensure security in the Donbass Arena are very clear. First, it should allow the identification of every person as they enter or leave the stadium as well as during their stay. Second, it is used to monitor and control the flow of visitors at key points such as the entrances and exits of the stadium, the entrances to the seating area or in the park. Other key areas in where cameras have been installed include the restaurants, parking lots and fan shop. "We chose MOBOTIX cameras based on their impressive array of features," explained Sergey Burgela, Chief of Security at the Donbass Arena. "I would particularly like to mention the image quality. I can zoom in on a potential troublemaker and immediately have a detailed image of his or her face that I can then send to the police for identification." The cameras act preventively and enable the security personnel to arrange for troublemakers to leave the stadium even before a game begins. If an incident occurs, the video security system can also help to identify the offenders after the event. The system is therefore invaluable for shedding light on what happened.

... As Are The Low Costs

The cameras, which feature 3.1 megapixel sensors, not only deliver extremely sharp images, they are also able to provide a complete overview of much larger areas compared to conventional cameras with a lower resolution. "The MOBOTIX bid required fewer cameras than offers from other manufacturers," says Burgela. In addition, the existing IT infrastructure could continue to be used. All 528 cameras are supplied with power via PoE switches and are connected to the largest network ever installed in Ukraine. It has more than 6,000 ports.

Weatherproof And Vigilant At Night

Operating outdoors and at night place high demands on a system. The weatherproof design and absence of mechanical components made another compelling case for the products from Langmeil, Germany. They require no heating or cooling and need very little maintenance. The cameras deliver the highest-quality images around the clock thanks to the two separate, high-resolution sensors, one for color images during the day and one highly sensitive black and white sensor for night images. The unique DualNight technology works reliably without any mechanical moving parts and guarantees extreme light sensitivity. The powerful stadium lighting, in particular, which makes the Donbass Arena shine like a diamond at night, requires backlight-proof sensors like those used in MOBOTIX cameras.

Decentralized Storage Solution, Simple Installation

"The decentralized concept was what really convinced me," said Evgeniy Konovalenko, head technician of the Security Department. Image processing and event control take place in the cameras themselves. This not only dramatically reduces the load on the network, but it also allows users to do everything simultaneously, such as live image transmission, recording and event search. "At four workstations, we transmit live images to 42-inch monitors. We also use two 19-inch monitors for searching the archive," explains Konovalenko.

Software included

"We work with MxControlCenter on each of the screens. The software is very user-friendly, making it easy for security staff to operate," said the technician. The incredible thing is that the software is always provided by MOBOTIX free of charge along with the software updates that can be downloaded quickly and easily online. The professional IP video management system supports the decentralized recording technology of the cameras, which requires only about a tenth of the number of servers needed by conventional systems. For example, only three servers are required to record high-resolution megapixel video with 100 cameras. "This is another important reason why we chose MOBOTIX," says Burgela. The low cost and simple installation make the MOBOTIX solution particularly well-suited for use in larger facilities like stadiums. On the contrary, a system with 100 high-resolution cameras without any built-in "intelligence" requires 20 to 25 servers.

MOBOTIX Ukrainian Partner Wins Recognition

This major project was completed by Unitop, a MOBOTIX distributor in Ukraine. The former IT company, founded in 1991, has worked with MOBOTIX on over 50 installations since they started working with MOBOTIX in 2008. The team made its case against the competition and won the contract with a comprehensive total concept.