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On Thursday morning, the Dome will be renamed the JMA Wireless Dome, otherwise referred to as the JMA Dome, according to a release from Syracuse Athletics. 

“This is an exciting moment for Syracuse University, Syracuse Athletics and the broader Central New York community,” Chancellor Kent Syverud said. “With JMA Wireless as our new naming partner, our campus community, student-athletes and fans alike can expect a world-class event experience, unlike anything they’ve ever seen before at Syracuse University.”

The deal is set to last for 10 years, charging JMA Wireless at least $3.25 million annually on the open market, per an earlier article by Sportico. Carrier paid $2.75 million for perpetual naming rights when the Dome was being constructed in 1979. 

JMA Wireless was founded in 2012 by John Mezzalingua, who was previously the CEO of PPC, a manufacturer of technology products to the cable TV industry. Mezzalingua said that the company’s ties to Syracuse and SU are “deep,” and that the partnership will help Syracuse redefine college athletics again, as the Dome is the largest domed stadium of any college campus.

“The Dome will have the most advanced 5G network of any collegiate stadium, connecting fans as never before,” Mezzalingua said. “It will also enable powerful new augmented reality training systems, advanced coaching tools and sensor-based performance optimization to attract elite athletes and help Syracuse win.”

The process of renaming the stadium is a part of SU’s plan to “enhance the stadium experience,” building on the recently completed $118 million transformation of the venue. The university plans to add a complete reseating of the venue and a publicly accessible event facility. 

Construction on the stadium will begin later this spring and should be partially complete as early as this September. Syracuse men’s lacrosse head coach Gary Gait said that the name change is “fine,” but that the upgrades and the modernization of the facility will be key.

“It’s still the same facility, just a name,” Gait said. “The remodel is very important to our athletic program.” 

In 2019, JMA Wireless announced its biggest project, which involved housing the indoor 5G millimeter wave radio at a downtown Syracuse building. The campus, which would “span a city block and support a multitude of consumer-and-business-facing demos,” replaced the prior Coyne Textiles facility. According to JMA’s release, the investment cost $25 million dollars and would open at least 100 new jobs in manufacturing, testing and production support. 

“We’re continuing investment in New York to set the pace for U.S.-driven 5G innovation, something we’ve been told too often must come from international providers,” Mezzalingua said in the release.

One of the company’s latest projects has been with the Milwaukee Bucks’ arena, Fiserv Forum, which opened in 2018. JMA Wireless helped provide the “best mobile communications” with a distributed antenna system for the stadium. They also helped provide 5G equipment for SoFi Stadium, the state-of-the-art stadium located in Inglewood, California, that hosted Super Bowl LVI in 2022.

“Our fans have unmatched passion for all things Orange and they want to show that by sharing their experiences in real-time across their social media channels,” SU Athletic Director Wildhack said. “They also want to be able to check the scores of other games, text their fellow fans and scroll through relevant content. This can be seamlessly achieved with access to 5G capabilities and the multimedia services that will be available under the Dome roof.”

Published on May 19, 2022 at 10:37 am

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu