Fans

A record breaking crowd of 109,000-plus fans packed Michigan Stadium for the Manchester United vs Real Madrid match on August 2, 2014. (Patrick Record | The Ann Arbor News)

(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)

ANN ARBOR, MI – Attendants of Saturday’s International Champions Cup match had mixed reviews regarding the updated cellular service at Michigan Stadium.

The weekend’s Manchester United vs. Real Madrid soccer game served as a test of the facility’s upgraded distributed antenna system, University of Michigan officials announced Friday.

Officials said the stadium is expected to have improved cellular coverage this football season after receiving complaints in recent years.

Associate Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations Rob Rademacher considered Saturday’s test a success.

“We don’t have any info from the carriers yet, all we have is anecdotal and the feedback has been that it went well,” he said. “People were able to text and make phone calls.”

Rademacher added that his AT&T cell service worked “better than a typical football game,” as he moved inside and outside the stadium.

Spectators at the 4 p.m. match at Michigan Stadium had varying experiences with connectivity. Many said their cell service was sufficient but they had a hard time using data.

Former Ann Arbor resident and frequent U-M football game attendee Doug Helmriech, 44, said his cell phone was useless during the match.

“By 3:45 p.m. the phone was basically a brick,” he said. “(I) couldn’t even send a text message. I didn’t connect to data until well after the game and I was away from the stadium.”

Alex Gonzales, a 19-year-old Mount Pleasant resident, said he struggled to receive service during the first half, though he felt it “improved quite nicely for the second half.”

“I have 3G and about 10 minutes before the game, my coverage was giving me the ‘1X’ signal coverage, meaning nothing could send,” Gonzales said. “I had multiple slow texts, failed Snapchat sends and slow Facebook loading. Then it did turn around at halftime. I got 3G back, which was enough to be able to send things.”

Bill Hickman was pleased with the improvement Saturday, comparing it to the U-M football games he’s attended. He said his data service was difficult to use, though he had no problems sending texts or reading tweets.

“That hasn’t been the case on many football Saturdays,” said the 30-year-old Plymouth man. “I was texting with a friend who was stuck in Atlantic City and had to miss everything, and we communicated pretty regularly, except at halftime.

“If service is anywhere close to that for the Appalachian (State) showdown (on Aug. 30), all will be well.”

U-M’s Rademacher said the university plans to release a survey to fans soon, asking for feedback on Saturday’s cell service experience.

He considered the soccer match – which set a U.S. record for largest crowd at a soccer game (109,318) – comparable by attendance numbers to U-M football games at Michigan Stadium.

In 2010, local providers including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint stepped up their equipment and service for Michigan football attendees. A year later, the distributed antenna system was installed at Michigan Stadium to improve service.

Justin P. Hicks is a sports reporter and storyteller for MLive / The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached at jhicks3@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and MLive.