The Canadian Football League (CFL) is a unique brand of professional football known for wide-open, fast-paced, and engaging gameplay. The league hosts multi-site events across the country, including the Grey Cup, the largest single-day annual sports event in Canada.
We spoke with Courtney Clace, Senior Manager, Grey Cup & Events, and Bryden Boutilier, Senior Manager of Stadium & Game Operations, on how the CFL team has transformed its multi-site venue and event planning process using OnePlan.
Before: Using Excel and CAD for Event Planning
Both Courtney and Bryden come from the world of sports events. When they joined the CFL, they were faced with the challenge of organizing large-scale events in venues across Canada, including some “neutral-site” venues without typical CFL-sized stadiums that needed to be transformed to host some of the league’s biggest games. Their previous planning methods involved a mix of tools like Microsoft Publisher, Excel, and CAD drawings, which were time-consuming and inaccurate.
One big problem was having to make different versions of an event plan that were catered to specific stakeholders. For example, the security team might need to know the location of emergency exits and safety areas, while vendors and suppliers need to know where to set up. With their old planning methods, they had to make separate plans for each group, which took a lot of time.
Everything was done manually and not in real-time, making it difficult and time-consuming to collaborate and make quick changes.
Image Credit: Kevin Sousa
Better event and venue planning in OnePlan
Courtney came upon OnePlan when she saw Commonwealth Stadium had used it for a FIFA site validation. She saw the value it could bring to organizing the multi-site games where they would modify a stadium to increase capacity and add a host of facilities. Courtney needed a tool that could help visualize and plan the entire setup from the ground up.
OnePlan’s key features including accurate scaling, great map options, and real-time team collaboration, provided the solution.
Once the CFL teams started to use OnePlan they quickly saw the huge benefits the software delivers. “It has reduced a lot of programs. We can just have everything in one system,” says Bryden.
Here’s how OnePlan was put into action and what they value about the platform:
1. Precision and Scalability:
OnePlan’s ability to place items to scale on HD maps enables precise space utilization and planning, even for complex venues and setup. The ability to accurately map out every detail, from stands and tents to the exact placement of fences, is key. This ensures every element can be correctly positioned, avoiding potential logistical issues during the actual event.
“I can take real measurements in OnePlan. I’m confident when presenting to senior executives – when they say, can this go here? I can say, yes it can. It’ll fit. It has definitely made our jobs smoother,” says Courtney.
2. Enhanced Collaboration across their teams:
OnePlan has instant collaboration where changes can be made and immediately shared with the team and stakeholders, enhancing decision-making and problem-solving processes
“I’ve used OnePlan in boardrooms and on-site visits. We’ll put it up on a TV and move stuff around in real time,” says Bryden.
“This past month, I’ve had six people in different areas want to see the layout map in OnePlan, so I send them the view-only link and now they have it for the future. They have the link so anytime things get changed or updated, they can go and see it themselves and I’m not having to send out an updated version.”
3. Layered Information Sharing:
OnePlan’s ability to create different layers was a game-changer for communication with different departments and external partners. Security teams could easily access routes and emergency exits without being cluttered by irrelevant details like vendor locations. This streamlined the information-sharing process, making it more efficient and relevant to each stakeholder’s needs.
“It makes it easy to only share the vital information that each group needs,” said Courtney. “The fact that you can turn off and on sections quickly and you’re not creating eight different maps saves so much time.”
4. Reduced Reliance on Physical Site Visits:
OnePlan didn’t eliminate the need for site visits, but it significantly enhanced productivity. “I have more confidence in what the area looked like, rather than trying to remember what I saw on a site visit. It also allows us to better prepare for site visits, and then be better prepared for the actual event as a result.”
The team can prepare better before each visit by looking at their event plan in OnePlan, ensuring that time on-site is used more effectively, which is especially important because many of the events are spread across Canada.
5. Importing floor plans and layouts for Interior Event Planning:
OnePlan allows you to import your existing floor plans and layouts onto your event plan and plan on top of it.
Courtney says, “Layout import is one of my favorite features. It combines all planning in one place.” Before OnePlan, they used CAD software, but with limitations, needing screenshots for added details because editing requires specialized skills or a CAD freelancer.
With OnePlan, integrating layouts and floor plan .png files directly into their planning allows for a detailed view of event spaces. This has not only improved planning accuracy, but also streamlines communication, reducing the need for constant updates and checks. “I now don’t need to constantly send messages about planning updates. I can instead quickly go to OnePlan, click and update it – and it will be perfect. The team sees it straightaway.” she adds.
6. Confidence in Planning:
Perhaps most importantly, OnePlan gives the Canadian Football League events and operations teams a newfound confidence in their multi-site event layouts and plans. They can assure stakeholders, from senior executives to external partners, that each event has every detail thought out and is optimized for the space available.
As well, OnePlan’s accurate scaling and comprehensive planning tools allows the team to anticipate and address any potential issues.
“It’s helping us flag stuff in advance and catch things that can become an issue down the road. It helps to have those conversations across our different teams before we’re even on the ground,” says Courtney.
“I can take real measurements in OnePlan. I'm confident when presenting to senior executives – when they ask, can this go here? I know it’ll fit. It has definitely made our jobs smoother."
Courtney Clace
Senior Manager, Grey Cup & Events
More efficient Team planning
The Canadian Football League adopted OnePlan for its scalability and versatility in organizing league-wide events. OnePlan has revolutionized the CFL’s events department’s operations, facilitating a more integrated, efficient, and collaborative approach to planning across various venues and teams within the league.
To explore how OnePlan can elevate your multi-site event planning and management, try it out now for free, or book a demo with our team.