The Canadian Football League (CFL) is a unique brand of professional football known for wide-open, fast-paced, and engaging gameplay. The CFL is dramatic, physical, and intensely captivating professional football, earning a place in the hearts of sports fans across Canada and around the world.
Until recently, they’ve used traditional planning techniques to plan their events, including the Grey Cup, the largest single-day annual sporting event in Canada. Now they turn to OnePlan. We spoke with Courtney Clace, Senior Manager, Grey Cup & Events, and Bryden Boutilier, Senior Manager of Stadium & Game Operations, on the transformation of their event planning process using OnePlan to plan major events.
Before: Using Excel and CAD for Event Planning
Both Courtney and Bryden come from the world of sporting 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
The OnePlan Solution
Courtney came upon OnePlan by word of mouth when she saw Commonwealth Stadium had used it for a FIFA site validation. She saw the value it could bring to organizing the neutral-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 highlight features, like accurate scaling, HD mapping, and real-time collaboration, promised a solution to the challenges they’d seen in event planning. After a quick demo with one of OnePlan’s event experts, the CFL team were onboard with OnePlan’s potential to revolutionize their event planning.
Better Event Planning
Once the CFL started to use OnePlan, they quickly saw some of the huge benefits the software could bring. “It has reduced a lot of programs. We can just have everything in one,” said Bryden.
Here’s how OnePlan was put into action and what they value about the platform:
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,” said Courtney.
Enhanced Collaboration:
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,” said 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.”
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.”
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 well.”
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.
Importing CADs for Interior Event Planning:
OnePlan allows you to import your CAD onto your event plan and plan on top of it. Courtney shared, “That’s probably one of my favorite features. It combines everything in one place.” Before OnePlan, they used CAD, but with limitations, needing screenshots for added details because editing requires specialized skills or a CAD freelancer.
With OnePlan, integrating CAD drawings directly into their planning allowed for a detailed view of event spaces. Importing their CADs not only improved planning accuracy, but it also streamlined communication, reducing the need for constant updates and checks. “I wasn’t constantly sending messages because I knew that I could just quickly go, click, and update it – and it would be perfect,” she added
Confidence in Planning:
Perhaps most importantly, OnePlan gave their team a newfound confidence in their event layouts and plans. They could assure stakeholders, from senior executives to external partners, that each event had every detail thought out and was optimized for the space available. As well, OnePlan’s accurate scaling and comprehensive planning tools allowed 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 before we’re even on the ground,” said 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
A New Way to Plan
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. OnePlan has potential benefits for other leagues and large-scale event organizers who are looking to streamline their processes and enhance event success.
To explore how OnePlan can elevate your event planning and management, try it out now for free, or book a demo with our team and join over 50,000 events worldwide that use OnePlan.
