Nationwide Sports Events Platform
Full Architecture Modernization, AWS Optimization & Performance Transformation
Overview
This case study documents a comprehensive modernization initiative for a high-traffic sports events management platform serving nationwide registration and event operations. The platform faced severe scalability challenges and required a complete architectural overhaul within a tight 4-month timeline.
The legacy system was a single combined WordPress and PHP project containing the customer website, registration system, back-office, mobile APIs, and customer-facing APIs. This resulted in a very large codebase with tightly coupled modules and significant performance issues. All components connected to a monolithic MySQL database. The existing EC2 infrastructure lacked autoscaling capability, causing the system to crash at just 1,000 concurrent users.
The modernization was delivered in 4 months by a Tecxo.io team of 7 engineers. The team separated the entire system into independent services and delivered a modern, scalable architecture that now supports 100,000+ concurrent users while reducing AWS costs by over 50%.
Legacy Stack
- Combined WordPress + PHP monolith
- Customer website, registration, back-office, APIs in single codebase
- MySQL monolithic database
- React Native Expo mobile application
- EC2 instances without autoscaling
- 20+ micro-websites on AWS Lightsail
Platform Modules
The Challenges
Critical issues that required systematic solutions.
Performance Collapse at Scale
The system crashed at just 1,000 concurrent users. EC2 infrastructure was overutilized yet underperforming, with no autoscaling for registration traffic spikes.
Excessive AWS Costs
Monthly AWS spending reached $3,300 despite poor performance. EC2 instances were overprovisioned and 20+ Lightsail micro-sites used oversized instances.
Monolithic Architecture
The entire system lived in a single WordPress and PHP codebase. Any change risked breaking other parts, and deployments affected everything at once.
Slow Legacy APIs
CodeIgniter APIs were poorly optimized with no caching. Response times were unacceptable during high-traffic registration periods.
Unstable Mobile Application
The React Native Expo app was unstable with frequent crashes. Over-the-air updates were unreliable and compounded by legacy API performance issues.
Engineering Leadership & System Architecture
The Tecxo.io team defined the complete architecture roadmap and AWS modernization strategy, leading 7 engineers through backend, frontend, mobile, DevOps, and QA — delivering the full platform modernization in 4 months with zero downtime.
The Solutions
A comprehensive approach addressing architecture, technology, and operational concerns.
System Separation & Independent Services
Separated the monolithic WordPress/PHP project into independent services for website, registration, back-office, mobile APIs, and public APIs.
- Customer website separated into standalone Angular SSR application
- Registration system separated as independent service
- Back-office separated into independent admin application
- Mobile APIs separated into dedicated Express API service
- Improved scalability, deployment flexibility, and reduced peak-load failures
Frontend Modernization (WordPress → Angular SSR)
Migrated the customer-facing site from WordPress to Angular 17 with SSR on AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
- Deployed on Elastic Beanstalk with managed autoscaling
- Significantly faster page load times and improved Core Web Vitals
- SEO dramatically improved with server-side rendering
- Modern, responsive UI/UX with consistent design system
Backend Transformation (Node.js + Express)
Rewrote backend APIs in Node.js Express and deployed on AWS Lambda behind API Gateway for automatic scaling.
- Customer-facing and mobile APIs built with Node.js and Express
- Deployed on Lambda + API Gateway for serverless scalability
- Automatic scaling during peak traffic with no manual intervention
- Cleaner RESTful API architecture with proper versioning
AWS Infrastructure Modernization
Completely redesigned AWS architecture for scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency.
- Angular SSR on Elastic Beanstalk with autoscaling
- Aurora MySQL for high-availability database
- CloudFront CDN to reduce backend load globally
- Static micro-sites migrated from Lightsail to S3
AWS Architecture
Strategic selection of AWS services optimized for performance, cost efficiency, and operational excellence.
Elastic Beanstalk
Managed deployment with autoscaling
Replaced legacy EC2. Instances scale automatically during peak registration periods.
AWS Lambda + API Gateway
Serverless compute
Traffic burst-friendly with reduced idle costs for variable API workloads.
Aurora MySQL
Managed relational database
Auto-scaling storage and high availability for peak registration traffic.
CloudFront
Global CDN
Caches assets at edge locations worldwide, reducing latency and origin load.
S3
Object storage and static hosting
Migrated static micro-sites from Lightsail to S3, dramatically reducing compute costs.
Infrastructure Investment
50%+ reduction ($3,300/mo → ~$1,500/mo)
| Category | Before | After | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compute (Elastic Beanstalk) | $1,200/mo | $500/mo | 58% |
| Database (Aurora) | $700/mo | $400/mo | 43% |
| Lightsail Micro-sites | $600/mo | $200/mo | 67% |
| Storage & CDN | $400/mo | $180/mo | 55% |
Mobile App Migration
Migrating From: React Native Expo
- Expo app was unstable with frequent crashes during events
- Over-the-air updates were unreliable causing version fragmentation
- Performance suffered due to legacy API issues
- Maintaining separate web and mobile codebases doubled effort
Migrating To: Ionic Angular
- Unified codebase with web platform using Angular
- Improved API consumption after Node.js backend rewrite
- More stable app with fewer crashes reported
- Consistent user experience across all platforms
Results & Impact
Concurrent Users
Platform now supports 100K+ concurrent users during peak registration events
Cost Reduction
Monthly AWS costs reduced from $3,300 to under $1,500 with better performance
Delivery Time
Complete platform modernization delivered on an aggressive timeline
SEO Improvement
Angular SSR dramatically improved search rankings and page load times
Key Takeaways
- Aggressive timelines are achievable with a focused team and clear architecture vision
- Separating a monolithic codebase into independent services dramatically improves scalability
- Elastic Beanstalk with autoscaling eliminates manual infrastructure management
- Rightsizing infrastructure often yields more savings than just switching services
- Unified web and mobile codebase reduces maintenance burden and speeds development