mondo | stadia - Issue 14

HELSINKI OLYMPIC STADIUM

DRAWING BOARD

LA LIGA VIRTUAL CROWD

LIGHTING FOCUS

The modernisation of Finland’s largest venue has been completed, including a state-of-the-art lighting system.

KSS discuss their approach to sporting venue design, with a focus on the Leicester City training centre project.

La Liga, Vizrt and wTVision tell us how they adapted and enhanced sports broadcasting during the pandemic.

We take a closer look at innovative products and eye-catching projects from the world of sports lighting.

ISSUE 14 - OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2020

THE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION FOR TECHNOLOGY IN SPORTING VENUES

ISSUE 14 - OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2020 WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

14 WELCOME

llegiant Stadium has been one of those venues that the whole industry has kept a very close eye on. Ever since we saw those original plans, we’ve been eagerly waiting for updates to watch it progress and develop into Las Vegas Raiders’ new home. I think it’s safe to say that no-one has been left disappointed. The ambitious design is truly striking; sleek, modern, bold and, perhaps, even intimidating with those colours? That ambition runs right through the project, with state-of-the-art technology, facilities and features making it one of the most impressive multipurpose venues in the world. We’re delighted to have Allegiant Stadium as our cover feature - read the full story on page 46.

Elsewhere, we’ve taken a closer look at the rebuild and modernisation at Helsinki Olympic Stadium. It’s another visually stunning venue, which has been enhanced even further by a new Siteco lighting system.

While the pandemic continues to affect our industry and beyond, it’s always great to hear how many are using technology to quickly adapt, overcome and improve. This is exemplified in our interview with La Liga, Vizrt and MEDIAPRO, who have come together to create virtual crowds for match broadcasts. It was a fascinating discussion with Joris, Jonathan and Willem and I hope you enjoy reading it.

KSS are the focus of our Drawing Board feature in this issue, too, with Director, Andy Simons, providing insight into the world of sporting venue design, alongside a look at the firm’s work on the new Leicester City training centre.

We hope you enjoy ISSUE 14...

A

Sam Hughes Editor

9-13 November 2020 A week of engagement with the Live Events Production Industry For more information please contact: h.eakins@mondiale.co.uk

www.productionfutures.co.uk

14 INSIDE…

Cover image: Jason O’Rear, courtesy of HNTB. Editor Sam Hughes s.hughes@mondiale.co.uk

Assistant Editor Emma Davidson e.davidson@mondiale.co.uk

Sub Editor Peter Iantorno p.iantorno@mondiale.co.uk

Digital Editorial Assistant James Robertson j.robertson@mondiale.co.uk

Senior Account Manager Jamie Dixon j.dixon@mondiale.co.uk

Account Manager Laura Iles l.iles@mondiale.co.uk

Design & Production Dan Seaton d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk

Dave Bell d.bell@mondiale.co.uk

CEO Justin Gawne j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk

Finance Director Amanda Giles

TEAM TALK

008 Colin Farquhar | Exterity

ar@mondiale.co.uk

074 d&b Fanblock | London, England

DRAWING BOARD

VIDEO MANAGEMENT

012 Q&A | Andy Simons, KSS

076 Dover International Speedway | Delaware, USA

016 Leicester City Training Centre | Leicester, England

BROADCAST

Group Chairman Damian Walsh MONDO | STADIA is published by Mondiale Media Limited, Strawberry Studios, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK Tel: +44 161 476 8340 Printed By Buxton Press WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

AUDIO

072 Dodger Stadium | Los Angeles, USA

a.giles@mondiale.co.uk

Credit Control

VENUE FOCUS

080 Promethean TV | EPL Broadcast COMMUNICATIONS

KICK OFF

082 Q5X Audio Transmitters | NHL & NBA

018 Lighting

ACCESS STRUCTURES 084 IA Stage Round Up | USA CORPORATE HOSPITALITY

INTERVIEW

088 The Digital Line | MyHudson

036 Joris Evers, Jonathan Roberts & Willem van Breukelen | La Liga, Vizrt & MEDIAPRO

EXTRA TIME 092 Panoscape

THE FULL PITCH

093 Track160

046 Allegiant Stadium | Las Vegas, USA

094 Venue Tech Directory

062 Helsinki Olympic Stadium | Helsinki, Finland

096 Event Diary 098 Full Time | Hugo Larin, FLUX::

COLIN FARQUHAR EXTERITY Ensuring safety and confidence in the live sporting experience.

Images: Exterity he COVID-19 pandemic and

condition that necessary safety precautions be

The stadiums that have already implemented

worldwide lockdown meant that

put in place – for instance, an English Football

these technologies will be leading the way in

virtually all sports events were

League pilot scheme allowed a limited number

demonstrating their ability to leverage them

forced to go on hiatus. Certain

of supporters to attend selected matches in

to adapt to new situations, as well as the

big international events, such as the Olympics

September.

added value. An example of the effectiveness

and Wimbledon, were forced to reschedule

Fans that do return to stadiums need to be

of stadium digital signage is provided by the

until next year, while some professional

assured that everything is being done to

German football club Sportverein Sandhausen

sports leagues resumed playing – including

ensure their safety. According to a recent

1916 e.V. The club’s stadium previously

the English Premier League, Germany’s

survey by ESSMA, looking at the impact

underwent a major audiovisual deployment

Bundesliga, as well as the National Hockey

of the coronavirus on European stadiums,

with Exterity to ensure that the matchday

League and the National Basketball Association

roughly 70% of fans expect free availability

experience fulfilled the needs of fans. The

in North America. Yet the return of live

of hand sanitiser, doors to open earlier

club installed a complete suite of video display

sports does not mean a return to pre-COVID

and an obligation to wear face masks. As

monitors across the stadium, including in

normalcy. The Bundesliga, Premier League and

stadiums adapt to this brave new world,

its corporate hospitality and VIP suites. The

NHL all resumed play in empty venues, while

organisers will need to implement strict

displays enable the delivery of main broadcast

the NBA went as far as to play in a completely

hygiene, social distancing and other safety

and internal TV channels to the catering and

isolated “bubble” in Orlando, Florida with no

measures. But other key challenges they are

public areas of the new VIP tower, and also

fans and everyone involved living in an area

faced with include fan management, matchday

feature sponsor names and targeted messages

cut off from outside contact.

operations and the ongoing introduction

– of critical importance today. The Exterity

As some leagues move into new seasons while

of new safety guidelines and rules amid

IPTV system delivers TV, video and digital

others finish their playoffs, all continue to face

continuing uncertainty. It is becoming clear

signage to the right screens at the right time

uncertainty. The hope remains, however, that

that to reassure fans and communicate most

across the stadium. Now, previous welcome

fans will be able to attend certain sports events

effectively with them, leagues and teams need

greetings can display clear safety messages, as

with the right precautions and protocols in

to utilise IP-based technologies such as digital

well as information about the use of common

place. Recently, some fans have been allowed

signage and IPTV to support the opening of

areas, signposting one-way systems and exits,

to trickle back into specified games on the

stadiums.

toilets and other shared facilities.

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TEAM TALK

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009

TEAM TALK

Even without fans, IP video systems in several

Down the line, IP-based technologies will be

stadiums are already being adapted to cater

central to keeping everyone safe as more fans

for behind-closed-doors matches. While some

start to flow back into arenas and stadiums.

leagues and other sporting organisations are

Whether it is to reiterate safety procedures,

still working out the form that games and

offer details on the location of hand sanitiser

tournaments will take once fans return to

stations, flag the direction of travel for

stadiums – even in small numbers – many

various corridors, or state the number of

have already allowed team officials, venue

people allowed in washrooms and food vendor

employees, players and coaches, medical and

areas, audiovisual tools can ensure everyone

support staff, media and other permitted

has the information they need. In addition

visitors into stadiums and arenas for closed-

to reassuring fans that all necessary steps

door games. Video IP technology has played

have been taken to make a facility safe and to

a key role in enabling these games – for

encourage everyone to abide by all the rules,

example, where sports journalists are unable

digital signage and TV can also play a pivotal

to congregate in the press room but are seated

role can also allow the venue to still drive

around the stand and therefore need to have

revenue from sponsorship, the promotion of

all the close-up action and replays streamed to

merchandise, bar and restaurant deals and

their mobile devices or nearby screens.

other activities – not to mention capturing

Digital signage and in-venue TV will be even

ongoing game action for people who have left

more crucial to keeping everyone safe as

their seats. Indeed, when the fans do return,

restrictions continue to ease. With an influx

the effective deployment of digital signage

of more people, there needs to be better

and IP video technology will ensure they come

instruction in terms of what the safety rules

back to a complete game-day experience while

are for each venue, as well as the steps taken

instilling full confidence in the safety of the

to protect everyone onsite. Where necessary,

venue.

stadium operators can easily add more screens anywhere on the network – enabling sports organisations to present consistent messages, more frequently across multiple facilities. They are also able to schedule or update signage screens with vital information remotely in real time.

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www.exterity.com

A-Series

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It takes very little time for the A-Series to reveal its true colors: Coverage options to spare.

Extra clever acoustic control. More flexibility. Fewer compromises.

Approach sound reinforcement from a different angle: dbaudio.com/a-series

More art. Less noise.

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05.08.2020 15:52:21

ANDY SIMONS Director, KSS

What are the main things you have to take into consideration when working on a stadium / sporting venue project?

Let’s start by saying we are not currently considering stadium design in the context of COVID-19. With, typically, five years from concept to completion, we sincerely hope that this will not be an issue for the next generation of stadiums. Stadiums need to be both full and buzzing to be viable and deliver ROI. No client would commission a stadium based on social distancing and 30% occupancy. So, we live in a world of bright future optimism in stadia concepts. Fan experience and revenue are always the key drivers, although the priorities, emphasis and results can vary greatly. Footfall and then spend per head are key for live event venues and a full, exciting venue makes for great advertising revenue opportunities. Price points can be pushed if the fundamental experience is well thought out and well designed. A smooth arrival sequence, appropriate greeting and interaction, a good lounge/ concourse environment, varied, quality food and drink offers and then, of course, a great seat with a good view. TV revenues and advertising opportunities are to be maximised and excellent technical facilities and support areas for the media are critical considerations. When SKY / BT choose to feature a Premier League game beyond the core commitment, it is worth over £1m to the host club, so being an easy venue with superb broadcast facilities is a priority requirement.

In recent KSS sporting venue designs, what has been incorporated to enhance the fan experience?

Fan experience is a continuing evolution and one of the most dynamic aspects of the stadium design world. Recent features touch on every aspect of the event day experience. Better food and beverage are certainly demanded, and we see a drift from the pie-and-pint combo to more contemporary choices. As experienced hospitality and leisure designers, we produce innovative environments that seamlessly blend functionality and aesthetics that deliver memorable experiences to our clients and their guests.

Hospitality is an exciting journey, one that surprises and delights as you explore. We carefully curate a guest-driven experience that considers all the senses throughout every step of the journey, leaving guests eager to return.

At Liverpool and Southampton, we now have very popular street food and high street-style offers of stir fries and Malaysian curries to souvlaki wraps.

These are fresh cooked and that’s a real game changer. Both stadiums also now include external big screen Fan Zones - very popular pre and post-match. These will be at every stadium soon. At Twickenham, the new six-storey east stand delivers every possible taste in hospitality. Very popular, 012

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not surprisingly for a rugby crowd, is the huge, top-floor roof beer garden, with live bands, big screens and a massive pizza oven doing a roaring trade.

The Seagulls’ disabled fans are also particularly well provided for in all respects of access, facilities, dedicated support staff and view. Contactless, smooth access and cashless loyalty point payments will shortly be the norm throughout stadiums. With American Express as the Amex Stadium sponsor, Brighton fans have enjoyed this technology for some time. Every project is unique, every guests’ experience is important, every detail considered – a perfect blend of both art and science.

Have you noticed designs becoming more advanced to cater for the everexpanding hospitality offerings in sporting stadia?

Certainly - more offers, more diversity and higher quality. Hospitality capacity increase generally, and a totally different hierarchy of offer are fundamental changes in stadia requirements. The pyramid of offer has changed to a lemon. We still have a very exclusive top offer, but the middle band has become much more democratic and inclusive, with much more accessible levels of hospitality without the formality. In fact, informality, choice, grazing and casual dress is now the norm. The Premium GA offer is the way forward for many stadiums with better space, standards, seating and comfort for the traditional fans when not in the stadium bowl. The quality of food offer demanded on match and non-match days means the end of large centralised production kitchens and direct, fresh cook-to-table service or in-room show cooking.

How does the architectural design of a stadium impact the atmosphere on a match day?

Massively. No other way to put it. The stadium design is critical to atmosphere. This is all about stadium bowl ergonomics and acoustic containment and reinforcement. People are both excellent generators and absorbers of sound. The pitch also absorbs and so the only hard surfaces to bounce and focus the noise are the roof and the soffits of multi-layered stands. The crafting and shaping of these, therefore, plays a big part.

Fan proximity, distribution and density are also critical. Ideally, we achieve a full wrap stadium of tightly packed general fans as close as possible to the pitch. The ‘tier of indifference’ as the typical middle tier of hospitality is known and well named - and it’s important to mix the hospitality evenly in the bowl with core fans, not only for best ticket choice, but for best noise distribution. All you need then is for your team to play beautiful football and score about every 15 minutes!

DRAWING BOARD

Main Stand Development, Anfield

Most sporting stadiums have now become multipurpose venues that host concerts, conferences etc., as well as match days. Does this affect the architectural design in any way?

Always and forever. We’ve been designing stadiums for over thirty years now and every single one has a multipurpose aspect to its design. Some are more pronounced than others, but a wider platform of revenue generation other than the match day has been a feature since the first major stadium regeneration in the early 1990s. We have always had almost every hospitality lounge converting to party rooms, conferences and seminars with demountable walls. Sometimes, this is just a furniture and AV equipment change, but sometimes it is more advanced. Recent trends have seen us design bespoke interiors at Twickenham that have the permanent feel of a hipster bar interior with central island bars, poseur tables and banquette snugs that are all completely demountable to clear the floor for other events and conferences. Concourses convert to major conventions, trade shows and product launch venues by carefully making these spaces high bay and structure free with enhanced servicing. Stadium concerts are big business in the summer months and stadium seating regularly has removable sections for erecting stages, changing suites, doubling as green rooms, and articulated lorry access to the pitch. Most recently, we see the big moves of full or partial pitch removal to facilitate even greater conversion capability.

This has massive structural implications to hold up an entire stand on minimal support positions to allow an entire football pitch to slide out and the technology to do so.

What are the main differences when working on the designs for training grounds, instead of larger scale stadia?

Training grounds are everyday workplaces and stadia are occasional showcases. Obviously, from the point above, stadia aim for event days of football and non-football revenue, but, for the core business of football operations, the two have very different meanings and uses to the teams.

The training centre is the team’s home Monday to Friday and usually the administrative base for the club. The training centre will be where a new player is shown around and tempted. Both venues embody the ‘brand, but the training centre is where the brand is lived and breathed day to day. They need to be of the highest quality to match the lifestyles and expectations of the players. Training centres cater for every aspect of a player’s life, health, nutrition, mental and physical wellbeing, even assistance with car, holiday and house purchases. They are complex projects, being gymnasiums of the highest personalised specification, health centres, spas, rehabilitation centres,

East Stand Development, Twickenham

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Liverpool FC Training Centre

No.1 Court, Wimbledon

National Indoor Arena, Dublin

1885, St. Mary’s Stadium

MASTERPLANNING STADIA TRAINING CENTRES INDOOR ARENAS HOSPITALITY Leicester City FC Training Centre

Anfield Stadium Development, Liverpool AELTC Joe Toth / Adrian Lambert / Virtual Planit / Ant Clausen

KSS - Mondo Advert FINAL.indd 1

13/10/2020 17:55:23

DRAWING BOARD

Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa

medical facilities, restaurants, cinemas and hotels all rolled into one.

For a stadium design, the team experience the changing room and the pitch. One of the several first team training pitches will be identical in size, specification and orientation to the stadium. In the UK, there is also one full size pitch that will be indoors for year-round training. This presents temperature, lighting and humidity control design challenges never experienced in stadia. So, they are completely different challenges with training centres certainly being a major focus for top clubs as they aim to maintain the team’s focus, fitness and resilience throughout the season. Look out for the opening of Liverpool Football Club’s and Leicester City Football Club’s very soon, as both will be very special.

What have been some of your favourite sporting venues KSS has worked on?

Not always the ones that get built. Sometimes, the unrealised dreams are held in your hearts longer, perhaps because they were spared some of the inevitable grind and compromise of a long design and construction.

However, realising a design and going back to the stadium you designed and experiencing, first-hand, the joy and delight of the fans is a very special feeling. We are fortunate to work in a building type that is so popular and emotional for so many people and so accessible after completion. Completed stadiums are few and far between in a sports architect’s career and we have been fortunate to have worked on some memorable ones. For me, in the KSS portfolio, I think the new Main Stand at Anfield is just awesome. At 20,000 in itself, with the diversity of offer inside, as well as the permanence and majesty of the architecture is just right for the club. The Amex Stadium, peeping above the poppy fields of the South Downs, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, too. Internationally, I like the glowing blue, perfect bubble of the PV-driven Stade Océane, Le Havre. The shimmering gold of Sammy Ofer Stadium seemed daringly bling in concept, but is just so perfect against the

Mount Carmel outside Haifa. There are so many memories and the sense of achievements are intensely personal to the individuals and teams involved.

What are the biggest challenges when working on sporting projects?

Budgets vs. aspiration would be the great challenge. Every client understandably wants the very best. Stadia are once-in-a-lifetime developments. The hopes and aspirations are understandably very high at the outset. There are so many excellent reference points in the world that most clients have a clear idea of their aims and want something unique.

Apart from budget restrictions on perfection, achieving iconic design is often cited and rarely met in stadia. An iconic design means something instantly recognisable and this is rare for stadiums to achieve. Perhaps less than ten would be known to the general public. An iconic stadium is valuable and gives a truly unique identity and much increased naming rights opportunities.

Technology, complex geometry and long-span engineering are interesting intellectual challenges, but the artistry of a unique design is the real challenge.

Where do you see stadium design going in the future?

More of everything. Greater capacity, multi-use flexibility, better spaces with better food, more screens, more tech, more access to the team, more connectivity and casual all the way. We’ve not mentioned sustainability yet. Did you notice? Unfortunately, it has not usually been very high on the agenda in the football world, despite our best efforts and the glaring need for it, but we do thankfully see a change happening and excitingly now have our first all-timber, low-energy design commission. This should hit the press in 2021. www.kssgroup.com WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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LEICESTER CITY FC NEW TRAINING CENTRE Leicester, England Renderings: KSS, Virtual Planit

eicester City Football Club’s design brief to KSS was to create the finest football training centre in Europe, providing state-of-the-art facilities that will attract the best talent and encourage the complete development of players, both as individuals and footballers.

A key priority to this vision is to develop a facility that provides an inspirational ‘place of work’ for the Club’s first team, development squad and academy, with an aspirational environment for the next generation of professionals. The new facility seeks to combine best practice in elite sports training with a celebration of the Foxes culture and ethos.

The training centre has been designed to fit within the rural nature of the landscape where the main buildings are in the heart of the site, away from neighbouring settlements and set within the natural topography. The pitches are also arranged to ensure those with the most frequent use are located furthest into the site. Where the buildings are visible, they will make a positive contribution to the landscape.

The designs have been developed in line with stringent and high standards of energy efficiency. All buildings have been developed with the direct purpose of reducing energy consumption and related carbon emissions.

Whilst the site extends to 75 hectares, the vast majority of this will continue to be covered by landscaping and grass pitches. The eastern and western parts of the site will remain as woodland,

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landscaping and a golf course.

Key masterplan elements include 12 full-size football pitches, six part-size grass pitches, two part-size artificial caged pitches, warm-up and technical training areas, four-court sports hall, Indoor Pitch building including Media/Parents facilities and a show pitch with spectator facilities.

The training centre builds on The Foxes incredible 2015/16 Premier League-winning season and reflects its owners’ ambition to keep the club competing at the very highest level. KSS have designed a world-class facility of the highest quality that respects and complements its surroundings, including the Seagrave Conservation Area, and will deliver real short and long-term benefits to the area.

Leicester City FC Vice Chairman, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, said: “These will be the best possible training facilities to develop and attract the world’s elite sporting talent to Leicester and to give them a competitive edge in a game that is constantly evolving. It is crucial to us that the benefits brought about by the new development make the facility a source of pride for the Leicestershire community.”

Leicester City FC Manager, Brendan Rodgers, added: “The new training ground is a sign of Leicester’s ambition, the facility will become one of the finest in Europe.”

The new Leicester City Football Club Training Centre is currently on site.

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KICK OFF | LIGHTING A closer look at products and projects from the world of lighting.

EXTERIOR LINEAR QUAD MARTIN BY HARMAN Ideal for stadiums and arenas, the Exterior Linear QUAD is a series of high output LED pre-mixed colour-changing fixtures in a robust outdoor-rated housing. Available in cove and graze light versions in different sizes for perfect fitting, the series is designed to illuminate walls and any other type of linear structure, and features superbly premixed colours and uniform light distribution at three different beam angles, ideal for highlighting textured surfaces.

Producing superior colour mixing directly at the lens, the QUAD-colour LEDs efficiently prevent multi-coloured shadows, and improve the looks and aesthetics of the fixture in direct view installations. An integrated universal power supply makes installation a breeze and the DMX controllable fixture is easy to 018

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daisy chain via its hybrid power and data connector.

The Exterior Linear 1210 Cove QUAD and the Exterior Linear 310 Cove QUAD are lenseless versions for widest possible beam angle for cove lighting applications. Some features and benefits include: Availability in one ft and four ft versions to fit structural elements, easy installation due to hybrid power/data cable, end-to-end connection or via hybrid connection cables, three different beam angle variants + dedicated cove version and accessory glare shield and louvre available for improved glare control. www.martin.com

KICK OFF

TEHVADI SPORTS CENTER AAA-LUX Otepää is considered the winter capital of Estonia. With its biathlon, ski jump and cross-country facilities, as well as its specialised athlete hotel, Tehvandi Sports Center plays a central role.

The two stadiums at Tehvandi were illuminated for 1.000lx.

The football stadium is prepared for the start and finish in cross country and biathlon. The neighbouring biathlon arena was extended with a new penalty area. Five new stadium masts were used, but the seven masts at the biathlon arena could be re-used thanks to the low weight and wind surface of AAALUX luminaires. “This is what made us more interesting over the competition,” said Michel van Dooren, AAA-LUX Business Development Manager. “It gave the installer the head start in terms of total price level.”

But there is more to it than cost alone. Being able to offer quality lighting for the different purposes, requires specific types of luminaires. Narrow beam for 30-metre high masts at the stadium, and wide beam in the forest where the four-kilometre ski track was illuminated. Sten Sooäär, Project Manager at VIRU Elektrikaubandus: “Different levels were requested for recreational use and training, as well as for official competition.

With extra intensity near the dozens of camera positions, providing clear TV images for Eurosports and other international TV broadcasting purposes.” VIRU made these plans together with AAA-LUX that led to the most optimum use of funds and energy.

An important aspect is dynamic controls. To minimise the burden

on flora and fauna the philosophy of AAA-LUX is to illuminate only the location needed, at the time needed, at the level needed and not more than that. Michel explained: “Our luminaires can be controlled individually or in groups of luminaires, for a specific sector while the rest is switched off. Also, per sector the required light level can be chosen. There are over 10 sectors divided over the stadiums and the tracks in the forest. When machines have created snow at specific tracks, only these tracks are lit so athletes easily know where to go”.

Sten continued: “This project came on our path because of an earlier project nearby, at Kääriku Spordikeskus which is just 10 minute drive from here. Kääriku had the same installer who was convinced of our products.” The Kääriku sports and leisure centre, located in the middle of a stunningly beautiful area, was the first project of AAA-LUX with VIRU. It was done in three phases. At the end of 2015, early 2016 the tennis courts, volleyball fields and the playing areas were illuminated.

Phase two in 2018 was the football field down the road and in 2019 the athletics facilities situated at the edge of the lake was illuminated. Today a high class athletics track stands with an artificial sports field in the middle. It completes the number of sports that Kääriku offers the guests in their hotels in the middle of this sports environment. www.aaa-lux-lighting.com

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KICK OFF

KARAISKAKIS STADIUM CLAYPAKY Greek football club, Olympiacos, celebrated the 45th championship title in its history by sending a message of hope and optimism to its supporters in Piraeus, all of Greece and around the world. A spectacular televised show, filled with light and music, was staged in the empty Karaiskakis Stadium where fans joined players virtually to raise the championship trophy.

Claypaky Mythos 2 fixtures contributed to this ‘Lights of Hope’ ceremony and its theme of overcoming obstacles to emerge triumphant.

George Tellos, Lighting Designer with Lighting Art Athens, was responsible for the programming and lighting coordination for the show. He selected Claypaky Mythos 2 fixtures over two other moving light candidates for their performance across long distances. “I was astounded by them,” he said.

“I had seen them used at the Super Bowl, but it was impressive to witness them live. The Mythos 2 combines brightness with compact size, reliability and great optics.”

George noted that the lighting design aimed to create an exceptional televised result. “The stadium was empty except for the champions who stood on the crescent-shaped stage in the middle of the court. Our lighting

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design team took into consideration – in fact, took advantage of – the fact that the stadium was empty. This rare occasion gave us the opportunity to install lighting fixtures on the spectators’ vacant seats. We were very grateful for the extraordinary opportunity to illuminate the stadium in this way.”

George and his team mounted the Mythos 2 around the stadium at great distances from the field. The versatile fixtures served as key lights and backlights and provided field textures, stand textures and aerial effects.

“Lights of Hope was a unique experience due to the fact that it took place in the midst of a pandemic,” noted George. “Many things may be different by the time this crisis is over, however, the Lights of Hope will always exist and shine.” www.claypaky.com

trans ferable engine

true lighting innovation. robe-te.com

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KICK OFF

BANKWEST STADIUM ACDC Sydney’s Bankwest Stadium is a sporting venue like no other. The 30,000seat, multipurpose facility plays host to all types of events from rugby (union and league) to football. Located in Parramatta, in the city’s up and coming North West, it is an integral part of the local community. Family-friendly, it can also be used for non-sporting activities including parties, school proms, team-building activities and more.

Architects, Populous designed a ‘seating bowl’ stadium – with fans surrounding the entire field. Featuring the steepest grandstand in Australia, spectators get up close and personal with all the action while experiencing the best views, regardless of their position.

It’s unsurprising that the technology and innovation used throughout this stadium is just as awesome, with Zumtobel Group supplying the majority of the lighting.

For the façade, 132 acdc FUSION RGBW floodlights were installed. The RGBW option provides creative freedom and improves the user experience.

Sean Dawson, Senior Engineer at Stowe Australia said: “FUSION luminaires

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provide a low-glare, low-intrusive, user-friendly space where the client has the ability to change the façade colour.”

Supporting home team the Parramatta Eels, the facade can be lit up blue, but when the Western Sydney Wanderers take to the pitch in a different season – it’s effortlessly turned red using DMX controllers. The same can be done for corporate events, with branding colours applied.

The luminaires were fitted discretely to the roofs of food and beverage structures below the façade and will ensure ease of replicability and maintenance in future. www.acdclighting.com

KICK OFF

SIRIUS SITECO SIRIUS is a floodlight with multiple possibilities: DMX control, stadiums, external, internal, events, multi lumen output, single blade, twin blade with more.

A lighting system that is recommended for industrial use as well as being a revolutionary solution for sports and event lighting.

SIRIUS has minimum light spill and uniform illumination creates safety environments for workers, drivers, pilots, passengers and pedestrians.

With maximum glare control and special colour intensity that surpasses official FIFA and UEFA guidelines – for outstanding live transmission conditions and flicker-free super slow motion, both in Ultra HD and in 8K for future TV broadcasting standards. www.siteco.com

MODUS R SERIES MIDSTREAM LIGHTING The Midstream Modus R Series is a lightweight, extremely versatile sports lighting product engineered for both retrofit and new build stadiums providing a low glare, broadcast-ready, flicker-free floodlighting solution. A remotely mounted single IP67 electronic control gear provides easy installation and drives up to 216 LEDs with multiple photometric distributions. Feature rich dynamic controls and remote monitoring capabilities provide a highly scalable solution, for a high-end user experience in UHD and super slow-motion conditions.

The Modus R Series is manufactured with a stainless-steel construction that improves structural integrity and life of a product, a critical need when used across sporting environments. A modular design allows for versatile and tailored applications and solutions, and a high lumen package delivers up to 144,000 lumens to meet the requirement of world-class sporting facilities.

The R series Integrates with wired or wireless controls including DMX, DALI and 1-10v solutions to provide the ultimate in lighting control for event light shows or dimming. The integrated 10kV surge protection, coupled with a panel mounted type two surge suppressor, guarantees high protection against power surges and a longer product lifetime. The Modus R is also manufactured with specialist light shields to control light spill, reduce glare and increase uniformity. www.midstreamlighting.com

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LED SPACE FORCE CHROMA-Q Having been used on major league sports events in the US, Chroma-Q’s LED Space Force provides lighting that looks good on and off camera and that can also help to optimise energy.

The soft, variable white light provides bright, smooth even coverage, and the PWM flicker-free operation ensures all of the action can be seen clearly, both on camera, as well as in the audience.

With multiple hanging options the Space Force offers great versatility for spaces that are used for a variety of events.

Wireless DMX / RDM options, provide further flexibility to control

each fixture remotely, saving time and hassle. When competition is heating up, you don’t want this from your fixtures, therefore Space Force is cool running, so no matter how heated things get in the sports venue, you can be sure the units will keep their cool and every detail of the action will be crystal clear.

The Space Force also benefits from energy efficiency, lightweight design, and minimum maintenance. www.chroma-q.com

LUMASPORT EPHESUS SPORTS LIGHTING The leader in engineering innovative and reliable LED sports lighting solutions, Ephesus Sports Lighting developed the LUMASPORT system to maximise operator control, improve optical performance and ensure complete reliability, while also minimising total cost of ownership, maintenance issues and complex and costly installations. The LUMASPORT 8 system is ideal for small college, high school and municipal fields, while the LUMASPORT 16 is designed for larger outdoor college and professional venues.

“In the growing sports lighting market, there are inherent challenges with legacy lighting products, such as light pollution, excessive maintenance and lack of user control,” said Mike Quijano, Director of Business Development and Product Marketing at Ephesus Sports Lighting. “LUMASPORT provides an ideal solution to these challenges-a high-quality, reliable, cost-optimised system that’s backed by an industry leader.”

LUMASPORT offers white light and a wide array of dynamic entertainment scenes and can be expanded to offer colour light with the addition of Ephesus Prism RGBA colour fixtures. The system can be completely controlled through a wired DMX, or through the Ephesus AirMesh wireless lighting system, which maximises operator control via LAN connection, Wi-Fi or through a cellular network, allowing operators to schedule and manage the lights via their cellphone from anywhere.

LUMASPORT 8 addresses the important concerns for municipal field operators of sky glow and light pollution via a new, patented multi-layered optical system. It seamlessly combines reflector optics with TIR silicone to prioritise and balance light delivery, cutoff, glare control and playability.

The LUMASPORT 16 features a deeply recessed LED source inside the main reflector cavity and a patented new reflector and louver optical system. The internal louver, which is inside of each individual reflector cavity, provides unprecedented control to improve cutoff and reduce glare at the light source deep within the fixture. The innovative new system balances light delivery

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and playability, while meeting the stringent performance requirements of fans, players and broadcasters.

LUMASPORT offers industry-leading light-source reliability with chip-onboard LEDs, which bond the LED chips directly to the fixture’s substrate, to form a single, module that is much stronger and more reliable. It is also the only fixture with a redundant power supply. This patented internal surgeprotected dual-power architecture enables the fixture to operate even if one of the drivers fails, avoiding fixture outage, maintaining foot-candles on the field to ensure playability, and eliminating downtime and maintenance calls.

The patented Ephesus Quick Mount system provides a pre-aimable two-piece assembly that dramatically reduces the LUMASPORT’s installation time and cost. Contractors simply pre-aim each fixture with a dial for both orientation and tilt before affixing it to the mounting infrastructure, instead of having to aim each fixture onto the playing surface with a laser to achieve the required precision. Once the fixture is mounted, it provides pinpoint accuracy. As a result, by practically eliminating the need for lasers, LUMASPORT can be installed any time, day or night. www.cooperlighting.com

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FANT E-WING COLISEUM AEON

The Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany, home to RB Leipzig, has partnered with Signify to take their live stadium experience to the next level, and take care of players, employees, and fans’ safety, too.

With Color Kinetics lighting, controlled by Interact Sports connected lighting software, RB Leipzig can light the stadium in its team colours.

Also, Signify’s UV-C lighting has been installed to disinfect the players’ dressing rooms.

At the heart of the Red Bull Arena’s new lighting system is the Interact connected lighting system. Interact Sports makes it possible for lighting across the entire stadium to be controlled through one dashboard, from the pitch, to the catering areas, to the façade.

Since last season, every moment of the action has been rendered crystal clear, flicker-free and compliant with international broadcasting standards with Philips ArenaVision LED floodlights. As part of the project, the new stadium fan shop and individual hospitality areas will also enjoy an upgraded lighting experience, all connected through Interact Sports.

That’s not all that’s changed. For the new season, the south façade of the Red Bull Arena will be illuminated in the club’s colours. Color Kinetics lights, controlled via Interact, can create stunning new light scenes to celebrate special occasions, events, or international games, bringing the excitement of the stadium to the surrounding area.

The health department of the City of Leipzig has worked closely with RB Leipzig to ensure that safety and hygiene will be given the utmost care once fans begin to return to the stadium. Signify’s UV-C disinfection lighting works by deactivating the DNA and RNA of microorganisms like bacteria and viruses, including the SARS CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. At the Red Bull Arena, UV-C will be used to disinfect surfaces and indoor air at various areas of the commercial buildings and the stadium, including the players’ dressing rooms.

It’s not just the stadium, either. The home of eSports team RBLZ Gaming has also had a special upgrade. The team will enjoy the latest generation of the Philips Hue entertainment lighting system, creating a truly immersive lighting experience that eSports fans can enjoy at home, too.

When the Warhawks take the floor this season, players, spectators and fans at home will have a brand-new experience. They will be able to view the Fant-Ewing Coliseum in a whole new light, due to the AEON sports lighting retrofit that took place over the summer.

The University of Louisiana-Monroe replaced the traditional 104 PCS x 400W MH fixtures with 54 PCS x 230W AEON LED luminaires that significantly reduced energy and maintenance costs and enhanced the quality of illumination for broadcasting games.

When looking for the right LED solution for the Coliseum, the two main things the University was looking for were: better lighting and reduced maintenance costs. The 104 PCS x 400W MH fixtures were not efficient, and due to the height and location, did not make changing the burnt-out bulbs and ballasts easy. The old Metal Halide lights were averaging around 30 ft candles, and with inconsistent light levels (due to lamps and ballasts all depreciating at different rates) across the playing surface.

The traditional Metal Halide Fixtures were replaced with 54 PCS x 230W AEON LED luminaires. A photometric study was done to engineer even illumination across the court. Now the Fant-Ewing Coliseum is averaging close to 100 ft candles with no dark spots or uneven lighting. AEON maintains the delivered foot candles over the luminaire’s life. Its proprietary glare-free illumination has no uncomfortable sensation or visual discomfort for the players, spectators or the broadcast with a UGR<19. AEON meets and exceeds broadcasting lighting standards. The ULM Redhawks are ready for national broadcasts with AEON’s high-colour rendition showing true colours: CRI >85.

“I didn’t really know what to expect when our new AEON LED lights were being installed in our coliseum,” explained Keith Richard, ULM Men’s Head Basketball Coach. “Once the lights were turned on I was shocked at how bright and impressive the inside now looked. Our pictures taken have improved dramatically, broadcasting of TV games will be so much better, and I haven’t had one player complain about the lighting like they used to. The lighting renovation was definitely needed and we’re very happy with AEON’s LED lights.”

The AEON LED Luminaires have an incredibly long lifespan that will last over 100,000 hours, and help significantly reduced those expenditures associated with traditional lighting.

The Fant-Ewing Coliseum on the Campus of the University of Louisiana Monroe has an LED solution that will provide high quality light levels for many years to come, while eliminating maintenance.

This will allow the University to save time, money, and resources on more productive projects instead of changing failed lamps and ballasts.

www.signify.com

www.aeonledlighting.com

RED BULL ARENA SIGNIFY

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OVER 30 YEARS OF RIGGING , INDUSTR IAL DESIGN, AND ENGINEE RING SERVICE S. FOR OVER 30 YEARS IA STAGE HAS UTILIZED THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF ENGINEERING AND RIGGING SAFETY TO HELP VENUE OWNERS CREATE INCREDIBLY SAFE AND SPECTACULAR ENVIRONMENTS FOR THEIR AUDIENCES AND STAFF. WHETHER IT’S OUR ARENA SPANNING SKYDECK™ MODULAR TENSION WIRE GRID, OUR OVERHEAD SKYDOTS™ LED LIGHTING SYSTEM, OR ANY OF OUR DESIGN AND ENGINEERING SERVICES, WE KEEP -

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AURA MADRIX MADRIX AURA provides amazing capabilities for dynamic lighting. It is the central stand-alone controller for simple recording and large-scale lighting control. Run the most sophisticated light shows and effects independently from this energy-efficient unit with fully customisable schedules. Designed for continuous operation, it was built to meet the different needs of today’s illumination projects in modern architecture or commercial spaces. Made in Germany, it is a powerful yet compact playback unit for creative LED lighting. www.madrix.com

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TSL LIGHTING The eyes of the global gaming community were focussed on the spectacular final of Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championship in November, as teams from far and wide battled to be crowned the 2019 winners.

An estimated 100 million people live streamed the tournament, with a capacity of 20,000 in attendance at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris. Riot Games CEO, Nicolo Laurent, described the Finals as “the biggest event in the history of esports.”

A grand opening ceremony kickstarted proceedings, with new projection technology simulating immersive holographs interacting with real-life singers and dancers.

TSL Lighting worked with production company Concom and lighting designers, Arnold Serame of Serame Design and LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works to supply, deliver and man a full lighting and control system comprising over 1,000 fixtures.

Eight trucks transported the equipment from the company’s Basingstoke warehouse to the indoor arena in the French capital.

“We’ve been working with Concom on the Riot shows for the last five years and they just keep getting bigger and better,” said TSL Director, Dom Sheerman. “They chose to work with us in the first place because of our reputation for attention to detail and delivering solid lighting systems. We have a very strong backbone with our control systems, particularly when we’re doing live broadcasts, and it’s really important to the Riot team to make sure there are no issues at all.”

Twelve of TSL’s new grandMA3 consoles – eight full size and four light versions – controlled a rig consisting mainly of Robe BMFL WashBeam, RoboSpot, T1 Profile, MegaPointe and Pointe fixtures; Martin Mac Aura XB and Vipers; and a complementary rig of Claypaky, Vari-Lite, SGM, Chroma-Q Colorforce II and OXO Pixyline 150 battens.

More than 2,000-metres of fibre-optic cabling and 500-metres of pre-rigged truss was prepped in Basingstoke and delivered to be set up by the TSL crew.

“The network was designed using components from our Luminex Gigacore system, which has been an investment priority for us over the last two years,” continued Dom. “On a show like this, every single component of the

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network is fully backed up with 100% redundancy. It’s very important for us to keep investing because it keeps us at the forefront of technology and enables top notch solutions for all of our projects.”

Arnold Serame, LD for Riot Games, commented: “Work ethic and care for a standard of excellence is why I often tell others that TSL is definitely one of the best, if not the best lighting company that I’ve ever worked with. This was really extraordinary.”

Brian Jenkins, LeRoy Bennett’s programmer, added: “Very rarely do we show up to a ‘one-off’ show and there are no fixture issues, no patch issues, no network issues. TSL’s homework allowed us to concentrate on the art of the show. I appreciate their hard work and great attitude. I hope we work together soon.”

Chinese team FunPlus Phoenix defeated European rivals G2 Esports to win on the night, taking home more than $2.25m in prize money. www.tsllighting.com

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OLYMPIASTADION BERLIN MA LIGHTING The new lighting scheme at Berlin’s famous Olympic Stadium is unique, offering not only a much more efficient and powerful set of floodlights, but also the possibility of turning the entire stadium roof into a different colour, utilising individual control of each spotlight. This opens up so many new possibilities for the lighting design in the stadium including the complete integration of the new / visiting lighting system into events and shows taking place there.

The installation has brought several innovations to Berlin. In addition to the new floodlighting, coloured architectural lighting was also installed in the interior and around the exterior of the Olympic Stadium. This includes lighting the roof membrane, and effects lighting in the form of a ‘Ring of Fire’, as well as general building perimeter lighting, counterweight lighting and column lighting.

Thanks to all of these, it is now possible to illuminate the entire stadium relevant to a specific occasion (e.g. sporting events, concerts, corporate events, etc.) and to put guests in the right mood for the event. Their customer experience thus begins outside the stadium and accompanies the visitor continuously right through into the interior. The potential for the lighting in TV broadcasts from the Olympic Stadium is enormous, events can be staged and presented in an even more targeted manner to convey their message.

One prerequisite was that all the new LED spotlights could be controlled individually to enable all these different scenarios to happen. Each LED spotlight therefore has its own DMX address and can be controlled in real time. Event organisers can benefit from a significantly increased performance (of the lights) as well as much more flexibility and dynamics for the realisation of their creative ideas.

In order to change from the old to the new control system, it was necessary to change from DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) to DMX, which

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also required rewiring of all the spotlights. Although the new system is based on the previous one, it has been expanded to include numerous modern, user-friendly applications. To ensure that the control signals arrive exactly where they are needed, a grandMA3 lighting console from MA Lighting was installed as the control system at the heart of the stadium lighting.

This also enables the new lighting system to be handed over to a show or event organiser / producer in the form of a DMX showfile. The DMX showfile contains all the individual fixture addresses, which then allows the respective event programmer to integrate them into their show. This has already been used for the the DFB Cup Final 2020 show.

In times of sustainability, ecological and economical considerations played an equal role. In Berlin, in the past, the lighting system had consumed the largest amounts of energy. So far the ecology, in addition to the economic viability of the new LED technology installation has paid off. The maintenance of the old floodlighting system alone cost €10,000 per year, and that effort is now much less due to the fact that the new low voltage LED technology is operated with significant reserves and therefore undergoes less wear and tear. In addition, the service life of an LED is many times longer than that of the previously installed technology, an advantage over conventional light sources that should not be underestimated!

A total of 5,200 high-power LED floodlights in white are installed in the stadium in the floodlight area together with another 1,000 highpower RGBW LED floodlights. Above the membrane, 2,800 RGBW highperformance LED linear luminaires are installed, and the ‘Ring of Fire’ consists of 506 RGBW high-power LED linear lights. A patented reflector technology is used for the spotlights which contains ‚stray‘ light which can be aimed and more precisely focussed. www.malighting.com

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2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ROBE North America’s National Hockey League (NHL) spectacularly returned to play – without live audiences, but with massive enthusiasm and impressive TV and online followings – for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoff series which had been suspended in April due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Lighting equipment was supplied by Solotech and included over 200 Robe moving lights – a mix of Pointes, Spiiders and Tarrantulas used by Lighting Designer, Tom Kenny.

The 24-team playoff format (comprising Eastern and Western Conferences) was staged in two Canadian hub cities – Edmonton and Toronto – over two months, running as two complete Covidsecure ‘bubbles’ for production teams, players, coaches and other associated personnel.

Tom was asked to design lighting for the two Arenas – Scotiabank in Toronto and Rogers Place in Edmonton – working closely with Production Designer, Gary Wichansky of Seattle based Hotopp. The two have collaborated in these capacities on several previous NHL projects, and together they crafted a production design to wow everyone, including their clients, the NHL entertainment team of Steve Mayer, Rachel Segal, Bob Chesterman, John Bochiaro and Renee Riva.

The production featured crews across all disciplines and departments who had been integral to many of the highestprofile tours on the road in March when the industry ground to a halt.

Tom in turn asked four Lighting Directors onboard to look after the shows for him once up-and-running. Kurt Wagner and Brent Clark were stationed in Edmonton, and Corey Thom and Eric Belanger in Toronto.

Tom’s aesthetic brief was to make the start, end and between-

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play moments of the matches an awesome visual experience in an empty arena, creating atmosphere and drama that looked fantastic on the 32 camera shoot, complete with hi-impact theatrical flourishes so the players could see and feel the lighting there on the ice, while fans were transfixed at home fully engaged in that unmistakable adrenaline buzz of the action.

During the matches, the look was a big, open, well-lit white space with all focus totally on the playing action. Immediately if a goal was scored, or the whistle blown, everything around the arena erupted into an ocean of colour and movement.

Gary created a lot of special video content for the project with logos and graphic stings, etc. and more came from NHL, including footage of fans cheering on their teams. Fabric was stretched over some of the seating blocks so large areas could be lit in team colours and illuminated with other effects.

The design was identical for each venue, but with some variations in the lighting kit lists due to local availability and what could be added from the existing in-house systems. A lot of LED screen made up the set with eight different surfaces wrapping around 500-metres and almost 180º along one of the venue’s long sides, rigged in the seating area to bring it close to the ice.

In Edmonton, it was a combination of 32 Robe Pointes, and 19 LEDWash 1200s helping to raise the roof and the lumen levels, while in Toronto, 104 Pointes, 19 LEDBeam 1200s and 36 x Tarrantulas had the honor.

The fixtures – which also included several hundred others at each venue – were rigged on a network of trussing installed in the roof. www.robe.cz

BLV STATURION®

Sports lighting solutions

Perfect illumination of sports facilities As a lighting specialist and one of the leading suppliers of sports facility lighting, BLV provides optimum lighting conditions. With 50 years of experience in the lighting sector, we know the different areas of application and the diverse requirements in the sports sector! In addition to our globally established STATURION® metal halide lamps Made in Germany, we offer a broad portfolio of LED floodlights. We advise our customers intensively on the advantages of both conventional lighting solutions and LED lighting systems: individually, project-related and objective, because as one of the few market players we offer everything from a single source.

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14 INTERVIEW

â&#x20AC;&#x153;La Liga has a history of innovation in terms of trying to make the broadcast stand out and simply be much better by using different technology.â&#x20AC;?

Joris Evers Chief Communications Officer La Liga

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INTERVIEW

JORIS EVERS JONATHAN ROBERTS WILLEM VAN BREUKELEN La Liga | Vizrt | MEDIAPRO

When it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic

propose it to La Liga’. So, we tested the solution using

would stop fans from attending live matches, when

an OB van at the stadium in every way we could think

did you make the decision that you were going to use

of to ensure it would work as we wanted it to. Then,

a virtual crowd, rather than just the audio, like many

when it was clear that the Vizrt solution was able to

other leagues have done?

fulfil the promises, we went to La Liga and said we can

Joris: Primarily, it was because we want the viewing

use this.

experience to be as good as it could be. So, if you’re sitting at home and you’re watching La Liga matches,

Can you give us an introduction to the Vizrt

we want to do our best to help recreate that same kind

technology behind this?

of feeling as you had before. Obviously, we all know

Jonathan: The background of Vizrt (pronounced

that it isn’t the same as a full stadium with actual

“viz-r-t”) is in real-time graphics; sports, weather

fans, but, while we’re in this situation, we don’t want

and news, for example. On the sports side, we have

it to feel so different that it becomes a distraction from

a product portfolio that looks at virtual advertising,

the match - the main reason why everyone tunes in.

so we’re looking at surfaces whereby we can either

We’ve been very happy with the overall result of it and

insert virtual advertising, or we can replace physical

the feedback from around the world has been very,

advertising. So, where you’ve got the perimeter boards

very positive.

in a stadium, you can overlay them, create multiple feeds and distribute that globally. The technology

How did this particular project begin for MEDIAPRO /

behind that is about being able to understand the

wTVision?

surfaces upon which you want to place the virtual

Willem: Well, we are wTVision, the production partner

graphics, so we were having conversations with clubs

for many clients, with La Liga, of course being one of

in around February, then, when it started to shut

the biggest we work with. We’re part of the MEDIAPRO

down, the clubs were asking what they could do.

group, who are the ones that really take care of the

We came up with three or four ideas, from putting

whole production. In mid-April, we started to discuss

adverts in place, putting fans in certain areas and even

what we could do with the empty stands - and, at

integrations with the likes of Instagram and Skype, so

the same time, we had various providers approaching

there was an element of interaction. We pushed these

us with solutions to this new issue. From these

ideas out to all of the federations and clubs in the

discussions, it was the Vizrt solution that we found to

form of a presentation after we’d tested and worked

be very convincing. We then did some tests to try it

everything out - and that’s how the project with La

for ourselves and, basically, said ‘if this works, we’ll

Liga started.

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INTERVIEW

What Vizrt is really doing as part of this is understanding where the

match under the new conditions.

camera is within a 3D space. So, roughly 68 minutes of a game - or

We then had to ship the equipment, which came one week before the

something like that - is done using camera one, with the other cameras

first match, and then we had to install everything. While that was

cut in. So, we’re triangulating where camera one is, then wTVision is

happening, we were also working on the stadiums and the graphics. We

creating graphics in the context of the stadium design - getting the CAD

had already tested the workflow previously, but, of course, we had to

drawings to work out where the fans should be. From there, wTVision

make various tweaks to the system still. The major issue is always the

will use the software to position that graphic exactly where it needs to

delays when it comes to using different devices, but everything has to

go in the stadium, then, whenever that camera moves, the graphic stays

work in parallel, so we delay processes, make changes and tweak things

there.

right up until the very last minute. I’m still amazed at what we managed

The second thing we do is to do with when the ball is kicked into the air

to do, really!

- you want the ball to appear in front of that virtual crowd. If it goes up

Jonathan: You’ve got the training as well, so you’ve got the hardware

and behind those graphics, obviously, everyone will be wondering what’s

down there, then you’re building the stadiums in parallel, you’re making

happened. For this, we chroma key the graphics so you’ll always see

sure everything works, you’re dealing with the delays, then you’ve got

the ball in front of them. This shows that what we do for adverts is also

to train all the operators on how to use it. So, it’s a lot of long nights

very relevant for the introduction of virtual fans in stadiums. It’s not an

and lots of conversations. However, what comes in here is the value of

easy feat by any means, with 40 different stadiums all being controlled

good partnerships - you’re all on the same page and you’ve got a level

centrally, it’s definitely a hard thing to do, but we provided the hardware

of transparency as you’re all working together to achieve something. Of

and technology for wTVision to make that work for six or seven matches

course, there are ups and downs with things that you’re not expecting,

a day.

but it’s a real journey that we went on together over a very short period of time.

There was, obviously, quite a quick turnaround in terms of making

038

this work. How did you find the time to test it and ensure that there

A lot of clubs had existing banners within their stadiums. Is this

would be no issues in terms of the quality of broadcast?

something you had to work around?

Willem: First of all, to explain a bit further, operating from Barcelona,

Willem: It was, yes - even until the last day of the season, we didn’t

we are connected to the stadiums by fibre and we receive programme

know what kind of banners would be at the stadium. The clubs have

feeds and master camera. Then, we actually insert the graphics in our

their own rights and can do whatever they like with their stadiums, but

production centre - we started with La Liga Santander, then La Liga

it did mean that we had to have a designer on site to adjust the graphics

SmartBank (first and second division). Firstly, the good thing about Vizrt

according to what was in place up to two or three hours before kick off.

is that they were committed to make any changes they could to allow

Joris: For us, it is very important to respect the work that clubs have

us to do everything in our production centre. Secondly, they already had

put into the stadiums, especially as some are being very creative with

the hardware available, which was a huge help. When it comes to the

massive banners, like the one at Real Sociedad’s Reale Arena or FC

process of decision making, there is, of course, a lot to consider in terms

Barcelona’s at Camp Nou, so it is really important that they are able to

of risk involved and investment. With the situation we’re in across the

be seen as well. That’s why the flexibility of the solution is also key for

world, it meant that a decision was made just two weeks before the first

us - and it certainly is in this respect.

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INTERVIEW

Where did the audio of the fans come from?

people to fill in - it’s a lot of coordinating, plate spinning and being

Joris: The audio originally came from La Liga matches, so you’re hearing

very pragmatic, as things went right, but also went wrong at times and

fans in La Liga stadiums. In the case of Real Madrid, for example, you’re

needed to be fixed. As long as everyone knows what everyone’s doing,

hearing the sounds from Bernabeu, despite the fact that they were

where things are meant to be and are getting regular updates - it’s all

playing at the training stadium. But, yes, it’s the actual home fans - in

project management. Let’s just say there were lots of WhatsApp groups

La Liga, most stadiums are filled with home fans as there isn’t a big

- I don’t know what we ever did before WhatsApp! - with messages

tradition of fans travelling to see their team play away. The audio used is

going back and forth and quick decisions being made.

actually what La Liga, together with MEDIAPRO, provided to the folk at EA Sports for their FIFA game. It had been adapted to use as part of the

I’m sure the main aim is to get fans back into the stadiums when

game, so we are using that same audio for the live matches.

it’s safe to do so, but what happens to this technology when they do

One of the very few people allowed to be in the stadium during the

return? Is it something you’d like to continue working with to improve

matches is a DJ-type person who would work live on the audio, adding

the broadcast for those watching at home?

in anticipatory noise of a goal-scoring chance or whatever fan sounds

Joris: In short, the answer is yes. We want to keep improving, learning

are relevant to what is happening on the pitch. That is a special role

lessons from this whole situation and look at how we can continue to

for somebody who knew how to manage the audio tools, but also

use it moving forward. As Jonathan mentioned, we have used this kind

understands what is happening on the pitch and was able to match the

of technology previously - for example, advertising beside the goal and

audio correctly.

inserting virtual advertising for La Liga matches. We always want to see how we can continue to improve the La Liga broadcast, so that people

This project was very different to others, I expect - did Vizrt stay

all around the world can have a great experience. When it comes to

involved throughout the whole process?

welcoming fans back into the stadiums, we obviously want them back

Jonathan: My role within getting this project was to get it initiated, but

as soon as possible - they are one of the biggest parts of the experience.

then staying out of the technical side, as there were far better technical

However, we have to respect what is going on and wait until everyone

people involved! But, really, it was simply a case of staying behind the

can come back in a safe and responsible way.

scenes and solving problems from a resources point of view. So, it’s

040

things like ensuring that the hardware is where it should be, making

Willem, what did you learn during this whole process?

sure the HR side is covered with the need to complete COVID-19 testing,

Willem: Well, I have a huge appreciation for it and still think it’s an

paperwork from the government to get in and out of the country and

amazing setup even now. I think that once the calibration is correct, the

so on. Then you’ve got the technical guys working 12-14 hour days,

tracking really is very special. Of course, in the beginning, things can

so they are obviously exhausted, which means you need to get other

and did go wrong, but, despite the stress, we stayed calm and it was

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INTERVIEW

really worth it. You only have to look at the broadcast, the graphics are

training, the preparation and make things less stressful. I think it’s that

incredible, which meant we could keep the stadium as it is. There was

introspection that you need in order to then take it into the next project.

Ultimately, it’s broadcast - we always make it work and that’s why we love doing what we do, but, sometimes, if you can reduce some of that and make it a little bit more relaxing in that first week, then that’s really what we’ve got to strive to achieve.

“I think that what MEDIAPRO and La Liga have been able to do is show how well a centralised production approach works.”

With virtual advertising and providing these solutions, the easier you

Jonathan Roberts, Vizrt

In terms of other sports, we’ve been entertaining lots of conversations

make something, the more you start to see the barriers to entry coming down - it’s simpler to use, so more people will use it. So, from there, it grows and grows. I mean, virtual advertising - and virtual as a whole package - has been around for a long time, but it’s never really been massively used, other than in South America and, perhaps, Asia. But in European football, we haven’t seen too much of it. It’s about allowing people to utilise it in a frictionless way - and that has to be our main target on that. with different types of broadcasters, but the thing to consider is that each sport has its own idiosyncrasies. So, baseball, for example, MLB did a project the other day, but they were looking at five or six cameras for that. Then you have cricket, which involves a lot more cameras, so the way in which the director decides to create the program feed

always the option to recreate the stadium completely - that way, you

is the deciding factor. When there are more cameras, there are more

remove the potential for little glitches in the calibration or tracking. But,

complexities and delays, so each sport has its own limitations in terms

thankfully, with the technology and setup we have, it wasn’t necessary.

of what you can and can’t do. Football, with it’s one camera doing around 68 minutes of the broadcast, as I mentioned, is very well suited

What kind of things did you learn from Vizrt’s point of view? Will you

to virtual fan overlay. It’s not as easy to do something like that in

be using this technology for other sports?

other sports, plus - particularly in these strange times - budget is an

Jonathan: Looking back to that first week and the project starting,

issue, too. Every conversation is different and we have to approach it

it’s about asking ourselves how we could improve the workflow, the

in a different way also - offering a consultative opinion, showing the

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041

INTERVIEW

experiences we’ve had and then try to help find what’s best for the sport

complete control allowing them to create a level of consistency around

and, most importantly, its audience.

all of the productions. Not every league or sport is set up this way. In the U.S., you’ll have three or four OB trucks outside the stadium, or in

What has the feedback to the virtual broadcast experience been like?

the Premier League, it’ll be one of the domestic broadcasters being the

Joris: Well, we have had some journalists saying good things, including

Host; BT Sport, Sky or BBC, for example. But I like the way it is in Spain

technology publications from the USA, which is good to see. I also

- it means when they’re in a situation like this, they are in a unique

spoke to Sid Lowe, who is a football journalist for The Guardian - and

position to be very innovative and flexible. When you start to look at the

a football purist, shall we say - and his feedback was very positive. I

virtual side of things, that centralised approach offers more control over

think if traditional football fans like that can appreciate it, then I feel as

production, leading to many more options.

though that’s a really good sign.

Joris: La Liga has a history of innovation in terms of trying to make

Also, in Spain, we actually offer the choice to watch with or without the

the broadcast stand out and simply be much better by using different

virtual experience for the viewers. They can choose which they prefer

technology. We only became responsible for the broadcast product

with it being broadcast on two channels - and the vast majority of

of the competition back in 2015 when we started selling the rights

viewers in Spain choose the virtual experience, which is a good sign of

as a package. Ever since then, we’ve invested a lot in improving the

success.

broadcast and using a lot of technology to do that. An example of this

Oscar Lago, a director of many of the La Liga matches, mentioned to me

is the types of cameras used; installing the overhead spidercams in

that one of the commentators on a game - who was watching on a feed,

stadium as a standard; using volumetric video from Intel and the 360

of course - almost made the mistake of commenting on the fans and the

replays. The latter was pioneered in football by La Liga - we’ve had it

atmosphere in the stadium, before catching himself as he realised that

for several years now and I believe that the Premier League is starting

there was obviously no fans in the stadium! In a way, that’s the best

to use that technology, too. So, we have a history of doing things first

feedback you can get for this new setup.

when it comes to broadcasting and this is part of that - we to be at the cutting edge at all times. This is another part of that and I’m extremely

042

What do you believe made this partnership work so well?

proud of what we’ve managed to achieve.

Jonathan: I think that what MEDIAPRO and La Liga have been able to do

Jonathan: From our perspective, as a technology vendor, having partners

is show how well a centralised production approach works. Everything

who want to push the boundaries allows us to push the technology on.

going from the stadiums to the MEDIAPRO facility in Barcelona with

It’s fantastic working with partners like La Liga, as it makes us better.

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14 THE FULL PITCH

046 Allegiant Stadium | Las Vegas, USA 062 Helsinki Olympic Stadium | Helsinki, Finland

ALLEGIANT STADIUM Las Vegas, USA

Images: Allegiant Stadium, Jason Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Rear, HNTB, Ephesus Lighting

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THE FULL PITCH

t’s been a long time coming, but the Raiders have found their permanent home in Las Vegas with the opening of the incredible Allegiant Stadium. The $2 billion venue, located adjacent to the world-famous Las Vegas strip, will be a truly multipurpose stadium and global events destination, delivering for both the franchise and the city.

As well as being the home of the Las Vegas Raiders and UNLV Football, the fully-enclosed and climate-controlled venue will host a wide variety of events and entertainment, including concerts, private events, and sporting events, such as the Pac-12 Championship Game, the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl, and the Las Vegas Bowl.

Allegiant Stadium, which has a total capacity of 65,000 expandable to 72,000 for Super Bowl events - is one of the most technologically advanced, which, combined with a truly striking design, already puts it on the map when it comes to must-visit venues.

The design for Allegiant Stadium came from a partnership between MANICA and HNTB, with both firms coming together to create a sleek, modern venue that was not just the new home for the Raiders, but perfectly suited to its surroundings in Las Vegas.

There were plenty of sites under consideration for the new venues, as Marc Badain, President of the Las Vegas Raiders,

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explained: “There were, I believe, 11 different sites contemplated.

Sites up and down the strip; we talked about some sites as far away as the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and some sites down south of ’15.’

“I think it’s by far the best location we could’ve found. It’s essentially adjacent to the strip, so you’ll have all that strip traffic, but it’s not on the strip, thus creating problems not only for the stadium patrons, but also for the resort properties. You don’t want to create a nightmare for them that impacts the rest of their business.”

When it comes to the aims for the new Las Vegas venue, Chris Wright, General Manager of Allegiant Stadium, was clear: “Allegiant Stadium brings a new and unparalleled entertainment experience to the entertainment capital of the world. Anchored by the Las Vegas Raiders, we’ll also host college sporting events, major soccer and rugby matches, international touring artists, motor sports and family shows. In addition, we’ll develop new events specifically curated to complement our stadium’s event mix and which highlight our vibrant city.”

David Manica, President and Owner of MANICA, discussed the vision of Mark Davis, Owner of the Las Vegas Raiders: “It was really clear to me that Mark Davis wanted a modern building, so we were never going to do brick arches and a sort-of historic Indianapolis-type building. He wanted it to be about the future.

THE FULL PITCH

“Mark has an incredible vision and intuition, so we worked with him really closely and just kept going over and over and over again until he said ‘don’t touch it.’ He wanted it to look like a black sports car; to find those fluid, aerodynamic, seamless kinds of design inspirations from the automobile industry and apply it to what we’re doing in Vegas for the Raiders.”

Tom Blanda, SVP - Stadium Development & Operations for Las Vegas Raiders, laid out the key parts of the Allegiant Stadium design: “To me, there were four key elements in the design of Allegiant Stadium. The first was that there had to be a real grass field. The second was that the building had to have a lightweight, clear ETFE roof. The third was that the building should have a curtain wall with modern, black glass completely surrounding the stadium. The fourth was that the building be U-shaped with a peristyle end - housing Lanai doors - akin to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.”

With that in place, it was down to the MANICA and HNTB teams to deliver on all four elements, while staying true to the vision for the Raiders’ new home.

Lanson Nichols, Principal in Charge at HNTB, takes up the story: “HNTB’s engagement with the Allegiant Stadium project really began with the long-standing trusted relationship built with the Raiders organisation over the many decades of successful project deliveries, starting with work on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the early 90s.

“When the Raiders and Chargers joined in the pursuit of the Los Angeles NFL market, HNTB was selected along with MANICA 050

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Architecture for their stadium proposal in Carson, California.

Following the NFL’s selection of the Rams for the L.A. market, the State of Nevada and Clark County stepped forward. At that point, the Carson design was modified by MANICA to move it to Las Vegas and the climate of that region.”

Keith Robinson, Director at MANICA, discussed the start of the journey with MONDO | STADIA further: “A small competition was opened to design for the Chargers ahead of the move to Los Angeles and we were selected for our design. At this point, the Raiders were not involved, but, shortly after that, we were asked to render out the building in black and silver for the Raiders.

From there, we found ourselves in Alameda, California, meeting with both teams and walking the Raiders through the design we’d just won the competition on.

“Taking their feedback into consideration, it was pretty clear that was not the architectural design they had envisioned for their new home. So, we had a few months in which we redesigned the building to be more in line with what they were thinking.”

Once the Chargers decided to relocate to Los Angeles, the Raiders made it clear that Las Vegas was potentially their new home, which meant that the original design needed to be changed somewhat to accommodate.

Keith continued: “They loved the architectural style we had developed, but we had to take the language we had begun with in L.A, which was this free-flowing, open-air, southern California feel and somehow translate that to the Las Vegas desert. So, of course, that meant not so open air, as that wouldn’t have been

comfortable for the visitors.

“As we started to rethink what that would look like, we started testing some sites for the Raiders - helping them understand what the building would look like, the traffic implications and all the necessary fundamental decisions that need to be addressed early on in the project - and that’s really where our partnership with the Raiders began.

Lanson added: “The ultimate plan for the project was to create the long-awaited home for the Raiders. One that would be unmistakably theirs and unmistakably Las Vegas. The Raiders have always been a tenant in their various locations over the past 30 years and that created many limitations in the gameday experience. The Raiders organisation devoted a substantial amount of time and carefully considered each aspect of Allegiant Stadium. The character of the Las Vegas Raiders as a sleek football-focused organisation is built into every aspect of this project. From its sports car-inspired lines to the only-in-Vegas style of clubs. This stadium fits the new Las Vegas Raiders in every way.”

Keith added: “It’s safe to say that there was a vision for what was wanted - and it was, quite simply, our job to help develop that picture and make it a reality. A much more modern building was imagined, which you can definitely see in the final design, compared to the early proposals from that original design competition. But, I feel our work on developing the new design was what kept us on board with the Raiders. We showed them that we listened carefully and understood what was

most important to them. We were confident we could deliver their vision and, once we’d built that trust, we had a open, collaborative process to help us achieve everything.”

One key aspect of Allegiant Stadium is the retractable turf, which was something that the Raiders were very keen to have in place when it came to building their new Vegas home.

“A grass playing field was of utmost importance to Mark Davis, who has said that he believes football should be played on real grass as opposed to synthetic turf,” revealed David Manica.

Keith furthered: “They wanted grass and we knew that, with a dome and being in the desert, we wouldn’t be able to grow the grass inside, so we immediately started looking at a tray that we could pull outside of the stadium.”

“For the retractable field tray, moving a 19-million-pound structure some 1,300 feet was the easy part. Creating a stadium which would be column free across a 200+ ft span to permit this movement was the challenge. HNTB designed 22 structural columns to retract up and out of the way making for a 225’ clear span and path for the field to roll into and out of the building.

The field itself moves on 500-wheel boxes and 72-drive motors, which move it into the building in about 90 minutes,” Paul Griesemer, Architect of Record at HNTB, explained.

The venue’s designers also approached Hellas Construction, who have manufactured, constructed and installed athletic surfaces across the USA for over 10 years to provide maximum flexibility for stadiums.

Allegiant Stadium is the first major stadium in the United States WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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THE FULL PITCH with a synthetic turf field installed on top of a rail system. The rails are embedded into the concrete floor to allow trays of natural grass to be brought in for NFL games. Hellas was able to create a solution that customised the synthetic turf system and pad to precisely bridge and protect the rails.

James Townsley, Business Development Manager - Western Region, Hellas Construction, explained further: “Allegiant Stadium needed a multi-purpose, removable synthetic turf solution that would afford maximum utility for the stadium and a playing surface that delivers NFL-calibre playability. The turf is very similar to the system that Hellas installed for the Las Vegas Raiders at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center.

“We offered our patented SoftTop conversion system, as it allows Allegiant Stadium to easily change out the field as needed with quick conversion times - all without sacrificing elite field performance for various sports and events. The SoftTop conversion system incorporates removable panels, which can be rolled up and stored. The Matrix Helix synthetic turf system that gets rolled up uses Matrix Helix fibers, which have a patentpending curled shape to help hold the infill in the system during conversion, aiding the process.

“The needs of the venue are the primary considerations.

Of course, the playing surface needs to provide high level performance and reliable protection for athletes in games. In addition, the system needs to provide maximum versatility so that the stadium can host a wide range of events, including concerts, conventions, rallies, dirt events, and more. This versatility, as well as the quick conversion times, help the stadium monetise their venue and increase revenue with more events - all while protecting the turf, the stadium floor and the natural grass rail system.

The installation of the turf for the retractable field required careful planning and logistical sequencing to ensure that each of the three removable fields was executed flawlessly against the backdrop of the overall stadium construction.

“Each turf panel is precisely numbered to ensure perfect placement. The seams are installed with ultra-strong Velcro to ease in conversion and deliver seam strength during use. Infill was carefully brushed into the field to provide a safe, predictable playing surface, too,” added James. “Turf and pad installation took approximately 30 days overall. Our crews began the Allegiant Stadium installation after finishing work on the nearby Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, where they also built three natural grass practice fields and installed a field-anda-half sized indoor practice field over a Cushdrain elastic layer for the Las Vegas Raiders.”

The entire field system has delivered the Raiders’ aim of having natural grass for games, while also opening up huge potential in terms of concerts, events and other sports.

“Anyone who understands what it means for Las Vegas to be called the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’ understands that a venue like Allegiant Stadium would need to serve all types of entertainment. Everything from the diversity of the clubs to the retractable field were considered in how the building will remain live all year around and to multiple levels of fan engagement. The field tray, for example, allows the venue to host both natural and artificial turf events including MLS, FIFA and World Cup soccer.

It also, when rolled out, exposes a fully functional event floor for concerts, NCAA Basketball, motor sports, rodeos, corporate meetings, and trade shows,” added HNTB’s Lanson.

When it comes to the fan experience, the Raiders team have been clear in their aims from the beginning, as Hayle Kirgel, Director of Guest Experience at Allegiant Stadium explained to MONDO | STADIA: “Our goal is to offer a world-class experience and have fans and guests wanting to come back year after year.

We have so many opportunities for fans when they step foot in our building. We have created memorable experiences inside our venue, and they will not only excite the guest but want them to 052

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Fund Raisers Sports Fan Legacy Platform Allegiant Stadium

Construction was underway on their new state-of-the art home, Allegiant Stadium, when the Raiders Foundation tapped Fund Raisers Sports to help provide a compelling platform to connect the team’s global fanbase.

Fund Raisers, an Idaho-based company, has been an industry leader in fan engagement programs supporting the sports industry for over 30 years with their engraved brick, stone and tile fan legacy programs. The storied NFL team, undertaking the historic move from Oakland, California to Las Vegas, Nevada while focusing their energies on building their stadium, saw the benefits of engaging and uniting fans in their soon-tobe new home. Fund Raisers’ job was to help launch and provide seamless program management of the Raiders Foundation Legacy Brick Program, offering Raiders fans world-wide, the opportunity to have their personal messages engraved on beautiful, granite pavers to be placed at the entrance of this state-of-the-art facility in time for the inaugural season.

Engraving the fan bricks by hand with their proprietary filler for longevity, Fund Raisers Sports also provides critical, 360-degree service around fan legacy programs-- total program management. “Part of the beauty of our fan legacy programme is that it’s completely turnkey for the team, allowing them to concentrate on the monumental task of opening a new facility, while we do the heavy lifting. This, while creating a new revenue stream for the team, which for the Raiders, has generated millions of dollars for their charitable foundation, “ said Karen Lockner, Owner & Founder of Fund Raisers Sports.

With the success of more than 110 professional and collegiate sports programmes in their portfolio, the company’s engraved brick and stone fan legacy projects grace some of the most iconic stadiums, arenas and ballparks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico – and the company is licensed to do business in the UK. This latest project at Allegiant Stadium, as expected, was met with tremendous enthusiasm by the fans. Loyal members of Raider Nation from 11 countries and all 50 United States have purchased thousands of engraved bricks, with the program still open for more fans to leave their mark. The first installation of engraved fan bricks took place in July, and while fans are unable to attend games so far this season in person, their legacies are set in stone at the stunning, grand entrance of the team’s new home.

“With fans missing games of their beloved sports teams, we believe these fan legacy programs are more relevant than ever. Every sports fan has a story to share about their team, and our programs capture that passion and loyalty in a tangible, permanent place for generations,” added Karen.

THE FULL PITCH

keep coming back for more, whether that be a concert, a Raiders game, a UNLV game or even a private event.

“It’s not every day an NFL venue gets built on the Las Vegas strip and we have taken this seed and are honoured to see it grow.”

The HNTB team added: “From the beginning, the Raiders were adamant that everyone should have the ultimate fan experience and that experience should remain in constant contact with the game or event on the field. Hence, every concourse has an open view to the field so Raiders fans will never be removed from the game experience.

“Not only that, but it is also the first stadium to incorporate a Las Vegas-style nightclub into the game experience. The North Endzone Field Club has all the aspects of a Las Vegas nightclub, right down to the DJ booths and dance floor.”

In keeping with the fan-first experience and technological advancements, Allegiant Stadium is also the first NFL stadium to go completely ‘cashless’ at opening. Fans will pay using debit and credits cards, with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay also accepted. For those guests who arrive at the stadium with cash, they can convert it to a prepaid debit card that can be used inside and outside of the venue. This accelerates service and makes sure the fans spend more time engaged in their seats rather than in line at a concession stand.

The hospitality and event spaces are a real focal point at Allegiant Stadium, with the Raiders wanting to offer visitors something completely different to what has been experienced at stadiums before, whether that’s for NFL fans or the Las Vegas event industry.

Sam Johnson, Director of Sales for Allegiant Stadium, explained further: “We are introducing a new, never-seen-before, experience to the Las Vegas convention and event industry, which will expand the opportunities available to meeting 054

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planners, both local and national. Our venue encourages planners to reimagine the possibilities of what their event can be which adds a fresh new spin on any programme.

“Allegiant Stadium has over 10 different event spaces capable of hosting an intimate experience as exclusive as 25 people, to a 65,000-person venue buy-out. Each event space offers a unique, energising atmosphere, with state-of-the-art audio/visual technology and add-ons such as stadium tours, custom catering menus, and Raiderette appearances that’ll deliver an impactful event that guests will not forget.

“The Coors Light Landing is the venue’s most highly anticipated location, accommodating up to 2,500 people. The Al Davis Memorial Torch is centralised in the space next to the 80-foot high lanai doors that overlook the Las Vegas skyline on one side, and the Raiders field on the other – perfect for an evening banquet.

“The Credit One Club offers incredible side-line views of the field, literally one step away, and ideal for a private reception.

And, for the first time in Las Vegas, a company holiday party, welcome reception, awards ceremony, and so much more can be hosted on an NFL football field.”

Discussing the view of Las Vegas, HNTB’s Technical Director, David Graue, added: “The wide window to Las Vegas is the ultimate selfie spot in the stadium and certainly the focal point of all national broadcasts. Giving the stadium a panoramic view of the Las Vegas Strip, the operable doors open in four independent panels, each with its own set of drive motors. This gives the Raiders the ability to customise the size and view of the opening, along with reducing complexity of the door’s operation.”

Another interesting element of the stadium that is specifically designed with the fans in mind is the roof design, as well as the

radial seating bowl.

David explained MANICA’s decision behind the design of the roof further: “We made a decision not to have a retractable roof because half the crowd would be sitting in the sun and half the crowd would be sitting in the shade - and it creates this conflict for the guest experience in the stadium. Plus, in Vegas, that problem would be worse than ever with that sun in the desert.

“We made a decision to instead have a retractable wall on the north end of the building that opens up toward the strip. In that way, the entire crowd gets to sit in the shade for the game. The second important thing, though, is that we wanted absolute control over the amount of light that came into the stadium - again, making sure that everyone was very comfortable and sitting in the shade. So, we worked with an ETFE roof, which is basically a thin layer of plastic that is used like a pillow cushion you can dial the transparency of that material up or down. But, it is also very, very light in weight, which means it takes very little structure to hold it up.”

Discussing the seating design, Keith added: “The seating is one of the most important parts of the stadium, with the radial seating bowl being a decision we took very early on. So, basically, once fans are sat in their seats, out of their peripheral vision, they will feel the stadium swing around them, making everyone feel like they’re part of the atmosphere. From a fan experience point of view, that’s something that will really add to the in-venue experience.”

From the original plans through to completion, getting Allegiant Stadium built has been a challenge met head on by numerous companies working together with the Raiders - and the fact that it has been completed ahead of the original schedule is a real testament to the skill and organisation of those involved.

“What many will never realise is the original schedule for the project set its completion date for late 2021. However, early in the project, the team was challenged to cut a year from the schedule and thus design, coordinate, and construct a $2 billion stadium in only 40 months,” explained Paul.

“Immediately the MANICA, HNTB and Mortenson-McCarthy team accepted the challenge. A year was cut from the schedule and design/contractor partnerships were formed. Combinations of general contractors, trade partners, architects and consultants jumped into the challenge and worked arm-in-arm every day on the solutions that would both meet the Raiders vision, schedule and budget. Then, if this trial wasn’t enough, schedule challenges of tariff impacts on steel delivery, and a worldwide pandemic were tossed into the mix! Understandably, every stadium project has its schedule challenges, but none compared to this. Ultimately, through partnering and trust in each person’s skills, the project crossed the goal line in winning fashion.

David Graue furthered: “Excitement and positive feedback on the stadium began long before opening. Once Las Vegas was approved as the new location for the Raiders, the team set about integrating into the community. In these extraordinary times, limiting virtually all feedback to social media, the resounding sounds of excitement couldn’t be louder. The building is loved for its curving lines and light ribbons on the exterior and how well it compliments the architecture of Las Vegas. On the interior, fans are posting that they can’t wait to see the seating bowl concourses and clubs - they rave about how the building reflects the character of the Raiders in its sleek silver and black accents.”

Keith concluded: “I think it’s safe to say that, once people see the stadium in person, they’re going to be in awe. I know that sounds biased, but we really do think it’s a special venue - and we’re just glad that the locals in Las Vegas are proud of their new home. Equally as important is the fact that the owner is thrilled that his vision has come to life - it’s really humbling that he had the trust in us to be part of that process.”

As the Allegiant Stadium design began to take shape, plans were put in action with regards to the WiFi throughout the venue.

“We live in the digital age and technology is more important than ever for live sports and entertainment venues and I feel our stadium raises the bar.”

Vikrant Bodalia, Allegiant Stadium

Vikrant Bodalia, VP - Technology Operations at Allegiant Stadium, explained further: “Raiders, CAA ICON and I worked with AmpThink to design and implement the WiFi at the stadium. Our primary focus was to provide wireless coverage for a high-density environment when we have 65,000 fans. We continue to work with COX and AmpThink to manage, tune and maintain the WiFi coverage throughout the stadium for all events.”

JMA Wireless were enlisted to assist with the design for the wireless system. Fernando Perez, Vice President, Sports & Entertainment, for JMA, told MONDO | STADIA how the project began for his team: “As the Raiders were looking to move to a new home, Matt Pasco - VP of IT for the Raiders - was impressed with our growing stadium portfolio. We were excited to empower the new stadium in Las Vegas, so we started to work on the design details with the Raiders before the DAS contract was even executed.”

The installation behind a complete wireless experience is one that takes careful consideration, as Fernando furthered: “Wireless design and planning is critical for large public venues and especially dynamic for stadiums; the most challenging wireless environments in the world. Delivering today’s system requirements, while also creating a clear path to 5G and other emerging technologies is at the core of our approach.

“Unfortunately, with no fans for Allegiant Stadium’s opening, the true power of the wireless system hasn’t been on display, but our partnerships have strengthened and it’s been a pleasure to work with our partners during this implementation. We owe huge thanks to the Raiders organisation, DGP, Mortenson Construction and CAA ICON for the success of this incredible facility.”

With the wireless system in place providing the backbone, the Raiders team, along with the whole host of partners and companies, were able to look forward to making Allegiant Stadium one of the most technologically-advanced venues in the world.

The broadcast setup is a vital part of the infrastructure at Allegiant Stadium, with Wrightson, Johnson, Hadden & Williams (WJHW) enlisted as a consultant for the production control room design. Justin Lange, Manager of Audio, Video, Broadcast and Cisco Vision Operations at Allegiant Stadium, gave MONDO | STADIA more insight into the technology.

“Our production control centres around a full 2110 IP Evertz EXE video and audio router. The building is outfitted with a 5ME Ross Acuity production switcher with two, four bus panels. Three Ross Xpression nodes power six key/fill outputs for production graphics, while EVS drives twenty channels of record and eight channels of playback. ChyronHego provided their Virtual 1st Down solution, as well as their tele-strator product called Paint that enhances the graphical capabilities of the facility.

“Production control is rounded out by the use of seven Sony HDR cameras, with a mixture of 4300, 3500 and 3100 models. Lenses are all Canon manufactured with three 90x, two 60x, two 24x and one wide angle model.”

Parsons - now Archkey Technologies - performed the network WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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broadcast system install for Allegiant Stadium. Erik Carlson, Construction Executive at Archkey, said: “These network broadcast systems are provided for by the networks themselves CBS Sports in the case of Allegiant Stadium. While the stadiums do have their own in-house broadcast cabling for in-house use, these network broadcast cable systems are the ones exclusively utilised for all broadcasts that are sent out nationally from the stadium by any network.

“Our Archkey teams then supported the first game at Allegiant Stadium this year to ensure perfect operation of those systems.”

Kevin Cottom, Vice President - Global Sports & Live Events at Ross Video, discussed how the project at Allegiant Stadium started for his team.

“Discussions with the team started in 2017. We were aware of the stadium build and began the process of designing a Unified Venue Control System for the stadium, as we knew they would want a powerful flexible production system to engage and entertain their fans when the building opened in 2020.

“The overall plan for the project for Ross was to offer the Raiders production staff a venue production system that combined several components, from the production control room and LED control system, to provide the most flexible and powerful venue control system available on the market today.

“Throughout the deployment and training process, the team at the venue built a workflow specifically for their production, and, now that they are up and running, they are excited to grow with the system in the future when fans are allowed in the stadium.”

When it came to the visual aspect of Allegiant Stadium, it was Samsung’s displays that were chosen to bring the venue to life. Sporting venues of this size are years in the making and discussions between Samsung and the Raiders started as far back as 2017, with the project officially won in 2018.

Brett Unzicker, Vice President, LEE-S, Display Division, Samsung Electronics America, takes up the story of Allegiant Stadium’s 056

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visual journey: “The process starts with conversations between the two organisations and goes from there. From the outset, the goal was always to build a venue that was future proof and that’s what our team did. We went from 16mm pitch on the five endzone screens to 8mm, and, on the fascia that surrounds the bowl, we took them from 16mm to 10mm pitch. Using cuttingedge display technology and smaller pixel pitch, we added years to the life of the displays.

With future proofing at the forefront of the project, Samsung’s LED display products are used exclusively throughout the venue, including the videoboards, score clocks and multiple ribbon displays within the seating bowls.

“There are a total of 41 video screens throughout the venue, totalling 67,000 sq. ft. Beyond the LED displays, there are an additional 2,553 displays throughout the stadium, ranging in size from 27” to 98”. Samsung also had the honour of outfitting the Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, NV. The training facility’s theatre room is home to the first 1.2mm, 4K high-definition resolution (HDR) screen in the NFL measuring 9ft. x 16ft.,” added Brett.

As a true multipurpose venue, Samsung also made sure that their displays worked for different types of events, all while enhancing the fan experience.

“When working on a project like this, it’s important to think through the various way’s teams, entertainers and fans will interact with the displays. We think through what the vantage point will be like from every seat and at ground-level. Further, it is the first venue in Las Vegas to hold more than 20,000 people - it’s the first venue in the city that will be able to hold marquee stadium events,” explained Brett.

“Ensuring a top-tier fan experience is paramount. Between the videoboards in each endzone, the displays at concession stands and the selfie station on the concourse, our displays touch every element of the event. We are committed to providing a seamless

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experience from the parking lot, all the way to the upper bowl of the stadium.”

So far, the feedback has been positive when it comes to the visual aspect of Allegiant Stadium, with striking displays covering everything from fan entertainment in the bowl, through to important health and safety messages on the concourses.

“I think I can speak for everyone when I say we are excited and look forward to the day when fans will get to experience this stunning stadium in-person,” said Brett. “In a stadium that’s full of cool and unique things to look and experience is that fact that it truly is the stadium of the future. It has exceeded all expectations set back when we first started this project and goes beyond anything we could have hoped for.

“The displays are vibrant, and the fan experience inside will be unparalleled. What makes it unique is it was designed to create the ultimate gameday experience. While it may be a new city and stadium for the Raiders, the spirit of Oakland has been brought to life within it.”

Ephesus Lighting fixtures were the first LED lighting solution to illuminate an NFL stadium and, having installed LED sports lighting solutions at many of the most iconic NFL stadiums, the team at Allegiant Stadium reached out to Ephesus.

Michael Quijano, Director of Business Development & Product Marketing at Ephesus Lighting, gave MONDO | STADIA more detail on the project: “This was a new stadium, as opposed to a retrofit of an existing venue, so the general guidelines were provided with a lot of flexibility to allow us the opportunity to influence the possibilities within the venue. Since we’ve been part of several prominent new stadium projects, we understand how the specs of the lighting project can evolve.

“Once we were selected, it became clear that it would be a perfect fit as our partners also understood the possibilities and how our sports lighting solutions could help Allegiant Stadium set the new standard for fan experience. The plan was to deliver 058

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a solution to enhance player performance; offer the ultimate stage for broadcasters and set the new industry standard for fan entertainment.”

Justin explained further: “The sport lighting system is driven by Ephesus Stadium Pro fixtures, while the seat lighting is taken care of by the Ephesus All Field fixtures.

“There are also 80 colour-changing Ephesus RGBA fixtures included in the main bowl lighting system. The bowl and back of house lighting system is all controlled under ETC Paradigm, making concert blackouts and other full stadium preset changes quick and easy.”

Michael continued: “Our Stadium Pro fixture provides the bulk of the lighting, but, once it was decided to set a new standard in entertainment functionality, we added 80 of our Prism RGBA fixtures - an unprecedented number of colour fixtures. The fixtures were delivered to the venue pre-racked and pre-aimed so expedite the installation process.”

The lighting plays a hugely important role in allowing Allegiant Stadium to be a true multipurpose venue that caters directly to the fan experience above all else.

“The lighting system was delivered with an unprecedented number of pre-programmed entertainment scenes in both white light, coloured light and a blend of them both. The combination of fixtures allows the AV team the full capability to build out customised lighting for any event,” said Michael.

“Our LED sports lighting solutions are widely regarded as the leader in offering entertaining light shows. With the 80 RGBA Prism fixtures, Allegiant Stadium has more firepower to create these scenes than any venue.”

Ephesus were left pleased with the project – and very happy with the feedback from the venue, too.

“Although fans have not yet been able to experience the magic, feedback from the stadium operation staff has been very positive. They are excited by the possibilities and amazed

MANICA

Lead Design Architect of Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV

manicaarchitecture.com

THE FULL PITCH that what they can do right now is just the tip of the iceberg - the system is equipped to do whatever their imagination can discover,” enthused Michael.

A state-of-the-art sound system is something that had to be included at Allegiant Stadium to further enhance the experience - and it was JBL Professional’s revolutionary audio technology and sound intelligibility that made it the ideal choice for the venue.

Justin discussed the JBL system used at the stadium with MONDO | STADIA: “The bowl audio is a JBL VLA601H line array system consisting of 14, 10-box arrays, with six middle arrays also containing a field fill box on each.

“Each array contains six PD5125 subs hung directly behind the main array to evenly distribute the lows throughout the building and help with timing. A Yamaha CL5 drives the house system in conjunction with two 3224 Rios and RSIOs for digital transport around the stadium.

Away from the main bowl, the audio system throughout the venue utilises JBL technology, too.

“The rest of the concourse and back of house system is also JBL, with control coming via Audio Architect on the DSP side, and Crestron doing the public facing control of clubs and suites,” said Justin.

No stone was left unturned when it came to the facilities at Allegiant Stadium, which is why the Raiders looked to The Parker Company to manage the furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) and operating supplies and equipment (OS&E) procurement for the project. Parker’s Managing Director of the Sports & Events division, Don Lockerbie, said: “Parker worked very closely with the Raiders stadium development and operations team and coordinated planning and procurement with CAA ICON and Mortenson to determine the items that would be directly purchased by the Raiders.

“We start all projects by developing the project responsibility scope and matrix for all loose equipment, furniture and operations supplies through our bespoke Differentiation Document (“Diff Doc”). Once the thousands of line items are agreed to as Owner Purchased vs CM Purchased – we began to work with the design and PM team to set up the budgets, design/ specifications and bidding for all the Owner Purchased items.

“Eventually, we managed the award of Purchase Orders to successful vendors and managed the manufacturing, delivery, installation, payments and closeout of tens of thousands of items for Allegiant Stadium.”

With the ownership and stadium operations developing their vision and plan for Allegiant Stadium, Parker served as the resource to procure all the items the stadium required to focus on multipurpose and revenue-generating events and programmes.

Don added: “We worked with the Raiders and the design team to ensure the vision and operations were well equipped to deliver event promoter expectations all geared to support an excellent and beyond-anticipated fan experience. All the furniture and operations equipment are delivered by Parker following the exacting specifications and demands of ownership and the design team.

“By all accounts, this stadium is the second most expensive sports and entertainment project ever developed and the amount of work, services and expertise required a big team coordinating everything in order to meet all deadlines and budgets - which is something that we achieved. It was an amazing challenge and one we are very proud of. Our Project Manager, Kyle Parker, along with Parker team members, Jordan Feldman and Maria Pimentel, did an extraordinary job.”

As mentioned, the seating, in terms of the architectural design, is a hugely important part of Allegiant Stadium in a number of ways. However, the actual seats themselves shouldn’t be overlooked - it’s something that can be the key difference between an enjoyable fan experience and a very poor one.

This is something that was understood by the Raiders team.

“Camatic Seating out of Australia provided all the bowl seating in the stadium - they are one of the sports industry leaders in stadium seating and that was certainly one of the biggest reasons why they were selected,” revealed Joe Wright of Allegiant Stadium.

Ken Grifffiths, Senior Vice President - North America Operations at Camatic, takes up the story: “The project originally began with us offering our standard product which met the specifications, however, over a few months, the true expectations were revealed, which required significant customising of our product.

A number of different Camatic products were used within the stadium, as Ken explained: “The Reserve - general admission - seating used the Quantum 060

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850 beam mount, which is the flagship product from Camatic.

We customised this product with a new back styling to meet the owner’s expectations - and they were supplied in two colours to different areas within the stadium.

“The retractable endzone seating used a totally new product developed specifically for Allegiant Stadium to meet the requirements of the endzone operation. The development of this special chair further extends the Quantum product range we are able to offer the market. Elsewhere, the Club seating used the Forte beam mount - a fully upholstered chair, that was customised with an embossed Raiders logo, to provide a high level of comfort.

“The Suite chairs use the Activa Sports with a significant level of customisation, including a folding tablet arm, an embossed Raiders logo and new upholstery detail to transform the product into a sleek, smoothly sculptured executive level suite chair.

“The Loge seating used a highly customised version of our Valencia chair, which, in its standard form, is typically used in movie theatres as a full recliner chair. Special seating areas used the Loge chairs, which were further customised with embossed sponsorship logos.”

With the seating in place, the wait continues for the fans to return, however, despite this, Camatic have received good feedback on their products at the stadium.

Ken concluded: “The beam mount product of Quantum and Forte used throughout the bowl is touted as being the most comfortable stadium seating available. We’ve had very positive feedback, though it is unfortunate that COVID-19 has denied the fans the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the new stadium, all while sitting the best seats in the house - and we’re looking forward to that happening when it’s safe.”

It is the design and technology that really stand out when it comes to the original vision being realised so spectacularly in the opening of Allegiant Stadium. Las Vegas is, of course, well versed in architectural wonders that seem to have come from nowhere, but the Raiders new home is breathtaking - and almost intimidating - to look at. With that design, the technology had to match and the Raiders certainly delivered there, too.

Vikrant Bodalia, VP - Technology Operations at Allegiant Stadium, summed it up perfectly: “Technology at our stadium is what

makes almost everything possible. It allows various operational departments to be very flexible and efficient in accomplishing their everyday needs.

“Technology touches everything and enhances not only end user experiences, but wows fans and guests. We live in the digital age and technology is more important than ever for live sports and entertainment venues and I feel our stadium raises the bar when it comes to technology.”

Allegiant Stadium is truly the multipurpose venue that is built to deliver - for sport and beyond, as Marc Badain, Las Vegas Raiders’ President, explained: “With respect to the 2021 Pro Bowl and 2022 NFL Draft, the partnership between the Raiders, Clark County officials, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will create unforgettable celebrations of football and only-in-Vegas experiences for the NFL and its fans, players and partners.

“Our partnership with the LVCVA extends far beyond these two NFL events to the Pac-12 Championship, Las Vegas Bowl, and other future sporting events. The eyes of sports and fans from around the world will soon be on Las Vegas, and the LVCVA and our resort partners on the Las Vegas strip will ensure these events are as exciting as the destination.

“The vision was to build a building that would attract new events, augment existing events and create a new venue so that the biggest events in the world could come to the greatest city in the world for this state. So, that reality is here. Mark Davis wanted more than just a building - he wanted something that the community can be proud of; the Raiders, the fan base, alumni, staff, coaches, players, everyone that has touched the Raiders over the years - he wants them to know they had a part in building it and that it’s a beautiful facility.”

The bar has most certainly been raised, which is exactly what the Raiders had in mind when it came to creating a new home that reflects the brand, history and traditions. It’s clearly more than just a stadium - it’s going to become a key fixture in the entertainment capital of the world.

The main thing, though, is that the Las Vegas Raiders have a home they can be proud of, keeping in line with the famous Al Davis quote: “The greatness of the Raiders lies in their future.”

ARCHITECTS: MANICA, HNTB | GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Mortenson | McCarthy | AV / BROADCAST CONSULTANT: WJHW | INSTALLER: ArchKey Technologies | OWNER’S REPRESENTATIVE: CAA ICON | ARTIFICIAL TURF PROVIDER: Hellas Construction | WIRELESS SYSTEM: JMA Wireless | HOSPITALITY PROCUREMENT: The Parker Company | BRANDS: Samsung, Ephesus Lighting, JBL Professional, Ross Video, Camatic Seating, Sony, Evertz, Canon, ChyronHego WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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HELSINKI OLYMPIC STADIUM Helsinki, Finland Images: SITECO, Tuomas Uusheimo, Wellu Hämäliäinen & Mikael Linden

F

irst inaugurated in 1938, Helsinki Olympic Stadium

capital decided to appreciate the old and invest in rebuilding and

recently reopened its doors after an extensive

refurbishing the Olympic Stadium. Now, the Stadium is a place

modernisation and rebuild. While the four-year

where the past and the future meet, and old and new elements

renovation project was carried out with great respect

blend seamlessly.

towards the stadium’s original modernist architecture, new

The stadium is not only a landmark central to the Helsinki

functionalities have been added, with comfort and safety having

cityscape, but also a building of significant national relevance. For

been increased to match the demands of the future.

many Finns, the combination of pure functionalist architecture

In the early noughties, the future looked uncertain for the stadium

of the 1930s and the external appearance of the 1952 Helsinki

- it was in poor condition and no longer met the standards for

Olympics, symbolises the dawn of a new era for the young

an events venue. Instead of building a brand-new stadium, the

nation. Having declared independence only 20 years prior to the

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064

inauguration of the Stadium on 12 June 1938, Finland was

event arena that was inclusive for all. This inevitably gave

already preparing to host the Olympics in 1940. The breakout

us challenges, but also opportunities to make the complex

of the Second World War postponed the Olympics, which were

‘purely utilitarian’ – an expression in architecture that refers

ultimately held in summer 1952.

to the pure functionality of a venue.”

One of the most beautiful Olympic Stadiums in the world, the

The architects working on Helsinki Olympic Stadium had

arena is a result of an architectural competition held in the

to take into consideration the core functions, and, in this

1930s, won by the Finnish architects Yrjö Lindegren (1900–

case, the cultural heritage, too. A tool set of methodological

1952) and Toivo Jäntti (1900–1975) who submitted a proposal

analysers was firstly created to help the team understand

in pure functionalist style. The original architecture aimed at

both of these needs, then transformation guidelines

practicality, functionality, and rationality.

were formulated based on the historic building surveys.

One of the architects working on the most recent renovation

“Urbanistic-historical value set the building apart in the

was Kimmo Lintula of K2S Architects. The design of the

context of the whole ensemble in the urban and natural

refurbishment and extension was made in joint venture with

setting,” said Kimmo. “Exterior, interior and service systems

K2S and NRT Architects, and in collaboration with White

were evaluated by their architecture-historical and material

Architects and Wessel de Jonge Architects. “Since 2003, we

qualities. Three categories were defined: limited, mixed

had been involved with the development of the stadium.

and high transformation potency. These were then used

During this time, we gained a fair knowledge of the building

as a frame of reference for proposed interventions. First,

itself, including how it functioned and what were the

we studied if future needs could be met by reprogramming

weaknesses regarding flows and technical conditions of the

existing spaces or by directing people flows. The next thing

building complex,” explained Kimmo.

was to come up with architectural gestures solving multiple

“The key issue was to understand how to turn this

problems. Four architectural approaches met the evaluated

historical stadium into a modern, futuristic arena, while

preservation criteria: preservation with conservation,

also maintaining the beloved heritage. The overall plan

modificative reinstatement, preservation with new

was for the stadium to be able to serve as a multifunctional

interventions and new additions and new building.”

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While the stadium has been renovated with great respect

Stadium to reach its current appearance. Wood provides

towards the original architecture, it has also undergone

the audience stands with a tactile material and texture with

great changes to meet the 21st century standards for a

minute scale. To ensure audience safety, the cover of the

multipurpose arena. The stadium is now more comfortable,

rain shelter is in fireproofed wood. The composition of the

more accessible, and more functional, while remaining

36,300 new wood composite seats, made nearby in Salo,

instantly recognisable. The entire stadium premises as well as

Southern Finland, is also fire-resistant. The new seats are

the stands, pitch and tracks have been modernised. Moreover,

more comfortable even for taller eventgoers. In concerts, the

another stadium has been built underground: 20,000 sq

stadium can now host up to 50,000 guests

metres of new underground space doubles the amount of

The plastered façades, their visible concrete structures and

warm indoor space at the stadium. Smart and versatile sports

the brickwork in the curves have been restored to their

facilities, a tunnel following the tracks above, a logistics area

original look. The new entrances to the stands, with the

and a multipurpose hall constitute a completely new part of

concrete stairs poured in place, have been adapted to meet

the Olympic Stadium.

the rhythm of the concrete structure curves and brickwork

The stadium’s external architecture of 2020 combines the

façades. Thanks to new emergency exits, the stadium can

restored 1930s concrete architecture and the renovated parts

now be emptied in just eight minutes.

of the 1950s with a new North stadium square, where food

The details in the façade steel parts have been restored and

and beverage kiosks in concrete serve audiences. The various

the steel metal flashing has been made according to the

elements make up a familiar and recognisable monument in

original drawings. The original frames and sashes of the steel

human dimensions. The materials in old and new parts are

and wooden windows have been restored, while the glass

timeless and durable: white concrete, brick, wood, and glass.

sheets are new and more energy efficient.

The renewed wood cover of the façades, made of Finnish

Kimmo furthered: “I think our approach is embedded with

spruce and pine timber, conceals new rain shelter structures

respect to the roots of Helsinki Olympic Stadium, making

above the stands. The use of wood harks back to the 1950s,

the most of the building’s heritage with a view into future.

when wood was used to extend the concrete-structured

We aimed to use material and structures that are ‘the soul’

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066

of the experience, this includes timber, which is dear to us

“Additionally, the Olympic Stadium lighting solution

and here in the stadium. It has such a strong link to the past;

needed to be as green as possible, saving energy, reducing

every time it the stadium has evolved, wood has been part of

CO2 emissions and thus being environmentally friendly.

the transition. The stadium was built for action, and it has

The controllability of the luminaires and the importance

a wide range of different user groups. The stadium offers a

of controllability as an atmosphere creator was also very

frame for all this action. As architects, we had to listen to

important. Stadium field lighting control requires speed,

representatives of all the different user groups, learn about

and ideal for its implementation - together with SIRIUS

their needs, and fit them together in a way that allows the

luminaires - is the DMX system.”

stadium to serve all users with as little changes as possible

Implementing the new lighting system in the stadium had its

– all the while maintaining an architecturally harmonious,

own challenges. No roof-mounted structures were possible,

experiential stadium.”

therefore SITECO had to work with existing low mounted-

The lighting system inside the stadium, had to undergo

heights and flat lighting angles, meaning the integrated glare

a much-needed makeover, too, and heading up this side

control of the Sirius floodlights was a huge plus for the team.

of the project was SITECO, who had previously worked on

“Sirius is also energy saving, has excellent lighting efficiency

the stadium at the beginning of the 2000s. 20 years later,

and has fast, high-quality lighting control, making it a great

the lighting manufacturer from Upper Bavaria once again

all-rounder for Helsinki Olympic Stadium,” furthered Sami.

delivered a state-of-the-art solution in the form of Sirius,

The new SITECO lighting system achieved 30% more

which shows the entire evolution of sports lighting over

efficiency in operation compared to the older system, and

the past two decades. “Helsinki Olympic Stadium needed

also hopes to save over 300 tonnes of CO2 across the next

a lighting system that met the requirements of a range of

20 years. The lighting concept therefore fits perfectly into

different sports and events that would take place at the

the Finnish EcoCompass environmental program, which

venue,” explained Sami Laakso, SITECO Project Manager

the Stadion Foundation has set itself as operator. This

on site. “Also, umbrella organisations for different sports,

also includes measures such as running tracks made of

such as the IAAF and UEFA, had their own specific lighting

natural rubber with a high recycled content, and a sensor-

requirements that had to be taken into account when

controlled zoned pitch heating system, using district heating.

implementing field lighting.

Sirius floodlights feature automatic constant light control:

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when temperatures are cooler and the system operates

ideal basis for outstanding sports moments in times of Ultra-

more efficiently, it automatically dims. This means that

HD and 8K. And not only in front of the television.

the floodlights always automatically provide the right

“All the requirements for the lighting including the control

illuminance in summer and winter.

system were met. And we have also seen Sirius in action

Following the renovation, Helsinki is now back in the top

at some soccer matches at the stadium. Illumination looks

league of sporting venues. In 2022 the UEFA Super Cup,

really good for the spectators,” enthused Roope Mutenia,

the match between the current Champions League and

Project Manager at Assemblin Oy.

European League winners, will take place there. With the new

And SITECO CEO, Mark Henrik Körner, is also proud of this

lighting, the Olympic Stadium will be the first Finnish sports

successfully implemented project: “This project impressively

facility to meet UEFA’s ELITE A-level criteria, as well as the

demonstrates SITECO’s complete expertise - in terms of

IAAF’s requirements for international competitions with TV

light quality and technological lead as well as in managing

coverage.

complex large-scale projects.”

When it comes to broadcasting, Sirius makes the difference.

The rich historical past of Helsinki Olympic Stadium has

The basic criterion for brilliant TV images is excellent colour

been retained and restored, so it can once again be loved and

reproduction. In this respect, the SITECO floodlight with a

appreciated by fans at the heart of the sporting action. With a

CRI > 95 even exceeds the FIFA specifications for World Cup

newly renovated lighting system, the stadium is set for its TV

competitions by far. A second indicator is the Television

debut, as it looks forward to hosting the UEFA Super Cup in

Lighting Consistency Index (TLCI). Only TLCI values between

2022. Defined as the ‘crown jewel of Finnish functionalism’,

85 and 100 points do not require any adjustment of the

Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium is taking the leap to becoming

camera technology for perfect images. Sirius achieves 96

not only a functional venue in the heart of the capital, but

points - currently the best value on the market and a quality

one that has special stories deep within the walls, where past

previously only achieved with studio lighting. Together with

and present fans meet in order to hold on to Helsinki’s most

flicker-free light for super slow motion, Sirius thus offers an

precious heirloom.

ARCHITECT: K2S Architects, NRT Architects, White Architects & Wessel de Jonge Architects | BRAND: SITECO | INSTALLER: Ramboll | WEBSITES: www.k2s.fi, www.n-r-t.fi, www. whitearkitekter.com, www.wdjarchitecten.nl, www.siteco.com, fi.ramboll.com 068

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VENUE FOCUS

AUDIO 072 Dodger Stadium | Los Angeles, USA

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COMMUNICATIONS 082 Q5X Audio Transmitters | NHL & NBA

074 d&b Fanblock | London, England \\

VIDEO MANAGEMENT

ACCESS STRUCTURES

076 Dover Intl. Speedway | Delaware, USA

084 IA Stage Round Up | USA

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BROADCAST

CORPORATE HOSPITALITY

080 Promethean TV | EPL Broadcast

086 The Digital Line | MyHudson

DODGER STADIUM Los Angeles, USA Images: L-Acoustics

R

072

ecently wrapping up a multi-faceted renovation,

baseball, while keeping the park’s architecture as traditional

its most significant project since 2013, Dodger

as it has always been.” The K2 makes the long throw - over

Stadium has now become one of the best-

600 feet from arrays to top deck seating - with ease, as well

sounding sports venues in the country thanks

as with total phase coherence, intelligibility and impact.

to the new L-Acoustics K2 line source array sound system

The new Dodger Stadium sound system comprises two

installed this summer covering the stadium seating, and

PA towers supporting a total of 62 K2 loudspeakers: 20

L-Acoustics A15i and X8 loudspeakers covering the new

enclosures are flown in both the left and right main arrays,

Centerfield Plaza and existing Outfield Pavilion areas.

flanked by adjacent side arrays of 11 more K2 per tower. For

Constructed in 1962, Dodger Stadium harkens back to an

low-end reinforcement, 21 SB28 subwoofers are positioned

era when ballparks were designed and built solely to host

on the right field tower, with three SB28 on the left field side.

baseball games. As many of these original venues have been

Twenty coaxial X8 serve as left and right Pavilion delay fills.

replaced with new-build stadiums that are intended from the

To further enhance the fan experience, L-Acoustics A15i and

drawing board to be multi-use spaces for concerts, special

X8 loudspeakers are deployed in the new Centerfield Plaza

events and other mass gatherings, Dodger Stadium remains

and Outfield Pavilion areas. The entire system is powered

one of the few ballparks to retain its original architecture and

by 32 L-Acoustics LA12X amplified controllers. Two Milan

feel. With the addition of an L-Acoustics K2 system, Dodger

certified P1 processors for AVB networking and processing

Stadium keeps its original look, while updating its feel

reduce cabling, provide atmospheric control and monitoring

with a modern, powerful sound system capable of handling

for temperature and humidity variations, enhance system

any event. The installation marks the first MLB project for

communication and control, and further future-proof the

L-Acoustics and one of the most important installations of

venue’s sound infrastructure.

the manufacturer’s systems in the global sports market.

Derek, who has a background in architecture and, at one

“Our goal was to have a state-of-the-art sound system

time, was a scout for the team, worked with the L-Acoustics

at the stadium,” said Derek O’Hara, Director, Planning &

support team and the collective experience of system

Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Dodger Stadium

designer, Idibri and integrator Pro Media Audio & Video to

is designed the way ballparks were at the time it was built,

keep as much of the sound within the stadium - including

with point-source sound systems that need to throw long

the powerful low end coming from the ballpark’s new SB28

distances. We wanted to modernise the stadium’s sound,

subwoofers.

allowing it to host many different types of events besides

“The subwoofers are arranged in an endfire configuration,

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AUDIO

which provides some critical directionality to the low end,

K2 external rigging hardware with a new exoskeleton devised

keeping it from escaping the stadium walls and keeping the

by Pro Media and L-Acoustics engineers.

impact on the seating,” Derek explained. “The K2 is a great

“We then built a mockup of that in the L-Acoustics Los

sound system, and its horizontal directivity makes it a strong

Angeles warehouse to verify and validate the modifications

ally for sound control issues. But so much of what it can do is

that we made before we went to fabrication,” said Demetrius.

also because of the expertise that L-Acoustics, Idibri, and Pro

“It had to take in a number of critical points, such as soil

Media brought to the project.”

composition and rigging heights and weights. But we met all

Ryan Knox, Senior Consultant for Idibri on the Dodger

the certification requirements and kept the K2 looking sleek

Stadium project, said new stadium architectural

and cool. It’s a very flexible box.”

configurations modified the spectator seating and standing

Derek said that choosing a new sound system was a learning

areas in the outfield section, posing a coverage challenge.

experience, which required him to speak with leading

That was resolved using L-Acoustics Soundvision modeling

system designers and manufacturers. A key inflective

software, which helped finalise the placement of the

moment, though, was when he asked each manufacturer

loudspeaker-support towers. “That was a two-to-three

to rate competing systems. “There was a lot of respect for

month process itself, and Soundvision is a great tool for that,”

L-Acoustics from all industry players,” he recalled. “That

he said. “It models quickly and accurately, and it has an

meant a lot in the decision. We feel we now have the best

excellent workflow.”

sound system in major-league baseball, and we’re excited

Putting systems of this scale into the Los Angeles area comes

about it.”

with its own unique requirements. “In addition to keeping

Although Dodgers fans will have to wait a bit more to

the sound system installation’s look consistent with the

experience the upgraded stadium and the premium sound in

architecture of this iconic stadium, we also had to meet

person due to the ongoing pandemic, players and announcers

Southern California’s seismic requirements,” said Demetrius

are already enjoying their new sound system on the field

Palavos, Project Executive for the integrator, Pro Media Audio

during the adapted MLB season that started on July 23 at

& Video.

Dodger Stadium. In the meantime, fans watching the telecasts

To secure the structural-engineering certification of the

at home are still able to enjoy stadium sounds through virtual

sound installation, Pro Media and L-Acoustics engineers

crowd configurations leveraging the L-Acoustics system.

worked together, ultimately deciding to upgrade the standard

BRAND: L-Acoustics | INSTALLER: Pro Media Audio & Video | SYSTEM DESIGNER: Idibri | WEBSITES: www.l-acoustics.com, www.promediaaudiovideo,com, www.idibri.com WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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D&B FANBLOCK - POWERED BY AUTOGRAPH Images: d&b audiotechnik

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erman audio specialists, d&b audiotechnik, has

sound must be played during all games to combat the

announced that the company has partnered with

negative impact of the quiet stands and recreate some of

leading theatrical and creative sound designer,

the vital dynamic energy brought to the game by a noisy,

Autograph, to co-develop and launch a stadium

responsive crowd.

sound application, creating a live crowd atmosphere at empty

Not only will the players benefit from the pioneering

sports events.

technology from d&b and Autograph, fans at home will be

A global leader in the development of sound experiences,

able to experience the sounds of the stadium while games

d&b’s newest venture - d&b Fanblock - powered by

are broadcasted live. The basic audio content consists of

Autograph Stadium Sound, delivers a real-time controlled,

non-team specific sounds including background ‘bed’ loops

sound solution to venues without fans or with a reduced

to provide a continual atmosphere within the stadium and

number of fans on site. Using a d&b sound system design

a library of sound cues that can be triggered by operators in

positioned within an arena, d&b Fanblock creates a multi-

reaction to the action on the pitch. The custom sound design

channel surround sound system which, when combined with

package offers club-specific chants made possible through

Autograph’s cutting-edge playback software, means stadiums

Autograph’s content partner, FanChants.

are once again filled with the much-missed sound of fans.

Designed and developed by long time theatrical and

Over the last few months, sports have faced disengaged fans,

dramaturgy experts, Stadium Sound by Autograph creates

lower viewer numbers and anticlimactic games as the usual

a live crowd atmosphere at sports events that can be

high atmosphere matches took place behind closed doors. In

dynamically controlled in real-time to directly respond to the

some cases, organisations have stepped in, with the National

events of the game. The system is operated live by engineers

Football League (NFL) earlier this month announcing that

in the stadium in order to follow the energy levels and

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AUDIO

“By partnering with Autograph, we’ve come up with a

before building out to fill the entire stadium.

revolutionary new sound solution,” said Amnon Harman,

d&b Fanblock powered by Autograph Stadium Sound not only

CEO, d&b audiotechnik. “No longer will sports teams hear

helps to bring the sports industry back to life, it also provides

the echo of empty stadiums and venues, instead with d&b

a new business opportunity and revenue stream for d&b

Fanblock, they will once again hear the strength and passion

rental partners during a time of economic uncertainty.

of their fans while on the field.”

“While we are facing an increasingly challenging time in the

d&b Fanblock uses the matrix functions of the DS100 Signal

industry, here at d&b we continue to innovate and address

engine to distribute audio to the d&b loudspeaker system. As

the needs of the market,” commented Amnon. “Today’s

the backbone of d&b Soundscape, the DS100 Signal engine

introduction is yet another example of our dedication to

enables further enhancement of d&b Fanblock through its

continuous improvement and providing new opportunities for

En-Scene software. Users can take advantage of object-

our partners and end-users alike.”

based signal management, allowing complex sound events to

The system is scalable and can be put in any size stadium or

moved dynamically around the stadium in real-time, and add

arena around the world. It’s first scheduled full-scale use will

additional detail to the effect of Stadium Sound in response

be at Queens Park Rangers’ league games at The Kiyan Prince

to the actions on the field. This approach allows the sound

Foundation Stadium in London.

engineer to have spectator chants grow from one section

BRAND: d&b audiotechnik, Autograph | WEBSITES: www.dbaudio.com, www.autograph.co.uk WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY Delaware, USA Images: Milestone Systems

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he Dover International Speedway’s high-banked,

“We have 360° cameras covering the entrance gates, so

one-mile concrete oval racing track is known

we have a full view of patrons coming in, going to their

as “The Monster Mile”. It hosts six thrilling

checkpoint, scanning tickets, and monitoring traffic flow,”

NASCAR races a year at the complex that covers

said Jim. “There are so many people, we can actually see

more than 800 sq acres in Kent County, Delaware. In the

a wave of them coming in real time and decide if we need

summer, the speedway grounds are also home to the four-

to open more gates. From just a resource deployment

day Firefly Festival with over 100 bands playing across six

standpoint, the video system is very beneficial to make

stages — the East Coast’s leading outdoor music event.

sure everyone is moving through as efficiently and safely as

Jim Hosfelt, Director of Public Safety and Track Operations,

possible.”

Dover International Speedway, Inc., explained that with

The XProtect Mobile client is a free app for all Milestone

nearly 50,000 spectators on race days, and more than

video management software (VMS). With the app, users

70,000 attending the Firefly festival, the Speedway’s video

securely view, play back and export video, listen to audio

surveillance system is a critical tool enabling their team to

and speak through the camera using the Push-to-Talk

provide efficiency, safety, and security for the complex.

button. They can also respond to integrated Access Control

“During non-event times, our Public Safety Office uses the

requests and receive push notifications from triggered

system around the clock to monitor activity,” said Jim. “We

alarms sent directly to their mobile devices. The XProtect

use our cameras as proactively as possible, looking for issues

Mobile app enables fast response to incidents by controlling

before they occur. I’ve always been a firm believer in having

outputs remotely and pushing live GPS-enabled video from a

a solid video system, I’ve worked with Advantech for many

mobile device’s camera back to the XProtect system — from

years, and our system fits our needs very well.”

anywhere.

The team currently covers the Speedway with a mix of 25 IP

“Being able to walk around the entire complex with a device

network cameras from Axis Communications, including pan/

streaming video back and forth is a huge benefit for us,” said

tilt/zoom (PTZ) and 360° multi-image panoramic models.

Jim. “I spend much of my time in the Operations Center,

They routinely use additional video feeds from smartphones

but if I’m out in the field, or if I’m backstage meeting with

and mobile devices pushed to the system via the Milestone

the security group for the entertainers, I can still see what’s

XProtect mobile app. All video is monitored live then archived

going on all around the speedway through my phone. It

to a set of Milestone Husky network video recorders.

allows us to make timely and informed decisions.”

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VIDEO MANAGEMENT

Ryan Kelly, PSP, Advantech, a Division of A3

set up another, temporary video system as well. Thanks

Communications, explained that a multi-monitor

to the open platform Milestone VMS, we can bring all this

workstation has been set up at the Joint Operations Center

together,” said Ryan. “So, with any cameras that we have,

where all camera feeds are constantly monitored live, as

everyone can collaborate within our Joint Operations Center,

well as remote stations in Jim’s and his assistant’s offices.

helping to ensure we deliver an enjoyable and safe event for

On event days, the Joint Operations Center comprises

our fans.”

people from all law enforcement agencies, including the

The Milestone XProtect open platform VMS supports more

FBI, Homeland Security, the Dover Police Department, the

than 8,500 different security devices from more than 150

Delaware State Police, as well as medical teams and the

manufacturers. Technology Partners provide network video

Delaware Division of Transportation.

cameras, NVRs, storage, access control, alarm and detection,

“For the day-to-day routine operations, we have three full-

video analytics, GPS, laser scanners, emergency call boxes,

time people. If it’s a race weekend, our combined agency

and more. Systems integration shares the data between

numbers swell to over 800 people. During the music festival,

systems, devices, and components for an efficient, unified

our numbers grow to over 1,200 people per day! This includes

solution.

security, law enforcement, EMS, paramedics, doctors, nurses,

“We had an incident during our last race where a spectator

all the partners that work the festival, and we consider them

went into cardiac arrest. We were able to monitor the

all part of our team here at the Speedway.”

situation and respond optimally, as well as direct the

The Joint Operation Center is designed to share video feeds

emergency team directly to the location,” said Jim. “Because

with the Delaware Department of Transportation, as well as

of the size and slope of the stands, the live video was a huge

other relevant agencies and partners.

benefit in getting the right people to the right spot as quickly

“We can get access to local, surrounding DOT cameras to

as possible — much faster and more effectively than radio

monitor traffic, and often the music festival managers may

patrol trying to verbally communicate the situation.”

BRAND: Milestone Systems, Axis Communications | WEBSITES: www.milestonesys.com, www.axis.com

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WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

REOPEN SAFELY WITH VIDEO TECHNOLOGY Looking for ways to adjust to the new normal post COVID-19? When it comes to protecting your company, employees and customers, video technology provides many of the solutions you need.

Additionally, the team reviews video information post-event as a way to evaluate performance and improve operations.

Jim said they look at everything from security improvements to marketing and sales, vendor and concession stand positioning, parking and crowd control. The system is used to monitor and evaluate the infield as well, ensuring the safety of speedway workers, vendors, and drivers in their areas.

“After a race or festival, the tens of thousands of people all want to get home, and we need to see how many people are waiting, and where, for transportation to different checkpoints,” said Jim. “With the video system, we can monitor area capacity and see any over-crowded spots or bottlenecks, make real-time adjustments, and share the information with our neighboring businesses to transition to alternate plans.”

From the beginning, the team wanted to build on an open platform VMS to ensure that the system will always have the ability to upgrade, adjust, and expand as more events occur at the speedway grounds.

“Flexibility and reliability are our primary concerns,” stated Jim. “With events of the size and complexity we deal with, if a camera were to go down or if there were other system issues, we would have a big blind spot. The system we have performs at 100% at all times — that’s a big credit and kudos to Advantech, Axis, and the Milestone open platform approach.”

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BROADCAST

PROMETHEAN TV - INTERACTIVE OVERLAYS FOR EPL BROADCASTS Images: Promethean TV

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rue Digital Group was set up with one goal in

allow audiences to immerse themselves in the match from

mind: to become the ultimate digital media

the comfort of their own home, embracing the experience

transformation leader in Southeast Asia. Part of

almost as passionately as they might in the seat of a stadium.

the huge Thai Telco that bears the same name,

With an engaging set of touchscreen statistics, viewers can

over the past three years, the offshoot has developed strong

feel every second, diving deeper into a player or team’s

competencies in cutting-edge technologies. From this, the

performance across each game.

True Digital Group team has been able to develop a range

The stats overlay is just one of the options available on

of digital solutions and offer a portfolio of services for

Promethean TV’s IGNITE Video platform: True Digital Group

consumers, merchants and enterprise markets.

can dynamically programme interactive video overlays,

This year, True Digital Group successfully obtained broadcast

including social widgets, interactive live stats, sponsored

rights to the English Premier League for the next three

live polls and on-stream transactions. The solution drives

seasons, across all 380 matches throughout each season. With

ROI from the moments that matter most, leading to better

a collection of live broadcasts, reruns and highlights for every

consumer engagement, higher conversion rates and improved

game, the company wanted to present this content in a new

audience insights. It also requires no pre-programming, cue

and engaging way that created the atmosphere of a packed

points or hotspots, allowing True Digital Group to publish

stadium and generated engagement for adrenaline-starved

instantly, across all devices, with ease - including for their

fans in Thailand.

TrueID Android IPTV box.

Similarly to all broadcasters, True Digital Group aims to drive

Interactivity is changing the sporting game, allowing

revenue from all it’s broadcasts. And rightly so, licensing

brands to acquire, engage and monetise customers. True

content rights does not come cheap in an increasingly

Digital Group led the way using Promethean TV’s Man-of-

competitive space and programmatic advertising can only

the-Match poll during the recent English Premier League

generate so much return. They turned to online platform

broadcast of Manchester United vs. Southampton. Sponsored

provider Promethean TV to produce interactive overlays,

by Singha, the unobtrusive overlays not only complemented

allowing their sales teams to offer high-performing custom

the content, but performed 10 times better than the industry

sponsorships and on-stream advertising campaigns. The

average for traditional display advertising. Almost 5% of

latest of these offerings is the new Sports Stats Overlays, that

viewers engaged with the poll and 45% of those went on to

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BROADCAST

the brand partners website.

brands can tap into a spectator’s passion, it’s simple for them

True Digital Group also signed up brand partners Samsung

to reach out and buy directly from the content they love. Not

for a half-time expanding banner ad during the broadcast

only does it show their support, but it also helps them feel

of West Ham United vs. Manchester United in July this year.

connected to the teams they adore.

This campaign achieved five times the industry average for

Reed Anderson, Chief Technology Officer at True Digital

traditional display advertising - and of the 2.5% that engaged

Group, commented: “We’re thrilled to be the only network

with the ad, a phenomenal 68% participated with the branded

in Thailand to show the full action of the English Premier

offer.

League. With live broadcasts, reruns and highlights of

For viewers, Promethean TV’s overlay provides a mechanism

every match, we wanted to create an immersive experience

to engage with sponsored messages, enter competitions,

for spectators, as if they were at the stadium themselves.

share opinions in polls and make purchases directly from

Implementing Promethean TV’s interactive overlays has not

within the live stream, all without missing a beat of the

only enabled us to fully engage with audiences, but also help

action. From True Digital Group’s standpoint, it supplies

establish a return on investment with advertising packages.”

a way to further engage its audiences with branded stat

Promethean TV is continuing to work with True Digital Group

experiences, in addition to the broadcast itself, that can be

to create unrivalled calls for viewers of the English Premier

sold as part of a digital advertising campaign and offset the

League in South East Asia. In addition to opportunities for

investment costs of English Premier League rights.

global brands to advertise at half time, the Premier League

A recent Data-Driven Sponsorships Report from Sports

has now granted the use of overlays during the match itself,

Innovation Lab highlighted that designing shoppable

offering further scope to engage with sports fans. The Sports

moments around behaviours can transfer a viewer’s action

Stats Overlay is set to be included as one the key line items

to transaction. Taking this one step further than building

in the group’s digital advertising inventory, which will be

brand awareness or delivering a call to action, sponsors can

offered to major brands within their region for the upcoming

use technology to address fan’s motivations and encourage

seasons.

them to take action. Ultimately, sport is impulse driven - if

BRAND: Promethean TV | BROADCASTER: True Digital Group | WEBSITES: www.promethean.tv, www.truedigitalgroup.com WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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Q5X AUDIO TRANSMITTERS NBA & NHL DISTANCED WORKFLOW Images: Q5X

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n March 2020, when the world shut down large

chambers or control elements on the transmitter package.

venue events, such as professional sports and

Sanitising a Q5X transmitter is as easy as sanitising an

concerts, it was a challenging time for technology

iPhone; just wipe it down with the approved alcohol-based

professionals who supplied audio gear for

disinfectant. Once sanitised, transmitters can be placed in

broadcast. During the summer, good news started to surface

standby mode, bagged and set aside for later use.

as creative minds found innovative solutions to allow a new

In sports broadcast ‘mic’d up’ applications, the sanitised

‘normal’ to emerge. The NBA chose the ESPN Wide World of

transmitters are typically placed in the padding or jersey,

Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando,

well in advance of the game. This is effectively mic’ing the

Florida to establish a COVID-19 free bubble. The NHL selected

equipment rather than mic’ing the player. The NBA places

two bubble venues in Canada; Edmonton’s Rogers Place

the Q5X PlayerMic transmitters in a custom pocket that is

and Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. Faced with the additional

stitched under the arm, on the side of every game jersey.

challenge of how to safely implement distanced workflow

The mic element is then taped to the inside of the collar and

while capturing in-game player audio, both leagues chose

the mic cable securely taped to the inside of the jersey. The

Q5X remote controlled PlayerMics to produce ‘mic’d up’

NHL places the transmitter in a small neoprene pouch, which

segments in these very demanding environments.

is then fastened to the back of the shoulder pads by tape

Q5X manufactures PlayerMic wireless microphone

or stitching. The mic element is then secured to the front

transmitters that are designed for the rigours of professional

collar of the pads by tape. Once the transmitters and mics

sports; safe, rugged, sweat-proof and totally remote

are installed safely on the equipment, they are set to standby

controlled. The sealed, flexible rubber packages contain a

mode and placed in the locker room before game time;

rechargeable lithium polymer battery, which will run for

the player is often unaware of the presence of a mic when

either four hours or eight hours, depending on the model

getting dressed. From this point forward, the transmitters

selected. These features are not new, but translate perfectly

are controlled remotely using the handheld MicCommander

into the reality of COVID-19 distanced workflow. The

at distances of 50-metres or more, so there is no need for the

transmitters are completely sanitizable and can be operated

A2 technician managing the audio to approach the players.

remotely with a handheld MicCommander, allowing users

All features of the transmitters can be controlled from outside

to safely observe social distancing protocols. The need to be

of the locker room or from the perimeter of the playing

sweat-proof requires sealed designs without leaky battery

surface.

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COMMUNICATIONS

Bodypack transmitters for coaches and game officials

NHL has utilised Q5X RefMics in all games throughout the

present similar challenges for distanced workflow. The Q5X

bubble broadcasts.

CoachMic and RefMic bodypacks offer the same advantages

Beyond these typical sports applications, Q5X ultra-thin

as the PlayerMic, with an easily sanitisable design and

PlayerMics offer the same workflow advantages to reality TV

remote control of all transmitter parameters. Both of these

or theatre where transmitters can be stitched directly into the

transmitters are a one piece solution, featuring a large,

wardrobe or placed discretely in undergarments. Straps and

integrated, rocker-style mute switch so the coach or referee

clips allow the transmitters to be placed literally anywhere,

can either mute the transmitter for sensitive conversations

and with the slimmest profile available, they are flat enough

or activate it for announcements. Once sanitised, the

to go unnoticed. The handheld remote control eliminates the

transmitter bodypack and attached microphone element can

need to approach the talent; allowing all functions, including

be placed in standby mode, bagged and left in the dressing

output power and frequency, to be adjusted at a distance.

room for the coach or referee to install themselves, without

The typical eight-hour battery life can be extended by placing

coming in close contact with the A2 technician. Similar to

the transmitter in standby during idle periods. While these

the PlayerMic, the transmitters are then controlled remotely

features have always been part of the Q5X design, they now

utilising the MicCommander from outside the locker room, or

have added value during COVID-19 production environments.

at game time from the perimeter of the playing surface. The

BRAND: Q5X | WEBSITES: www.Q5X.com WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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IA STAGE ROUND-UP Images: IA Stage

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kyDeck™ is IA Stage’s patented modular

Experience, shared his thoughts about working on SkyDeck

tension wire grid, a woven wire walking surface

at the Forum: “The quickest, most efficient, and probably

supported by a low-profile, light-weight steel

safest rig of the tour. You have a truly safe surface, you’re not

framework. It’s used to allow safe, easy access

restricted by the limitations of a life-line, and there are no

to difficult to reach areas while eliminating the risk of

rigging obstructions.”

falling. People typically associate tension grids with small

Little Caesars Arena

performance spaces, like black box theatres. SkyDeck works

IA Stage beat its own record with Little Caesars Arena’s

brilliantly in any space, though, from tiny community spaces

full-coverage grid in Detroit, MI. The city is home to the

to educational settings to the big spaces, like sporting arenas.

Tigers (MLB), the Lions (NFL), the Pistons (NBA), and the

The Fabulous Forum

Red Wings (NHL). It’s the fourth largest city in the Midwest

Originally opened in 1967, the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood,

and home to the largest SkyDeck tension wire grid in the

CA, gained fame as a state-of-the-art indoor sports venue. In

world.

January 2014, after a major renovation, the venue re-opened

Comprised of 372 modular panels weighing in around

its doors as the only arena in the nation dedicated solely to

205,000 pounds, the grid covers over 43,000 sq ft and

music and entertainment. While it’s no longer a sporting

encompasses approximately 81 miles of aircraft cable, three

venue, the Forum has the distinction of being the first big

miles of steel framing members, and 82,276 swage balls. A

arena in the US to get a SkyDeck.

truly unique aspect of Little Caesars’ SkyDeck is that it was

As part of the $100 million reinvention, 446 custom SkyDeck

specifically designed to serve as both a floor and as a ceiling,

panels were installed above the Forum’s arena bowl. The

depending on your point of view. To experience Little Caesars

woven wire work surface covers upwards of 34,000 sq ft with

Arena as a fan, there’s nothing like it.

a total of 68 miles of aircraft cable, 4.6 miles of steel framing

Fans today want comfortable seats; state-of-the-art sound;

members, and 78,000 swage balls. 71 tons of overhead steel

sharp lighting and crystal-clear projections. In other words,

significantly increase the structural capacity of the roof. With

they want a space that’s easily accessible with enhanced

the ability to support 350,000 pounds of hanging weight,

capabilities for a tailor-made guest experience. In crafting

the Forum is equipped to accommodate the largest touring

Little Caesars Arena’s immersive fan experience, arena

concerts and productions. At that time, the 34,000 sq ft grid

ownership didn’t want the overhead equipment used for

was the largest SkyDeck tension wire grid in the world.

projections and lighting on the ice or the court to be seen by

Bill Rengstl, Head Rigger for Justin Timberlake’s 20/20

patrons. Keith Irtenkauf and Adam Winter of Illuminating

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Concepts agreed that SkyDeck offered the best solution and

facilities – safety, work efficiency, and fast turnovers - it

flexibility for Little Caesars Arena as a multi-use venue with

certainly delivers. Bob Powers of IATSE Local 16 and Chase

high-level kinetic activity. Keith said: “The question was:

Center’s Head Rigger said: “[Chase Center] is one of the best

how do we use this surface as part of the show?”

production-friendly arenas I’ve ever been in.”

Working with a long list of competing variables while

As to what makes Chase Center so production friendly, Bob is

staying within the established budgetary parameters required

quick to credit the forethought and planning that came not

that Illuminating Concepts, InterAmerica Stage, Elation

only from ownership, but from top administration. “I want

Professional, and Motor City Electric actively collaborate

to acknowledge Stephen Collins (Chase Center’s COO) for

to that end. The solution, Adam said, was to “treat the

his professional integrity and vision and Ed Kish (Founder/

wire mesh of SkyDeck like a scrim. We lit it from below

majority owner of Kish Rigging) for his ideas and concepts,”

so you can’t really see what’s above it.” 1,488 specially-

said Bob. “It was very well thought out and installed - they

made lighting instruments, four per panel, were installed

set us up for success.”

to wash SkyDeck’s galvanised aircraft cables with light. And

The new arena boasts a 49,860 sq ft rigging grid that sits

whether it’s during a Red Wings game or a giant concert,

96’6” above the arena floor. Over 12,000 sq ft of the rigging

Little Caesars’ SkyDeck quite literally puts the lid on a totally

grid is a SkyDeck modular tension wire grid. Chase Center’s

immersive fan experience.

SkyDeck, comprised of 188 modular panels, is shaped

Chase Center

somewhat like a capital letter T with a fat vertical and skinny

IA Stage’s most recent arena project, Chase Center in San

horizontal. The top of the T follows the curve of the bay

Francisco, was completed in September 2019. Coming in at

side/northeast end of the arena, and the vertical extends

around 12,000 sq ft, Chase’s SkyDeck tension grid is not as

west out over the court to just past the gigantic centre-hung

big as the Forum’s or Little Caesars Arena’s. But, in terms of

scoreboard. The grid is accessible by catwalk from practically

what today’s multi-purpose venues are looking for from their

the entire perimeter of the arena. The catwalk has removable

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ACCESS STRUCTURES

panels over the rigging beams in high access areas, ensuring

“It’s absolutely 21st century,” explained Bob. “We’ve been

efficient traffic flow from loading dock to freight elevator and

given an amazing building where we can practice our craft

right onto the grid. There’s even a hinged panel, so rigging

at the highest level.” The emphasis on keeping up the speed

crews can bypass the elevator and pull equipment up through

of changeovers between shows is not about cutting labour

the grid if necessary.

or taking shortcuts, it’s about meeting the demands of

The bulk of the panels at Chase Center are arranged in 10 ft x

modern audiences safely. Shortly after the venue opened in

20 ft bays, which makes the bridles manageable. The rigging

2019, Chase Center’s crew hung Ariana Grande’s 24 truck,

beams are spaced at 10 ft on centre, and there are saw lines

148-point show in two hours and 28 minutes - roughly two

cut into the concrete floor below that correspond directly to

rigging points per minute. They loaded out that same show

the riggable beams. This allows ground riggers to use the grid

in two hours and 19 minutes, with zero injuries or accidents.

like a tape measure, improving the speed of marking rigging

Bob concluded: “Is it faster? Absolutely. Is it easier?

points without compromising accuracy. Ed Kish added: “If

Absolutely. But safety is the real game changer. SkyDeck is

rigging is your trade, it takes you maybe half an hour to

the single biggest risk eliminator in the arena.”

realise that you’re in the Disneyland of access.”

But what about the fan experience? Does Chase Center utilise its SkyDeck like Little Caesars Arena, for example, immersing the fans from floor to ceiling with a light show themed to each event? Chase Center uses their SkyDeck exactly as it was originally intended - to provide safe overhead access.

The grid actually disappears into the background during GSW games and concerts. The fan experience part comes from the kinds of events Chase Center can bring in.

BRAND: IA Stage | WEBSITES: www.iastage.com 086

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

THE DIGITAL LINE - VOICE ORDERING WITH MYHUDSON Images: The Digital Line

A

088

s venues look forward to a time when they

at how streaming at home has changed the way customers

can properly welcome customers back through

consume new movie releases.

their gates, they continue to plan how to make

Whilst fans in stadiums clearly adds another dimension to

this desire a reality, always being mindful of

the sport, some consumers are already getting used to the

government guidelines.

synthetic crowd audio, accepting that their sport will just be

What is clear, however, is that the ‘business’ survivors of

delivered differently in the future?

this pandemic will be those who have always been prepared

Still, when people do come back, what mechanisms can be

to embrace change. Those individuals, the most adaptable

put into place to better manage the flow of people and how

members of society, will see COVID-19 as another hurdle they

they navigate a venue?

must overcome and move on from. It may be challenging,

“Even before COVID-19, The Digital Line always saw a future

and it may be uncomfortable, but it will nevertheless be

that was frictionless, contactless, touchless and heavily

necessary.

influenced by voice,” said TDL Director, Andy Coney as we

And this change will not just be driven by the pandemic but

talk about the way back for venues in the post-coronavirus

also the desire of the public.

environment.

We are over six months into the ‘new normal’ and with the

“There are clearly many guidelines that have been introduced

approaching winter (for some countries) likely to lead to

and one of the challenges for businesses in general is

more restrictions, it could be months before many venues in

that a lot of the messaging coming back is mixed and not

the UK invite customers back. Indeed, when that time finally

completely uniformed.

does arrive, we must also be prepared to ask the difficult but

“As a technology consultancy working across many areas,

very pertinent question of whether customers will even want

including health, education, sport, and retail, TDL is always

to come back in the same way as they did before. Just look

looking for cross-sector technology that can provide

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

CORPORATE HOSPITALITY

solutions.

Phase two of the project will see the MyHudson product

“As a business we have been big supporters of voice

linked directly to POS, so that orders confirmed by voice

technology and already activated some very successful project

can be deducted against stock and even satisfied within the

around this platform.

system if a box holder has a pre-existing account already

“One exciting new technology we have been directly involved

setup in the system.

in is the MyHudson voice ordering system that works directly

The process is seamless and more importantly, completely

off these systems.”

touchless.

MyHudson

Andy added: “What this means for a venue is that rather

“Voice as an ordering system is finally here. We have been

than have staff waiting in boxes or even stationed outside,

working on an Amazon Alexa skill that allows people to place

a greater element of control is passed over to the box

orders using only their voice.

occupants. They can place an order, see it listed on the

“Developed by The Digital Line and key partner, Halo,

screen, confirm it and then have the request dealt with and

MyHudson was initially envisioned for the health care sector,

delivered without any need for direct human interaction.

but we have since refined the product to allow the system to

“In a world where the fear of transmission and a positive test

be used in other areas, including corporate box hospitality.”

could bring an event to a standstill, it seems like a logical

So how does it work?

step to take.

In simple terms, each box is assigned a voice-activated device

“The MyHudson system also has a fully featured back-end,

and within the MyHudson application, a list of products can

allowing operators to gain real-time information on most

be called up and placed for order on digital order form.

popular product ranges, listed by box, by time and even by

The backend of the system allows staff to monitor incoming

person. We can also work climate and key event triggers into

orders and then deliver them to the box, where payment is

the mix so that we are quickly able to understand customer

satisfied through card or contactless.

demand and react if necessary.”

BRAND: The Digital Line | WEBSITES: www.thedigitalline.co.uk WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

089

8-9 December 2020 | Online Conference & Exhibition

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The events industry is at a crosspoint and there has never been a more important me to for its members to connect. Meet them at Host City!

THE BIG RESTART: RECOVERY WITH A PURPOSE FOR THE DIGITAL AGE

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enquiries@hostcity.com

+44 (0)203 675 9530

14 EXTRA TIME

PRODUCT FOCUS

INDUSTRY EVENT REPORTS

092 Panoscape

097 WFS Industry Awards 2020

093 Track160 \

EVENT DIARY & VENUE TECH DIRECTORY

FULL TIME

094 Venue Tech Directory

098 Hugo Larin | FLUX::

096 Conferences & Exhibitions

PANOSCAPE anoScape is a patented award-winning suite of digital signage products that provide a virtual storytelling canvas for both large audiences, and individuals. Powered by an easy-to-use, cloud-based CMS, coupled with robust analytics, PanoScape is a virtual portal enabling its customers to share their message.

With its flexible design, PanoScape can be configured to run on up to 24 touch screens and features the ability to play high resolution video (up to 20K x 2K). Upon a guest interacting with any of the monitors, PanoScape instantly switches into interactive mode where multiple users can interact with unique content at each screen.

Panoscape has 10K resolution video displayed across all screens providing for an unparalleled visual engagement. This resolution is designed to captivate audiences to ensure this specific video will be remembered. Multiple guests can use Panoscape at one time, upon touch or touch-free activation of any display, each display becomes independent, allowing multiple guests to choose and consume content that interests them, all at the same time.

With built in analytics, PanoScape captures multiple guest engagements simultaneously, allowing for detailed analytics with each and every consumer interaction. You can also test various pieces of content for audience engagement performance, offer promotions or drive consumers to an app on mobile for purchase

P

092

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

or data collection with QR Codes. Analytics are captured with every tile and every QR code scan.

The drop-down database functionality changes specific curated brand content, brands and sponsors, as often as preferred.

Functionality allows for all content on the wall to be changed instantly and graphic changeouts are simple to do, all while providing detailed analytics throughout.

PanoScape software screen agnostic works with any screen size or manufacturer. This gives you the ability to drive 1-24 displays from a single CMS. Content is as easy to change/update as Facebook and Twitter. Modular Wall incorporates industrial casters for push, drop and lock functionality. Each wall houses three displays, walls are stand alone or connect together via cam-lock. It is designed to be portable and require only an LAN line and standard power.

PanoScape IP also includes the patent for multi-screen to single screen with over 20 onboard attachments that may be utilised with every or any display (credit card terminals, cameras, barcode scanners, NFC card readers, proximity sensors, plus many more).

PanoScape owns several patents, all ensuring it is the sole provider of multi-screen (video wall) to single screen (individual guest experience). PanoScape has the ability to customise and build functionality to suit and integrate in API from other vendors. www.panoscape.com

EXTRA TIME

TRACK160 rack160 is a DFL invested company that develops and distributes a cutting-edge, FIFA certified, automatic player and ball optical tracking solution.

The single viewpoint solution is designed to enable a broad range of teams and leagues to enjoy the most advanced technology based on deep learning and producing match insights, fitness and tactical data at an unprecedented accuracy using a simple setup.

With the need to adapt to the increasing requirements of comprehensive data acquisition in a wider range of leagues, Track160’s automatic solution delivers pro-execution on the pitch.

It’s optical tracking system collects match data from a single viewpoint autonomously, and generates accurate, and reliable 3D positional data with a set of advanced analytics and predictive capabilities. Among these are insights such as the direction of the player’s gaze, dangerousity situations, and an automated event clip gallery of all the major game events. Underlying the performance, are the latest algorithms of deep learning that enable the automatic operation with no need of operating staff.

T

As part of the collaboration, a wide range of solutions enabling the coaching staff to achieve results will be available: automatic scouting feeds, tactical and technical analysis, player tracking and fitness data. Among these, access to an AI-automatic video clip gallery of the most important game events that can be shared with peers, and even a COVID-19 Shield tracking the two-metre range between players. www.track160.com

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093

VENUE TECH DIRECTORY A closer look at some of the latest, state-of-the-art technology for sporting venues.

CHYRONHEGO PRIME 3.7 www.chyronhego.com • • • • •

Resolution and format agnostic, capable of outputting high pixel density.

Fully integrated with the Chyron Classic Keyboard, long-time Lyric, so operators can use the keys that are already familiar.

Operators can save .psk and .dsk files to keep, recall, or transfer their preferred shortcut key settings.

Operators can easily tab to different areas of the user interface.

See at a glance the next message set to cue to a channel, even as you switch from one channel to another to load, fulfill, and quickly play messages.

EVS LSM-VIA www.evs.com • •

DREAM CHIP ATOM ONE ATOM ONE SSM500 www.dreamchip.de

•

•

•

• • • •

094

A super slow motion camera capable of recording 500fps in full HD resolution.

Small, measuring only 190mm x 60mm x 60mm.

Compatible with both B4-Mount and C-Mount lenses.

The intuitive GUI enables the connection of up to 99 other Dream Chip cameras.

Multi-matrix colour correction ensures the perfect match with other cameras being used for a broadcast.

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

•

Amazing flexibility, greater functionality and fewer keystrokes.

Advanced capabilities include simple workflow integration, unique operational macros, and semi-automated functionalities.

The remote’s programmable buttons, shortcuts and simple tactile control provide faster access to more functionalities.

LSM-VIA interacts seamlessly with all VIA-based products to open up exciting new workflows.

Many different flexible deployment models can be supported, including remote and even multi-site simultaneous production.

VENUE TECH DIRECTORY

INSITUAL FANSIT www.insitual.com • • • • •

Seating solution for fan zones at big stadiums.

Allows a safe standing area or the option to turn it into seating when needed.

Each metallic seat is incorporated within a robust metal frame that turns the set of seats into a safety rail between rows.

The tip-up seat is opened by a master key to configure sitting locations at the events that require it.

In its folded position, Fansit is slim, allowing the stepping clearway to be maximised

MARSHALL ELECTRONICS CV420-18X www.marshall-usa.com/cameras/CV420-18X/ • • • • •

12 ½ million pixels – Sony broadcast 1/1.7-inch sensor.

Simultaneous 12GSDI & HDMI2.0 outputs to multiple workflows.

Up to 60fps in 4096x2160p (4K) and 3840x2160p (UHD) resolution.

Compatible with Marshall RCP (CCU) or 3rd party Visca RCPs Remote Zoom, Focus, Iris, Black Level, Exposure and more.

TSL PRODUCTS SAM-Q-SDI www.tslproducts.com •

• • • •

Determine how you wish to control and visualise your audio content based on application, environment or simple personal preference.

Designed to serve all levels of user, regardless of their audio knowledge or experience.

Has the functional capacity to grow and adapt in line with ever changing technical requirements.

Suitable for all applications, from OB Trucks and Studios to Playout and Distribution.

Purchase 1 or 2 optional MADI Input license options at any time providing monitoring and mixing of up to 128 MADI.

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095

EVENT DIARY 2020/21

Coliseum Online Week US 19th - 23rd October, Online www.coliseum-online.com

Host City 2020 8th - 9th December, Online www.hostcity.com

Prolight + Sound 13th - 16th April, Frankfurt, Germany www.pls.messefrankfurt.com

ALSD Virtual Show 26th - 29th October, Online www.alsd.com

ISC Virtual Week 7th - 11th December, Online www.internationalsportsconvention.com

Football Innovation Forum 28th May, Istanbul, Turkey fif.worldfootballsummit.com

Next Generation Audio Summit 3rd - 5th November, Online www.svgeurope.org

SVG Summit Connect 14th - 17th December, Online www.thesvgsummit.com

ESSMA Summit 2021 1st - 2nd June, Turin, Italy www.essma.eu

ESSMA Fan Experience e-Workshop 10th November, Online www.essma.eu

ESSMA Spotlight 19th - 20th January, Online www.essma.eu

ISE 2021 1st - 4th June, Barcelona, Spain iseurope.org

WFS Live 23rd - 27th November, Online live.worldfootballsummit.com

SPORTEL Monaco 22nd - 24th February, Monaco, France www.sportelmonaco.com

MONDO | STADIA presents AGORA June, Barcelona, Spain www.mondostadia-agora.com

Coliseum Online Week LATAM 23rd - 27th November, Online www.coliseum-online.com

ALSD International 15th - 16th March, Liverpool, England www.alsdinternational.com

International Sports Convention 8th - 9th June, London, England www.internationalsportsconvention.com

TheStadiumBusiness Summit 1st - 3rd December, Online www.stadiumbusinesssummit.com

Coliseum Summit Europe 24th - 25th March, Ascot, England www.coliseum-online.com

InfoComm 2021 12th - 18th June, Orlando, USA www.infocommshow.org

EXTRA TIME

WFS INDUSTRY AWARDS 2020 hen the game starts, football belongs to the players. They are the stars. But for footballers to shine on the pitch, the hidden work of countless professionals across the industry’s multiple areas is required.

The WFS INDUSTRY AWARDS were created exactly to acknowledge and reward the achievements of these executives, managers, sponsors, agencies, media, NGOs and so many other professionals whose talent, passion and dedication help make football the world’s greatest game and a thriving industry.

Since the inception of the WFS INDUSTRY AWARDS in 2017, the ceremony has been a part of World Football Summit’s annual congress in Madrid.

Unfortunately, this year the event has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, WFS and its partners believe it would be unfair to cancel the awards.

“During the past months the football industry has faced the biggest challenge of its history. One that is being overcome thanks to the talent, commitment and brilliant work of outstanding professionals. This year they deserve to be rewarded more than ever, and with the invaluable support of our partners we are committed to doing so,” said Jan Alessie, Director of World Football Summit.

W

The WFS INDUSTRY AWARDS 2020 will be handed virtually on Friday November 27th as part of WFS Live. The winner of each category will be announced on November 16th and will have the chance to be interviewed in a 20-minute session that will be part of the WFS Live Conference Programme.

To make sure all professional have the chance to join the WFS Hall of Fame, the awards are adding two new categories: Best Digital Platform and Outstanding Innovation Initiative.

With these two additions, the WFS INDUSTRY AWARDS 2020 categories read as follows: - Best Executive presented by Nolan Partners - Best Supplier presented by SportsTechX - Football for Good presented by Common Goal - Best Venue presented by MONDO | STADIA - Best Club Commercial Initiative presented by McCann - Best Women’s Football Initiative presented by Women in Football - Best Internationalisation Strategy presented by Deloitte - Best Digital Platform presented by Seven League - Outstanding Innovation Initiative presented by N3XT Sports www.worldfootballsummit.com WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

097

14 FULL TIME HUGO LARIN | FLUX:: 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. How did you cope during lockdown?

The global shutdown has proven the need for us all to be more creative than ever - creative in organising ourselves, organising our work, and (re)learning how to make a living in these unusual times. It’s a tremendous opportunity to redefine how we do things!

How can sporting professionals host events with social distancing or create realistic virtual experiences without a physical audience?

It’s impossible to replace the energy of a crowd. Our physical senses are what capture these moments - the visual landscape of the crowd and buzz of a venue filled with fans can’t be replaced. But, understanding the science behind how our senses respond can go a long way in helping us to create a better immersive experience. At a sporting event, you’re hearing the sound from the PA system, the crowd cheering, and all the other incidental sounds. Your auditory system is processing all the audio reflections coming from every direction, and delivering to your brain a specific spatial acoustic signature of the place you are in. Our auditory and visual systems frequently work together to facilitate the identification and localisation of objects and events in the external world.

Do you think it’s possible to replicate real life events virtually?

In short, Real Life does not exist in Stereo. Putting a loudspeaker (or earbud) in each ear enables us to create a reasonable stereo or mono sound field in both ears, but that’s not how we hear. Our auditory system is far more complex. Every single sound - direct or reflected - arrives at both of our ears at a different time and a different level.

So, it makes perfect sense that while a typical two-channel signal can deliver a nice stereo mix, it simply cannot render the sound sources all around you, and the sense of 360º immersion that our brains associate with being there.

Now, new spatial audio technologies employing binaural synthesis are finding new ways to deliver that immersive sonic experience.

Can you give us some more insight into how binaural synthesis works?

Binaural techniques are far from new; they are heavily used in gaming, VR, sound installations, and in the streaming of 360 video content on various community platforms. In fact, references to binaural concepts can be found dating back to the late 19th century. Binaural immersive mixing is essentially a method of processing the sound sources intended for the listener’s ears, on the same two headphone channels normally used for stereo, but containing all the aural cues critical to creating the live immersive experience. When done well, it can deliver a critical sense of reality to these virtual worlds and events, making it perfect for online sporting events where spectators aren’t present. Let’s talk immersive!

T: + 44 (0)20 7608 7900 info@wilkinsoneyre.com www.wilkinsoneyre.com

Architecture by

@wilkinsoneyre wilkinsoneyre wilkinsoneyre

Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cricket Ground The new Compton and Edrich Stands, designed by WilkinsonEyre, will be ready for use in the 2020 season

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