mondo | stadia - Issue 05

SUZHOU OLYMPIC SPORTS CENTER

MOVISTAR ARENA

STEVE RICKLESS

COMMUNICATIONS ROUND-UP

A vast sports, leisure and entertainment project, with a state-ofthe-art audio system from Bosch.

The recently-upgraded Bogata venue’s facade has been enhanced by an impressive Gtek LED display.

Tripleplay’s CEO discusses how the company has become a key part of some of the world’s best stadiums.

A round-up of the latest comms, mics and bodypacks used in stadiums, arenas and sporting venues.

ISSUE 05 - APRIL | MAY 2019

THE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION FOR TECHNOLOGY IN SPORTING VENUES

ISSUE 05 - APRIL | MAY 2019 WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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05 WELCOME

elcome to ISSUE 05 of MONDO | STADIA - we’ve certainly looked right across the globe for stadiums and sporting venues this time around.

Starting in Abu Dhabi, we’ve taken a look at the work that has gone into hosting the Special Olympics World Games, which opened and closed with spectacular ceremonies.

Over in China, the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center has officially opened, with its sporting venues equipped with a state-of-the-art audio system from Electro-Voice and Dynacord.

In the world of video, we’ve covered the work of Gtek at the eye-catching Movistar Arena in Bogota - the new, external LED display has greatly enhanced the spectacular façade.

Back to Europe, JMA Wireless have significantly upgraded the infrastructure at both the Dacia Arena and Stadio Olimpico in Italy, preparing them for the future of 5G stadiums.

We’ve also spoke to Tripleplay CEO, Steve Rickless, who gave us some insight into his career and how Tripleplay have gone from strength to strength in such a short space of time - becoming a regular in some of the world’s best stadiums.

Finally, we’ll be out at the World Stadium Congress in Amsterdam and InfoComm in Orlando over the next couple of months - get in touch if you’ll be there, too.

W

Sam Hughes Editor

IV EDITION

24TH & 25TH SEPTEMBER 2019, MADRID

120+

100+

2,000

130+

80+

SPEAKERS

COUNTRIES

ATTENDEES

CLUBS

LEAGUES & FEDERATIONS

WFS INDUSTRY AWARDS BEST EXECUTIVE PRESENTED BY:

BEST CLUB COMMERCIAL INITIATIVE

BEST SUPPLIER PRESENTED BY:

BEST WOMEN’S FOOTBALL INITIATIVE

SEPTEMBER 24TH 2019, MADRID

FOOTBALL FOR GOOD PRESENTED BY:

MOST CREATIVE CAMPAIGN

BEST VENUE PRESENTED BY:

BEST INTERNATIONALISATION STRATEGY

PRESENTED BY:

APPLY BEFORE JUNE 16TH

awards@worldfootballsummit.com

SUZHOU OLYMPIC SPORTS CENTER

MOVISTAR ARENA

STEVE RICKLESS

COMMUNICATIONS ROUND-UP

A vast sports, leisure and entertainment project, with a state-ofthe-art audio system from Bosch.

The recently-upgraded Bogata venue’s facade has been enhanced by an impressive Gtek LED display.

Tripleplay’s CEO discusses how the company has become a key part of some of the world’s best stadiums.

A round-up of the latest comms, mics and bodypacks used in stadiums, arenas and sporting venues.

ISSUE 05 - APRIL | MAY 2019

THE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION FOR TECHNOLOGY IN SPORTING VENUES

ISSUE 05 - APRIL | MAY 2019 WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

Cover image courtesy of D.A.S. Audio

Editor Sam Hughes s.hughes@mondiale.co.uk

Deputy Editor Emma Bilardi e.bilardi@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

Production Zoe Willcox z.willcox@mondiale.co.uk

05 INSIDE…

TEAM TALK

006 Brad Grimes, AVIXA

m.capper@mondiale.co.uk

Managing Editor Rachael Rogerson-Thorley

j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk

Finance Director Amanda Giles a.giles@mondiale.co.uk

076 Chinese Super League Round-Up | China 080 Movistar Arena | Bogota, Colombia

014 Olympiapark Arena | Munich, Germany

5G STADIUMS 084 Dacia Arena & Stadio Olimpico | Udine & Rome, Italy

KICK OFF

BROADCAST

016 Communications Focus

090 PreZero Arena | Sinsheim, Germany 096 Champions Hockey League Final | Gothenburg, Sweden

INTERVIEW 026 Steve Rickless, Tripleplay

Printed By Buxton Press WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

ARCHITECTURE 098 American Family Fields Phoenix | Arizona, USA TRUSSING & RIGGING

ar@mondiale.co.uk

MONDO | STADIA is published by Mondiale Publishing Limited, Strawberry Studios, Watson Square, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UK Tel: +44 161 476 8340

072 Panzer Stadium | Pennsylvania, USA

VIDEO

010 City Ground | Nottingham, England

Credit Control

Group Chairman Damian Walsh

062 Hangzhou Tennis Center | Hangzhou, China

012 Teddy Stadium | Jerusalem, Israel

r.rogerson-thorley@mondiale.co.uk

CEO Justin Gawne

AUDIO

066 Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, USA

DRAWING BOARD Mel Capper

VENUE FOCUS

102 Gerry Weber Stadium | Halle Westfalen, Germany

THE FULL PITCH 038 Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, USA 046 Suzhou Olympic Sports Center | Suzhou, China 054 Special Olympics World Games | Abu Dhabi, UAE

EXTRA TIME 108 Chief 110 VITEC 112 Spidercam 113 Event Diary 114 Full Time

BRAD GRIMES, AVIXA Five Ways Sports Venues Can Benefit From Audiovisual Technologies

Images: Just Add Power, Digital Projection, Leyard rofessional and collegiate sports

Using the Playing Surface as an Imaging Screen

Enhancing the Fan Experience with Immersive

have become big business, and

The latest generation of ultra-bright, high-

Retail

experience-focussed venues are

resolution video projectors has enabled sports

A new way that stadia are enticing fans to

adopting advanced audiovisual

venues to turn any surface into a video display

explore the venue and encourage purchases is

technologies that benefit fans, players and

through projection mapping. Using ultra-bright,

through immersive retail experiences using

team organisations in a variety of ways. From

solid-state projectors, venues can deliver

modern audiovisual technologies. As a result,

large-scale digital displays and interactive

engaging, entertaining content at unheard of

the ‘fan superstore’ model is replacing the

retail experiences to luxury locker rooms and

sizes throughout a game.

old style of pop-up merchandise stands and

high-end fan clubs, audiovisual technologies

At Rogers Arena, home of the NHL’s Vancouver

delivering far more entertainment than the

are transforming a fan’s expectations of what a

Canucks, team management recently upgraded

average retail store.

sports venue can be.

the fan experience by installing a high-power

After the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World

To maximise engagement and improve the fan

projection-mapping system consisting of

Series, their first in more than 100 years, sales

experience, sports venues now feature elaborate

four 30,000-lumen projectors, multiple video

of Cubs-branded merchandise went through the

light shows, expansive networks of TVs,

servers, and specialised processors that create

roof, and the team was hard-pressed to keep

advanced projection-mapping systems that can

and map 200ft by 80ft images directly on the

up with demand. As a result, a new 8,400 sq ft

turn any surface into a giant video display, and a

ice. To maximise presentation capabilities, they

flagship Cubs store was constructed just outside

variety of other audiovisual-centric experiences

also installed 40ft-tall hanging scrims in each

the stadium. When fans enter the store, one of

that help to create engaging atmospheres.

corner of the rink to offer additional projection

the first things they see is a huge 4x4 LCD video

Internally, stadiums, ballparks, and arenas

surfaces.

wall mounted above the main stairway that

are incorporating the latest in audiovisual

Projection mapping is used during pregame,

shows live game coverage, ESPN analysis and

technology to support scouting, drafting and

halftime and intermission periods to display

other baseball and Cubs-related content.

close study of competing programs. Even

national anthem-related visuals, support

The club also features an augmented-reality

locker rooms have evolved to include modern

patriotic or charitable causes, recognise star

green-screen attraction that allows fans to

audiovisual technologies, and many teams use

athletes, and create virtual spaces on the ice.

take a photo and overlay it on a variety of

them as a recruitment tool.

During brief pauses in gameplay, the projectors

famous Wrigley Field scenes, including a view

Here are five of the top ways venues and

map digital visuals to physical details on the

from behind home plate, inside the manual

organisations are using the latest audiovisual

ice, such as boundary lines and logos. Fans

scoreboard and in the ivy on the outfield wall.

technologies to create new fan experiences

are treated to a massive light show at the end

In its first season of operation, fans took more

and provide meaningful benefits for teams and

of each intermission, which leverages the

than 20,000 Wrigley Field selfies in the new

employees.

projectors to excite the crowd with rock-concert

team store.

P

styled effects.

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TEAM TALK

Reimagining Locker Rooms and Player Lounges Technology upgrades have reached players, too, with many collegiate and professional locker rooms featuring all the luxuries of a hotel suite, complete with plush carpeting, whirlpool baths, and lounges with big-screen televisions.

In 2017, the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball program initiated a $5m renovation of its team lounge and locker facilities, resulting in the new Marksbury Players First Suite and Healy Family Locker Room. With all its highend features, the new facility is a prime stop on tours for prospective athletes.

Upon entering the suite, visitors are greeted with an interactive media wall composed of three vertically-mounted 86-inch 4K LCD displays, the middle of which is a touchscreen.

Users can view videos of Kentucky’s national championships or explore the current roster with stats, images and video highlights of each player. The suite’s entertainment area features a 13ft by 8ft 4x4 panel LCD video wall with an HDMI connection that allows players to hook up gaming consoles.

Even the locker room itself got a tech upgrade, replacing the old plaques that label each locker with a vibrant 1.5mm pixel pitch LED ribbon that wraps around the entire circular room where the wall meets the ceiling. The seamless 360º display allows the team to easily update locker

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TEAM TALK

positions and adds an undeniable cool factor to

that include wireless presentation systems,

Additional displays provide Kids’ Zone

the locker room.

videoconferencing, Blu-ray playback, digital

Interactives where young fans can create a

signage, and HD tuners.

customised Michigan bobblehead photo or

Simplifying Venue-Wide Audiovisual

008

compare their jumping ability or wingspan

Management

Promoting Team Brands and Fandom

with that of a Michigan player. Finally, a pair

Many of today’s sports venues have several

The fan experience is paramount in all stadia,

of 5x3 touchscreen LCD video walls in Crisler’s

hundred digital displays capable of showing

and leading organisations are creating team-

Hall of Honor function as interactive digital

content from multiple sources, so efficient and

branded technology spaces that captivate

libraries of Michigan’s storied athletic history.

effective content management is a primary

attention, explore team history, motivate

Each wall offers touch access for up to five fans

concern. Using the latest content management

purchases, and provide immersive experiences

simultaneously, so they can look up player

and audiovisual distribution systems, large

to complement gameday action.

profiles, titles, awards won, historic game

audiovisual networks are easier to manage than

The University of Michigan’s Crisler Center,

images, and film footage.

ever before.

where the Wolverines basketball teams play

Whether it’s improving player comfort,

After management grew tired of dealing with

their home games, is a prime example of how

encouraging deeper fan engagement, helping

overly complicated signal switching and content

audiovisual technologies can promote and

managers control their content, or aiding

management, the Great American Ballpark,

preserve a brand while generating enthusiasm

in teams’ recruitment efforts, the latest

home of the MLB’s Cincinnati Reds, recently

among new fans.

audiovisual technologies are delivering exciting

upgraded to a park-wide HD-over-IP network

Using any of the centre’s 17 46-inch LCD

new experiences and capabilities that affect

that greatly simplifies the entire audiovisual

touchscreen displays, known as Individual

every aspect of the modern sports venue. As the

system while providing the ability to add or

Sports Interactives, fans can explore photos,

audiovisual industry continues to develop new

upgrade displays with minimal hardware.

videos and text related to the school’s sports

products and solutions that captivate guests’

In the Reds’ War Room, where team officials

programs, view stats from recent games, and

attention and provide meaningful business

scout for draft day, three 80-inch LCD displays

even purchase tickets. A separate 55-inch

benefits, fans and teams will expect and

and a video wall with 12 DirecTV boxes provide

LCD touchscreen display greets fans with The

appreciate novel technology installations that

virtually unlimited capacity for viewing

House That Cazzie Built, a story about guard

turn gameday into an even more memorable

live games and reviewing player histories.

Cazzie Russell, who led the Wolverines to three

experience.

Nearby, the Reds’ Super Suite features 10

consecutive Big Ten Conference basketball titles

interactive displays equipped with sources

and two NCAA Final Four appearances.

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www.avixa.org/sportsAV

Your Communications, Covered.

The FreeSpeak II intercom system provides your stadium production team with a versatile network of wireless communication. Offering exceptional RF performance in both 1.9 and 2.4GHz bands, a single FreeSpeak II base station allows the placement of remote transceivers anywhere you need intercom access.

From field staff to mobile camera teams, FreeSpeak II delivers extensive wireless coverage for any sports venue. We’ve got you covered. www.clearcom.com

CITY GROUND Nottingham, England

Renderings: Benoy / Nottingham Forest

esign specialist, Benoy, has been working with Nottingham Forest on a stadium wide regeneration, which will see the stadium become the largest in the East Midlands with 38,000 seats. It is very much a project designed out of Nottingham, for the fans of Nottingham Forest.

Offering best-in-class stadium design, the Peter Taylor stand will present world-class player facilities and a new approach to guest hospitality. This will see the incorporation of multiple suites and dining venues to appeal to different fan groups and non-match day audiences.

“Alongside Benoy, we are working with an international group of advisers to ensure that every aspect is planned and delivered to worldclass standards. There will be changes and new ideas which come forward and influence the final design, but at the heart of this project is being ready for the next phase of the clubs history, in the largest stadium in the East Midlands,” said Tom Cartledge, Benoy, CEO. The design for the new stand will create a tier of 10,000-seats under a dramatic cantilevered roof. Additional facilities such as a museum and a new club shop will be a part of the scheme. New spacious concourses for general admission and improved facilities for supporters with disabilities by means of substantial wheelchair spaces will also be incorporated.

A local project to Benoy, it has been designed out of the Newark studio, with long-standing Nottingham Forest fans at the helm.

“Every home game I sit with my old man and my young sons. As a family, we have been red for 72 years, and we intend to be for many years to come. A recent trend has seen clubs move their new stadia to non-city centre locations, but never has this been on the table for the Forest owners.

“The brief was clear, this is our home, we stay, we develop and we

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build upon or 125 year history on the banks of the river. The City Ground has evolved and grown, and remains a unique experience for fans and players, and this will only get better,” added Tom. Part of an exciting wider regeneration programme for the city and the surrounding area, the detailed masterplan will see a new residential development terracing down to the river, providing stunning views towards Trent Bridge.

This is close to another Benoy scheme, Broadmarsh Shopping Centre in Nottingham, for which the firm was appointed architect and masterplanner. On site now, the retail project will undergo a £86 million transformation.

As for the next stage, Nottingham Forest will enter a period of consultation and engagement with the relevant supporter groups before making the necessary planning application. Subject to the relevant consents, building is set to commence at the end of the 2019/20 season.

“The development is a true celebration of Nottingham’s culture and expertise; designed by Benoy, we have 70 years of experience, providing our clients with integrated design solutions,” said Mike Wilson-McCormack, Director - Head of Newark Studio.

The proposals illustrate the long-term strategy and commitment of the owner Mr Evangelos Marinakis, along with Benoy, to create an iconic riverside stadium.

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TEDDY STADIUM Jerusalem, Israel

Images: Electro-Voice

riginally built in the 1990s but renovated on multiple occasions since then, Teddy Stadium is home to four of Israel’s most loved football teams: Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem and Beitar Nordia Jerusalem. The 31,733 capacity venue has also been used to stage large-scale entertainment events.

While it is known, internationally, for hosting the matches of the Israeli national team and major clubs in European competitions, in Israel itself, the Teddy Stadium is much more than a simple football stadium.

It is seen as one of the most revered and cherished football temples - as well as being the very first modern stadium in the country when it was originally built back in 1990.

A lot has in its almost 30 years and the stadium’s operating company, Ariel Municipal Company, is striving to keep up with the rest of the world when it comes to modern stadiums.

In 2011, the new south stand was opened, allowing Teddy Stadium to become the largest stadium in official use in Israel and de facto national stadium.

Then, in 2017 the stadium became Middle East’s first to get a solar power plant, too. Annual production of 1.2 kWh of clean energy means potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 700 tons.

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Last year, in turn, the players’ tunnel and surrounding infrastructure were improved, while, for the venue’s audio evolution, Tel Aviv-based professional audio distribution and production specialist D-AND-D was asked to supply a multi-function PA/VA loudspeaker system that would be capable of delivering crystal clear audio throughout the venue.

The system needed to accommodate standard stadium visitor and commercial messaging, as well as communications in the event of an emergency. The result was an exceptional Electro-Voice audio system.

Now, though, it is time for a phase that was originally announced two years ago - the final portion of the roof.

Truckloads of steel prefabs are already on the site, preparing for installation process to begin. In total 360 tonnes of steel will be mounted on top of the south stand and covered by 4,000 sq metres of polycarbonate. It will all be in place by the end of July 2019.

In total, the cover’s expansion will cost 14 million shekels ($4m). It will be covered by the municipality of Jerusalem and Israel’s sport lottery.

However, that’s not the end - combined with other works, it is thought that up to 20 million should be spent this year.

Further features include new CCTV system with facial recognition, eight new private boxes, a press box and a command centre box – all to be located in the west stand. Also, new places for wheelchair users will be created in order to meet growing demand in this respect.

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OLYMPIAPARK ARENA Munich, Germany

Images: 3XN

anish architects, 3XN - in association with landscape architects, Latz+Partner - have been chosen to design a new sporting arena in Munichs Olympiapark.

With seating for up to 11,500 spectators, the sports arena will become the future home of German ice hockey champions Munich Red Bulls, as well as German basketball champions FC Bayern Munich.

In a bid to improve the local sports infrastructure for schools, amateur clubs and young talents, three additional canopied ice rinks will be built next to the sports arena - to be used as training facilities and for recreational use.

Located in Olympiapark, a significant historical setting for modern architecture, required an approach based on both humility and audacity from 3XN. The architects focussed on acquiring a deep understanding of the original design and the mind-set behind it. The guiding design principle focuses on sport in the landscape, echoing the motto of the 1972 Olympics, ‘Olympic Games in the green’ and the sense of boldness and optimism reflected on the original vision of Günter Behnisch and Frei Otto. Extending the original purpose of the Olympiapark, the project adds new contemporary indoor and outdoor sports facilities for the visitors of the park.

“Throughout the design process we have consistently sought to consider and understand the thinking that shaped the original design often pausing to ask ourselves, what would Günter Behnisch have done. It was important for us to create a flexible and versatile arena with a strong identity that shows respect towards the history and vision of Olympiapark,” said Jan Ammundsen, Senior Partner and Head of Design at 3XN.

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The asymmetrical shape and height of the arena are informed by the site’s characteristics, demonstrating respect towards the original vision of an organic architectural landscape. The arena’s oval, organic, light and playful form mirrors the gently undulating curves of the surrounding landscape creating forms in the landscape rather than buildings. The building, in addition to the bowl of the arena, contains three training rinks, changing rooms, offices, a rooftop bar, a cafe and an underground car park.

The main aim is to create a memorable experience for all audiences. The arena is designed to provide the most intense visual experience for all spectators. Robust design solutions allow the venue to transform from an ice hockey rink to a basketball court. With a simple expression and a strong identity, which gets fully integrated within the historical setting, the sports arena will become a distinctive new landmark in Olympiapark.

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KICK OFF | COMMUNICATIONS A closer look at products and projects from the world of communications...

CREWCOM PLIANT TECHNOLOGIES Pliant Technologies has introduced the latest updates to its CrewCom wireless intercom system along with its newly enhanced SmartBoom LITE Headset, Drop-in Charger, Fiber Hub and the new FlexLR connector. The newly released CrewCom firmware update includes numerous system improvements as well as the incorporation of new Oceania 900MHz models.

The newly enhanced SmartBoom LITE Headset (PHS-SB11L) features an improved dynamic noise-canceling microphone with wider frequency response, increased sensitivity, an enhanced speaker with wider frequency response, reduced distortion and an updated foam ear pad for added stability and comfort. The Drop-in Charger (PBT-RC-66) allows six Radio Packs (RPs) plus six additional batteries to charge in the same device for more effective battery management on location.

The CrewCom Fiber Hub (CHB-8F) expands system capabilities for a more efficient system deployment by allowing up to eight fibre connections using standard SFP-based connectivity supplied with single mode fibre ports along with a single RJ-45 copper port to interface to existing CrewNet connections.

The addition of a new compact FleXLR gender adapter gives users the flexibility to connect headsets to devices with non-matching four and five pin XLRs, such as CrewCom radio packs or control units, while also enabling customers to choose from a larger range of compatible headsets.

“CrewCom is constantly evolving to meet the demands of production environments and the constantly changing RF landscapes worldwide,” said Gary Rosen, Vice President of Global Sales for Pliant Technologies. “At NAB this year, we showcased several updates and additions to the system that will 016

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further enhance the overall capability of CrewCom systems in a number of areas, from updated headsets to more efficient charging of our RPs.” The revolutionary design of CrewCom offers a significant price advantage for larger demanding applications, when comparing the actual cost of deploying many wireless users in a production. Even the most basic CrewCom wireless intercom system offers full features at an exceptional value. CrewCom’s distributed architecture design provides the flexibility of a matrix/party-line without the complexity, cost, or limitations of either system. This ground breaking approach to professional wireless intercoms enables CrewCom to handle almost any application - from simple solutions to extensive facility-wide designs.

Unlike a matrix-based architecture, CrewCom is based on a decentralised network platform. CrewCom wireless products give the ability to easily put dependable RF coverage where needed, all while employing a consistent user interface throughout the system. This enables the system to easily adapt to the RF challenges facing productions.

CrewCom’s CrewNet proprietary network coordinates and transports all system timing, audio conferences, signaling, and control. CrewNet can operate over standard Cat-5e (or above) and single mode fibre lines, breaking the current barriers for wireless intercom range. CrewCom offers the industry’s smallest fully-featured professional full-duplex RPs, multiple simultaneous frequency bands, unparalleled range, and scalability for a variety of broadcast, live sound, installation, and industrial projects. www.plianttechnologies.com

KICK OFF

AMBEO SENNHEISER Sennheiser has recently showcased the prototype of an AMBEO Sports Microphone Array for capturing 360º sound, demonstrating what the future holds for field game broadcasts. The microphone array puts a highly directional focus on the relevant sounds of the soccer pitch, such as ball sounds.

The AMBEO Sports Microphone Array can be combined with Lawo Kick software that works with camera tracking to locate the ball and control the directivity of the microphone array accordingly.

Renato Pellegrini of the Sennheiser AMBEO team commented: “For objectbased broadcast formats, it is of paramount importance to obtain clear, clean audio signals without any background noise. This microphone array will be able to deliver clear signals with the utmost reduction in background noise, avoiding disturbing high-volume spill that interferes with the desired signal.”

Sound professionals will have noticed that the AMBEO Sports Microphone Array employs MKH 8070 long shotgun microphones. The Sennheiser MKH Series provides ideal options for professional filming and broadcasting tasks: alongside the MKH 8070 for accurate long-range pick-up, there’s the Sennheiser classic MKH 416, the MKH 8060 short gun microphone for oncamera use, the revered MKH 60 short gun microphone, MKH 70 long gun microphone and the MKH 418 S MS stereo shotgun microphone. On special request, the company also manufactures the MKH 816 long gun microphone, for which it received a Scientific and Engineering Award in 1987.

Sennheiser has a 65-year expertise in building shotgun mics and has been designing microphones that work on the RF condenser principle – the MKH series - for more than 55 years. As this microphone type is extremely insensitive to climatic conditions, the MKH shotgun microphones have

become firm favourites in sports broadcasting, whether used in the cold of winter games or in high-humidity, high-temperature environments.

Kai Lange, Senior Product Manager with Sennheiser, summarised a few of the many advantages of the RF condenser principle: “In general, the MKH microphones possess an extended frequency response that captures the fine nuances both at the very low and high ends of the audio spectrum. For example, the omni-directional MKH 8020 features a frequency response of 10-60,000Hz. As such a wide response is perfect for musical recordings but often less ideal for broadcasting, we have limited the frequency response of the MKH 8060 shotgun mic to 50-25,000Hz. A further advantage of the RF principle is the fully floating, balanced output, even though the capsule is grounded.

“In addition, our RF condenser microphones have a unique symmetrical ‘push-pull’ capsule design that uses a front plate in addition to the back plate.

The diaphragm is positioned between these two acoustically transparent plates, which ensure unchanging acoustic impedance. The result is extremely low distortion figures, a higher capsule output with lower noise and therefore a particularly clear signal.”

For broadcast and filming applications, the MKH 8060 and MKH 8070 can be combined with a compact, low-noise filter module. The module effectively suppresses low-frequency wind and handling noise (switchable roll-off and fixed low-cut filters) and also features a -10dB pad against overdriving.

Moreover, the MKH 8060 and MKH 8070 can be turned into digital microphones simply by adding the MZD digital module. It provides matched, high-quality A/D conversion for the MKH 8000 Series. www.sennheiser.com 017

KICK OFF

PLAYERMICS QUANTUM 5X SYSTEMS

For over 15 years Quantum5X Systems (Q5X) has been partnering with sports leagues and broadcasters around the world to safely capture the sounds of the game from players and referees. Q5X PlayerMics are the standard transmitter for football, baseball, basketball, hockey, rugby, soccer, tennis, lacrosse, kabaddi and many other sports. Q5X PlayerMics are well established as the smallest, safest and most rugged wireless transmitters available for sports broadcast.

One of the significant Q5X partnerships has been with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Over years of collaboration with the NBA, Q5X has worked to refine the PlayerMic transmitter; reducing it to less than half of its original size, perfecting safe, flexible rubber packaging and incorporating a very robust wireless remote control system, which allows all transmitter settings to be adjusted remotely during the broadcast. The PlayerMic is truly the first and most advanced transmitter designed around the demands of professional sports and the NBA has incorporated a specially designed Q5X PlayerMic pocket into all of the official NBA game jerseys, allowing any player to be easily mic’d for a broadcast. At this year’s NBA All-Star Game, in Charlotte, North Carolina, eight players were mic’d up with Q5X PlayerMics. The Q5X RCAS (Remote Control Audio System) allowed transmitters to be placed in the game jerseys hours in advance of the game and set in standby mode. When the players arrived to the dressing room, they simply put on the already mic’d jerseys, requiring no interaction with an audio technician. The transmitters were turned on utilising the RCAS remote control once the players got to the court. “The Inside Trax mic’d up segments capture the energy, emotion and leadership of the game in the players own voice,” said Paul Johnson, Q5X CEO. “Both during the broadcast and afterwards, as videos on the internet, these up close glimpses of player’s personalities are fan favourites.”

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The National Hockey League (NHL) has rolled out Q5X RefMics to all 31 NHL arenas; this replaces a previous generation of Q5X gear that has been operating dependably for more than 10 years. This new single piece integrated RefMic solution is packaged in a rugged nylon case and has a large, robust integrated mute switch that allows the referee to control the audio output from the transmitter when announcing penalties. This approach is much simpler than competing solutions involving a separate mute switch connected by a cable to a body pack transmitter, requiring the referees to wear two devices clipped to their belt. The Q5X RefMic was first introduced during the 2017 World Cup of Hockey where it was used in all games.

Following very positive feedback from both referees and broadcasters the NHL decided to roll out the new tech to all NHL arenas during the 2018-19 season.

The transmitters are used to announce penalties to the arena via the house PA system and to the broadcast audience. “The RefMic’s rechargeable lithium batteries make the maintenance of the system as simple as maintaining your cell phone,” continued Paul. “More importantly, utilising the RCAS remote control, the transmitters can be put in the referees changing room in advance of the game and turned on remotely from the hallway without bothering the refs during the last minute preparation for game time.”

These are just two of the many examples of Q5X transmitter solutions for the sports sector. Others include AquaMics buried in the dirt on baseball diamonds and in the water with surfers and wake boarders. There are also customised transmitter packages placed in the bottom of golf holes and inside lane marker buoys for rowing events. www.q5x.com

VERA S32

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Touring. And install. Simply your sound.

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KICK OFF RE3 ELECTRO-VOICE Electro-Voice has launched the RE3: a new UHF wireless microphone system engineered for best-in-class sound quality, wireless flexibility and overall ease of use in alignment with the latest RF regulations. The RE3’s user-friendly, state-of-the-art technology and roadworthy construction extend the rocksolid reputation of its predecessor the RE2.

RE3 receivers and transmitters are available in 10 pre-packaged sets, configured to cover a wide range of performance and presentation applications. Sets contain one half -rack-space diversity receiver with antennas, universal power supply, rack mount kit, transmitter, batteries and an input device.

Additionally, the RE3 portfolio contains a comprehensive assortment of accessories to aid in the creation of large, multi-channel systems. The RE3’s UHF design with clear frequency scanning makes multi-system wireless operation fast and simple.

The RE3 handheld combines robust aluminum build quality with a sleek profile. Five handheld system sets are available with a choice of interchangeable mic capsules: ND76, ND86, ND96 (dynamic) and the new RE420 and RE520 (condenser).

The compact RE3 bodypack features cast magnesium construction for maximum durability. Five bodypack system sets are available for instrument and lavalier/headworn microphone applications: OL3, CL3 (lavalier), HW3 (headworn), GC3 (instrument cable) and one bodypack-only system. All RE3 transmitters offer excellent battery life and run on regular alkaline or rechargeable AA cells.

The RE3 operates on three bandwidths for the North American market, chosen to minimise the complexities of today’s challenging RF environments.

These include two 36MHz-wide bands in the low and high 500MHz spectrum, as well as one strategically chosen to operate within the 600 MHz duplex gap which the FCC has dedicated for wireless microphone use. Additional bands are also available for use in Europe and Asia, in the 600MHz and 800MHz ranges. www.electrovoice.com

FREESPEAK II DIGITAL WIRELESS INTERCOM SYSTEMS CLEAR-COM FreeSpeak II is a five-channel, full-duplex wireless intercom solution, ideal for large-scale, complex designs or specialised applications–requiring team members to be untethered and talking in independent channels of communication. After years of field experience and refinement, FreeSpeak II has become the de facto standard for wireless intercom operation in the 1.9GHz and 2.4GHz band across various markets. The exceptional RF performance and reliable connections across the system give users the peace of mind they need for staying connected at every major event, programming, stage performance, critical or mass area operation.

The technology driving FreeSpeak II was designed from the ground up to provide the level of dependability and RF performance that professionals demand in different environments. Combining proven RF operations with smart engineering and ergonomic designs, FreeSpeak II delivers an unmatched solution that simply works time and again—even in the most challenging RF environments.

Reliable and flexible cellular roaming technology keeps your users connected and moving freely across an expansive space. Transceivers can be positioned away from the base station or matrix over CAT5 or over a fiber connection.

Each Transceiver can create a coverage zone between 300 ft – 500 ft (indoors) or between 800 ft – 1500 ft (outdoor). Up to 10 Transceivers can be strategically placed to create a wide coverage area. With FreeSpeak II, you have many options with the way you choose to configure, deploy, operate, integrate and use the system and its components. Do you need to operate in 1.9GHz or 2.4GHz or both? Want a standalone system or as a matrix intercom integration? Use it for point-to-point and/or partyline communication?

Connect over CAT5 or Fiber? Configure it completely from the base station or on the browser-based Core Configuration Tool? You make the decisions, and we deliver the solution. InSite live monitoring and telemetry of Beltpacks and 020

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Transceivers provides a better user experience for both audio performance and ease of use for all users. InSite includes tools for technical administrators to track beltpack roaming between cellular Transceivers and quality of service over time, thus helping to tune the system for best operation. for Gearhouse Australia. “The communications systems that we’ve put together for Triple Eight, based on FreeSpeak II and the Eclipse HX Delta assures the teams that their intercom system is something they won’t have to worry about.” out the appearance of breaking up if video streams to decoders are mistimed. www.atlona.com

he only you need

BOLERO RIEDEL Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) is a highly versatile and common standard for wireless communications that operates with its own spectrum and requires considerably lower power than a Wi-Fi connection. But until recently, DECT-based intercom systems were not practical for use in large production environments such as stadia and multi-purpose arenas, due to their susceptibility to reflection. No universal system could solve the frequency issues and also provide the quality, low latency, and intelligence required for advanced wireless communications in demanding production environments.

Riedel Communications recognised the need for a DECT-based intercom system that could succeed in the most demanding RF environments. An intense R&D effort brought forth the Riedel-exclusive Advanced DECT Receiver (ADR) technology, a diversity receiver technology specifically designed to reduce sensitivity to multipath RF reflections.

Riedel’s flagship product featuring this groundbreaking type of receiver is the Bolero Wireless Intercom. Bolero is an expandable, full-roaming, DECT-based intercom system in the license-free 1.9GHz frequency range, with a rich set of features and connectivity options.

Its high-clarity voice codec provides both higher speech intelligibility and more efficient use of the RF spectrum, significantly increasing beltpack to antenna density. Whether integrated with Riedel’s Artist matrix intercom platform or operated in standalone mode - Bolero guarantees flexible and reliable communications with its decentralised AES67 IP antenna network. That’s why 022

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some of the world’s most prestigious stadia and arenas have chosen Bolero to take their communications to the next level.

At the same time, its voice-operated counterpart Bolero S is taking the sports world by storm, as more and more teams and leagues choose this compact Bolero system for referee or coach communications. Bolero S is a smaller, but equally powerful version of Bolero that includes a voice-operated switch for (VOX) for hands-free operation. Bolero S is offered exclusively as part of Riedel’s Managed Sports Services that provide subscribers with a full-service solution. These services include locally installed communications hardware and remote management of the entire system by communications experts in Riedel’s Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Wuppertal. In the ROC, experienced engineers monitor audio quality, RF performance, and battery life, while also constantly adjusting talk and listen levels and the VOX threshold in real time. This way, Bolero S users can concentrate on their task at hand without having to worry about the quality and reliability of their communications. www.riedel.net

KICK OFF

SSM LECTROSONICS The new SSM (Super Slight Micro) bodypack transmitter from Lectrosonics is the smallest full-featured microphone transmitter on the market. Part of the Digital Hybrid Wireless Series, the SSM is fully compatible with all current Lectrosonics receivers including the UCR411A, SR Series, L Series, and Venue Series. The SSM features a wide tuning bandwidth of up to about 76 MHz depending on the specific frequency range. RF power is selectable at 25mW or 50mW for flexibility in various applications. Dimensions for the SSM are 64.25mm x 37.6mm x 14.7mm and weight is only 67g, including battery.

The SSM is available on four different frequency ranges for worldwide use, with tuning steps of 100kHz or 25kHz selectable in the menu. The SSM features an all-metal housing and uses the rugged, industry standard Lemo three-pin microphone connector common to other bodypack transmitters. Different bias voltages and termination impedances can be selected via the transmitter’s menu for optimum performance with a wide range of microphones. Pre-set values for several microphones are included as menu choices for DPA, Countryman B6/E6, Sanken COS-11, and Sennheiser MKE1/MKE2.

An infrared sync port and audio remote commands complete the advanced features of this new transmitter. www.lectrosonics.com

3000/5000 SERIES Audio-Technica Audio-Technica’s newest wireless systems - the 3000 Series and 5000 Series - both offer a wide choice of microphone and bodypack options suitable for high-end touring, house of worship, stadium and concert hall applications.

The third-generation, dual-receiver 5000 Series continues to offer exceptional wireless live sound, with dual-compander circuitry that processes high and low frequencies separately and True Diversity operation. The receiver also now features a tuning bandwidth of 230MHz: 470-700MHz. The ATW-T5201 is the 5000 Series’ bodypack transmitter and is built into an ergonomic metal body with highly visible OLED screen (switchable between standard and performance views to highlight key metering), programmable features, soft-touch controls, and switchable RF power (2mW/10mW/50mW).

It’s available in two different frequency ranges – DE1 (470-590MHz) and EG1 (580-700MHz) - to provide complete coverage of the receiver’s bandwidth. For reliable ease-of-use, a unique multifunction button on the bodypack transmitter can be used to switch to a back-up frequency (on both transmitter and receiver) should interference be encountered.

The same back-up operation is also available with Audio-Technica’s 3000 Series, which offers a class-leading 60MHz tuning range (more than twice that offered by the previous versions) in six frequency bands - DE2 (470530MHz), EE1 (530-590MHz), EF1 (590-650MHz), FG1 (650-700MHz), GH2 (795-806MHz) and HH2 (821-865MHz). Frequencies can be easily scanned and selected on the receiver and then synced with the transmitter via IR sync functionality.

Both 3000 Series and 5000 Series bodypacks employ Audio-Technica’s new rugged cH-style screw-down four-pin connector for secure connection to A-T’s cH-style lavalier and headworn microphones. Among the options available for use with the bodypacks are the BP892 subminiature omnidirectional condenser headworn mic, the AT831 miniature cardioid condenser and AT899 subminiature omni lavalier, ideal for where a combination of discreetness and high audio quality is required in demanding situations. www.audio-technica.com 023

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05 INTERVIEW

“One of the reasons why we’ve been selected for huge projects recently is that our system can work to the level needed, sometimes up to 2,000 displays – and we can deliver and it will work.”

Steve Rickless CEO Tripleplay

STEVE RICKLESS CEO at Tripleplay Then, I was one of the founders of Tripleplay back in 2002 and, after a couple of years, we realised that there was an opportunity to offer that

“Entertainment isn’t just what’s happening on the pitch, racetrack or stage, it’s the whole experience from when you first enter that particular arena or stadium until the moment you leave.”

video experience, along with a range of live television, on-demand content

Steve Rickless

ensuring we hit our financial targets as well!

and other video-related services within an enterprise market – and that, obviously, includes sporting arenas and stadiums, as much as banking, finance, hospitality and education also.

What is your role at Tripleplay and what does that consist of on a day-today basis?

I’m the CEO of Tripleplay, so I’ve got overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the business – in terms of what markets we’d like to explore, what products we want to develop and bring to market, how we go into that market, how we support our customers. Basically, how we deliver something that is compelling at a competitive price, as well as offering a high level of support to meet the customer requirements. And, of course,

Can you explain what Tripleplay specialise in when it comes to stadiums and sporting venues?

We were one of the first companies to enter this space. Our first two Firstly, tell us a little bit more about your background in the industry…

deployments were actually in South Africa for the World Cup in 2010.

I was quite fortunate to be one of the pioneers in delivering video over

We did Green Point Stadium in Cape Town and the Nelson Mandela Bay

data networks. Initially, I worked on a very famous project called BT

Stadium in Port Elizabeth - and those two systems are still running

Martlesham in Colchester, where they delivered on-demand content to

today. What we delivered to them is basically an IP television platform, so

residential homes back in 1997 - so, I was one of the people lucky enough

taking live TV signals and delivering them over a network to players and

to work on that. That really got me into the world of video, then I worked

then delivering digital signage with information, text and so on into that

on IP television and digital services among most of the European cable

environment. Going forward 10 years now, the whole thing is much richer

operators, helping define the standard and deploying that for a number of

in features, so we don’t just offer standard TV feeds and digital signage.

systems integrators, such as KPMG.

We’ve got a low latency encoder, so we can offer near real-time video onto

INTERVIEW

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INTERVIEW

the platform – so, a live match day feed, for example. We can pick that up straight away and deploy that into electronic point of sale systems. We can link into football stats from companies such as Opta, we can link into social media and display that and we have lots of flexibility for clients to run reports on what’s been played, as well as change content very quickly and dynamically.

We’ve got over 100 venues now, with a couple of other ones on the way that I can’t quite tell you about, though they are very iconic. I think if you look at who the established players were that are far bigger than Tripleplay, we’re taking market share off them every month. It’s not just about price - we get what the customers are about and where they want to go with it.

We’re always ready for that journey and that’s why more are choosing us to get them there.

Over the years, have you seen a shift towards stadiums and sporting venues focussing on fan engagement?

In the early days, it was quite innovative in terms of having a data network and putting the TV system on that. Fans nowadays - and obviously this varies from the type of venue and sport - come to be entertained.

Entertainment isn’t just what’s happening on the pitch, racetrack or stage, it’s the whole experience from when you first enter that particular arena or stadium until the moment you leave. The days of showing snowy pictures on a television or not getting up-to-the-minute information are gone. I mean, you look at your mobile phone and you get all that - well, fans want that as part of their stadium experience, so then they will come earlier or stay later and ultimately spend more while they are there. That’s the kind of change we have seen and hopefully we will maintain our position as one of the leaders in the market in helping with those issues.

How does a stadium / sporting venue project start for Tripleplay?

We do get quite a lot of referral work, which is obviously the best type of work. If you provide a good platform or product that’s reliable with good support, you find that people are happy to recommend other technology providers for certain projects. As well as that, we do tender for some projects and, thankfully, we’re very successful in that side. Elsewhere, people do hear about us through tradeshows, case studies or press - it’s just about people hearing more and more about us and our reliable product.

We’ve got a really great customer base and that does help prove our credentials.

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

The network is important, of course – we’re reliant on that being able to support our platform. Not only within the venue, but for external feeds, such as social media or other video feeds – we need to know how much that bandwidth is. Also, the location of the broadcasting or production suite – and where that is in relation to our encoders. Obviously, latency is

029

“Over the last 18 months, we’ve delivered the two biggest new-build stadium projects in the world, including at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano.”

Steve Rickless

important, but the more time you encode, the more noise you generate, so

stadium projects in the world, including at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda

we want to reduce those number of steps. What is important is knowing

Metropolitano. We have also delivered at Real Sociedad’s Anoeta Stadium

what the end device is – for example, will it just be a player feeding a

in Europe. Out in the Americas, we have a lot of baseball teams – we’ve

standard screen or an analyst streaming to a mobile device? There’s other

just done a project for the Toronto Blue Jays and we’ve got ice hockey

things, too, like what channel plan does the venue want to offer, how much

venues out in Canada, too. We’ve also recently done another project with

digital signage do they want and where we need integration?

International Speedway Corporation out in America, as well at Brands Hatch Circuit in the UK.

Are there any difficulties that you experience on a regular basis?

It’s usually the network – that’s probably the hardest thing. Also, the

Most recent, though, is probably the new Coca Cola Arena out in Dubai -

fact that there’s a human element. People forget that you may be going

we’re just going live with that at the moment.

from a stadium that had a coaxial system – so, pretty much just chucking out pictures with a very basic signage platform - to a multimedia-rich

What is coming up in the future for Tripleplay?

platform that gives them lots of flexibility and capability, but as a human,

What we’ve been able to prove is that we’ve got a platform that is highly

it takes time to understand that and how you maximise the value and

reliable that can really scale. One of the reasons why we’ve been selected

benefit that it can bring. It’s not always about making money, either – it

for huge projects recently is that our system can work to the level needed,

can be about the fan engagement, the experience and the branding of the

sometimes up to 2,000 displays – and we can deliver and it will work.

venue itself. There are lots of different criteria for what is considered a

We’ve proven that at The Wimbledon Open, Twickenham, Stade de France,

successful deployment. So, I suppose the biggest blocks we’ve had are the

Daytona – these are huge deployments.

networks and people not understanding that they actually have a lot of power and capability that they need to use effectively.

What we’re trying to do as a business is make the system easier to use with improved flexibility. As stadiums and sporting venues are getting bigger,

One of the things I hear a lot is ‘it just works’. On a match day in the

there are obviously changing stakeholders and different users – the secret

stadium or arena, the operators have so many other things that don’t ‘just

is to make it accessible.

work’ like that and require hands-on attention; so they are happy to leave our system just doing its thing while they focus on the other things.

We’re working on solutions to help a venue understand and better monitor their platform, and at the end of the day, that’s exactly what they want –

030

What stadium / sporting venues have you worked on recently?

they want to know what’s going out and, if they have to make any changes,

Over the last 18 months, we’ve delivered the two biggest new-build

it’s quick, painless and reliable.

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INTERVIEW

031

INTERVIEW

What would you say has been your favourite stadium / sporting arena

and present their data and the press team, too – so it’s been really good

project so far?

that they’ve set these challenges and trusted us. It’s one thing doing the

A controversial question… I think each one has different challenges, really.

stadiums, but when we do other things and are allowed near the players,

Chelsea and Brighton are two of our oldest clients and it’s been quite a

they do really have to trust us. We can affect performance and keep the

pleasure seeing them grow and develop – particularly Brighton being a

players happy.

new Championship team when we first met them to becoming quite an established Premier League club.

What would you say is the next big thing in terms of stadium / sporting

Also, the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin – when I went there first, it was

venue technology?

just a shell. Then, I went back for the official opening a few months ago and

I think it’s more integration, especially between the mobile and the

now there’s a whole shopping centre, bowling alley and cinema, so it’s nice

fixed. So, how do you achieve a combined experience through what’s on

to see our clients develop.

your mobile phone and what’s on the screens in the stadium. How do they work together to reinforce the brand, enhance the experience, help

I did a tour of America last summer to some of the venues we’ve worked on

with commercial aims and objectives. It’s about merging the two into a

and it’s fascinating to see where they’ve taken our platform. Amalie Arena

seamless experience whatever the aims are of the stadium or sporting

in Tampa, for example, have really pushed the platform to the edge and it’s

venue – I think that’s the next big step.

held up. They’re really, really happy and proud with what they’ve done – and I was quite taken aback to see what they have done with it.

The next thing is with sports rolling out Video Assistant Referees. At the moment, it’s not being given to the fans, but it will be in time. Rugby does

So, it’s a really hard question to answer. There’s just lots of different

it, of course, but you’ll soon see other sports deliver that content on the

customers doing different things with our platform and that’s my favourite

screens and maybe on the mobile phones.

part.

How do you get the fan who is living in another country to feel engaged You’re going on a journey with some of these teams…

and part of the experience? That’s the challenge, I think; is that where VR

A good example of that is Chelsea – we do their stadium, the training

comes into the mix?

ground, an app for the players, we work with the analysts on how they get

032

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INTERESTED IN AGORA 2020? CONTACT SAM (S.HUGHES@MONDIALE.CO.UK) SPONORSHIP: JAMIE (J.DIXON@MONDIALE.CO.UK) OR LAURA (L.ILES@MONDIALE.CO.UK)

The first MONDO | STADIA presents AGORA was held at ISE in 2019, with the sporting venue conference focussing on technology, the latest developments in the industry and future projects.

Through panel discussions, case studies and expert keynote speakers, AGORA explores the benefits of the latest technology, trends and techniques - analysing the impact it has and will have at modern stadiums and sporting venues around the globe.

From enhancing the fan experience and modernising stadium infrastructure, through to the planning of ceremonies and events, AGORA provides valuable insight that will help to increase knowledge and performance for future stadium and sporting venue projects.

AGORA will return as a full-day conference at ISE 2020, offering sporting venue managers and event organisers the chance to network with technology innovators and industry experts.

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WE THINK YOU’RE THE PERFECT MATCH The Major Events 2019 Summit takes place at the home of Aston Villa Football Club, Villa Park, Birmingham on the 26th & 27th June and we want you to join us.

Our Summit will bring together influential stakeholders from past, present and future games host organisations. With an expected 150 attendees this highly interactive Summit will be the perfect platform for you to get off the bench and be involved with our panels, workshops and networking events. We look forward to seeing you in June.

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05 THE FULL PITCH

038 Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, USA 046 Suzhou Olympic Sports Center | Suzhou, China 054 Special Olympics World Games | Abu Dhabi, UAE

THE FULL PITCH

LUCAS OIL STADIUM Indianapolis, Indiana

Images: Atlona

L

ucas Oil Stadium is a state-of-the-art multipurpose facility, with a retractable roof that can seat over 67,000 fans. Opened in 2008 as the new home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts,

its flexible design can also accommodate NCAA basketball and concerts, among other national and local events.

The seven-level stadium design has embraced audiovisual and digital signage technology since opening its doors.

Located on the north street level of Lucas Oil Stadium lies Lucas Oil Plaza, a public congregation area for events and concessions featuring a multitude of performance motor vehicle exhibits. The plaza’s original digital signage network included 13 single displays and a 16-screen, 4x4 video wall, blending Lucas Oil promotional content with entertainment.

In operation for 10 years, the original audiovisual/digital signage system was implemented in an archaic manner.

Much of the operation was manual and decentralised, using a rack-mounted touch panel to power certain systems on and off, switch video sources and manage other control elements. DVD players and certain displays had to be manually switched on, while a cluster of noisy, powerhungry and heat-producing 4RU servers that fed digital content increasingly began to fail.

The 4x4 video wall also began to prove problematic.

As years progressed, displays began to fail and became increasingly more difficult to source identical replacements. The original NEC 52-inch displays also each featured a 0.75-inch bezel, which equated to a 1.5-inch gap between displays. Increasingly, the wall resembled a checkerboard. As display technology has matured, bezels have grown much less noticeable.

With centralised control, system reliability, and the fan experience all lacking, the decision was made to substantially update the Lucas Oil Stadium network in two phases: first, a new digital signage network deployment; and second, an engaging video wall that would breathe new life into our overall audiovisual operation. In both cases, the new network, comprised of seven motor sportsthemed displays and a more dynamic 16-screen video wall would be more automated, visible, energy-efficient, scalable, and pleasing to the eye.

MIGRATION TO THE NETWORK While the Lucas Oil Plaza signage network has always had a broad footprint, the content has been fairly simple. The previous Dell servers fed PowerPoint slides and content

040

from DVD players and laptops to the various end points.

large as Lucas Oil Plaza is, a system was needed where the

However, the expense of maintaining the original system

venue would be able to achieve greater signal distribution

coupled with its fading reliability clearly pointed to a new

distances, and easily add PoE network repeaters when and

strategy.

where necessary.

The plaza’s existing wired infrastructure was repurposed

Atlona’s OmniStream AV over IP platform proved the ideal

and provided plenty of bandwidth to distribute and control

choice for switching and distribution over the network.

content over IP. This steered the venue toward an AV over

There was an immediate benefit from the integration

IP architecture to support the second-generation digital

perspective: OmniStream worked with the existing wired

signage network, leading Lucas Oil Stadium to Atlona for

infrastructure since as the stadium was equipped with

networked distribution and control; and BrightSign for

twisted pair wiring from the central rack to the various

digital signage content management and playout.

displays. Furthermore, OmniStream could operate with

The IT technicians at the stadium were at home managing

multicast transmission applied to each switch. This would

systems over IP networks. They are far more dynamic and

avoid sending audiovisual traffic to network devices that

flexible than working with legacy circuit-based systems,

did not require it, saving bandwidth and eliminating device

where operation is fairly limited to its original premise

potential lockups due to related network traffic.

at the time of installation. Moving to IP made sense as a

In addition to the single displays, the OmniStream rack

common infrastructure that could scale easily, and support

feeds the plaza’s 4x4 video wall. The video wall’s location

new applications and technologies as our audiovisual

prevented any feasible option to install 16 separate

vision evolves.

twisted-pair runs to the decoders behind each display.

The migration to IP also overcame many potential signal

Instead, the team leveraged a single high-bandwidth

and distance limitations inherent in legacy systems. As

infrastructure and opted for a 10GB copper CAT6a

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THE FULL PITCH

AV • Live Events • Production • Audio • Video • Broadcast

Specialist asset finance for stadiums and sporting venues

backbone from the core switch to all other switches, which further preserves network bandwidth. Having a detailed static IP address allocation for all devices also proved essential to ensure system stability and reliability, avoiding any potential shifting IP addresses or IP conflicts.

From floodlights to pitch-side replay screens to entire stadium fit-outs, we will finance your new equipment

The OmniStream source distribution is comprised of three OMNI-112 dual-channel IP encoders and an OMNI-111 single-channel IP encoder. This is all located in a central equipment rack with the source equipment and two Cisco SG350X-24MPP core network switches. In the plaza, a total of 23 OMNI-121 single-channel IP decoders feed the screens, with one decoder assigned to each display (16 supporting the video wall and seven supporting the exhibit displays). An additional two network switches were added behind the video wall to support the OmniStream decoders and each display’s LAN communication.

To discuss financing your next project, please contact us on 01327 872531 (quote ‘Mondo’) or email sales@media.lease

www.medialease.com

PoE capability allowed the team to centrally manage power to the OmniStream encoders/decoders, and all digital signage content is reliably disseminated with visually lossless video quality, and no noticeable signal latency.

Mondo Stadia half page vertical ad.indd 1

10/04/2019 17:00041

THE FULL PITCH

042

REIMAGINED SIGNAGE

LG 49-inch landscape display was added to a performance

Integration of the exhibit displays and video wall first

motor teardown exhibit.

required a significant teardown phase. Removal of the

On the source end of the digital signage system, the

video wall was itself an enormous task, with each display

latest technology was utilised to improve overall playout.

and mount having a combined weight of roughly 150

BrightSign digital signage has greatly simplified how

pounds, equalling roughly a literal tonne of total weight

Lucas Oil Stadium manages its digital signage content.

removed. The fact that video wall was suspended 20 to 30

Previously, the original audiovisual integrator had to

ft in the air only exasperated the situation.

be involved to facilitate all content changes, but, with

The outer panels of the existing video wall enclosure

BrightSign’s BrightAuthor software, it is now simple

were stripped down to its frame, and a total of eight 16ft

to accommodate changes in house with one person,

sections of horizontal channel strut were added for the

intuitively and on short notice. Importantly, the system

new display mounts to attach to. New CAT6A UTP cabling

‘wakes up’ when the Plaza power is turned on for the

was also pulled to the video wall to provide plenty of

day, with content playout resuming where it left off. This

bandwidth for multiple simultaneous video sources to be

is both a convenience benefit, as well as an efficiency

displayed if desired.

improvement that preserves stadium energy.

Once the exhibits were prepared, the process of installing

The BrightSign XT1144 players used bring similar

the new screens began. The new video wall is comprised

operational benefits. The players are solid-state, which

of 16 LG 55VX1D landscape screens, with Chief ConnexSys

means there is no need to deal with computers and an

mounts supporting the displays - these are precision

operating system to support playout. The standard player

mounts, offering six points of adjustment across height,

configuration loads and loops the content from an SD card,

tilt, depth and lateral movement.

with no concern about computer security, failing hard

The digital signage displays are fashioned as creative

drives or maintaining the OS. The digital signage players

kiosks, with positioning in key traffic areas - some of

are modestly priced enough to allow quick and simple swap

which were repositioned for more visibility to fans.

out at the connection point in the event of a failure.

Two 86-inch LG landscape displays were added to the

Both OmniStream and BrightSign will support 4K content,

restrooms, dual LG 42-inch landscape displays were added

though currently on HD content is distributed - a big step

to two Oil Bottle exhibits, dual Elo 17-inch portrait displays

up from the analogue-only video support of the previous

were added to two antique Gas Pump exhibits, and a single

architecture. The stadium is also capable of injecting

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THE FULL PITCH

live sources into the network for the first time; when

behind the scenes, so it understands how to map outputs

delivered from laptops or plug-in sources, an Atlona HD-

based on drag-and-drop events.

SC-500 three-input scaler upconverts the content. When

Beyond leaving behind the manual control processes of

required, the plaza’s Klipsch pro audio system is utilised

the first-generation system, the remote management

to distribute digital signage audio content via the system’s

features of the new system deliver the greatest operational

analogue audio matrix.

value. Velocity’s user interface is clean and uncluttered, which allows the team to view the system and easily

UPPING THE CONTROL GAME

talk technicians through an operating process or a

The move to centralised control using the Atlona Velocity

troubleshooting issue as needed. To perform a remote

control platform over the network has perhaps been

service, it’s as simple as accessing the menu and

the greatest operational efficiency boost. In addition

configuration on a smartphone.

to eliminating the very manual and siloed approach to

The control requests are processed through the Velocity

control on site, it has liberated the staff through remote

VGW-250 Gateway, which is connected with a rack-mount

control operation. Staff can remotely connect to control

15-inch Elo Touchscreen PC. A customised Elo touchscreen

the system, troubleshoot issues, and update the system’s

is used to operate in kiosk mode and display the Velocity

configuration among other benefits, as well as control

user interface. The UI is web-based and responsive,

the system from smartphones and tablets utilising the

allowing staff to toggle almost any element on and off -

intuitive tap-and-drag UI that Atlona’s Velocity provides.

the benefit is customisation to suit any environment or

Velocity’s web-based configuration software includes

user.

a large number of pre-defined devices in its database

While there are no immediate plans to further expand

- so only one driver needed to be custom configured

the system, Lucas Oil Stadium has the IT network and

for the audio matrix. The system’s event macros also

audiovisual system infrastructure well prepared to

allowed staff to automate many of the processes as the

accommodate future changes. At any rate, moving to AV

configuration progressed. This was achieved via a simple

over IP means the stadium is no longer boxed in by a fixed

pull-down menu, and selecting the event and action to be

switcher and input/output limitations.

performed.

Perhaps the most beneficial aspect was the simple assignment of inputs and outputs for the OmniStream distribution network. Specifically, there were no manual command steps required to map encoder inputs to decoder outputs, which accelerated the video routing configuration process. The programming for this element was automated

BRANDS: Atlona, BrightSign, Cheif | WEBSITES: atlona.com, www.brightsign.biz, www.legrandav.com/products/chief 044

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Atlona Velocity

TM

Control without programming

IP-based

Scalable

Redundant

Intuitive

2003-2018

YEARS OF INNOVATION

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4/15/2019 8:10:06 AM

THE FULL PITCH

SUZHOU OLYMPIC SPORTS CENTER Suzhou, China Images: Electro-Voice / Dynacord

W

ith the development of the knowledge economy, the global competitive landscape of cultural soft power has been formed. As one of the representatives of soft power, sports culture is an important symbol of urban

modernisation and implies the heritage of urban development.

Suzhou Olympic Sports Center, located within the core area of Suzhou Industrial Park, covers an area of about 360,000 sq metres. This new urban landmark integrates sports, fitness, leisure, entertainment and artistic performance.

THE FULL PITCH

048

Suzhou Olympic Sports Center includes a stadium, training

the park opens out to the Xietang River and, along winding

and leisure pool, indoor arena, shopping centre and a wide

pathways, provides various vistas across waterways, the

range of sports facilities for the surrounding residential

architecture and overall landscape.

areas.

For the first time in China, a single-layer cable network

Designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), the project

roof construction has been used to cover the large sports

was influenced by the garden city status of Suzhou,

buildings, offering bold, sweeping paraboloid shells that

which has nine historic gardens that have been awarded

rest on V-shaped supports, which can be seen not just in

UNESCO World Heritage status. The end result has seen

the immediate neighbourhood, but also from further away.

an impressive sports and citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; park created, with

PTFE membrane covers the stadium roof, whereas the

four large buildings among water features and vast green

roofs of both the indoor arena and aquatics centre is

spaces: the 45,000-capacity stadium with a span of

finished with metal sheets that consist of a durable

250-metres, a 3,000-seat aquatics centre, an indoor arena

aluminium / magnesium / manganese alloy.

with 13,000 seats and a shopping centre.

With a hotel, offices and a shopping centre, as well as the

The design of the buildings is minimalist in terms of style,

three sporting venues, the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center

with podiums and the facades featuring horizontal lines

is a popular, lively area - particularly with the park area

in light natural stone and aluminium panels. To the south,

that includes an array of facilities; football pitches, tennis

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

Extraordinary Projects Demand Extraordinary Solutions

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courts, and other ball sports, all of which can be hired

THE SINGLE-LAYER CABLE MEMBRANE STRUCTURE

privately.

Despite the achievement of being the first use in China, the

With such a multifaceted concept, the project has become a

single-layer cable network roof construction also brought

template for the design of other sports facilities in China.

significant challenges to the entire sound reinforcement

The audio at Suzhou Olympic Sports Center’s sporting

system design at the stadium.

venues was provided by Bosch sub-brands - Electro-Voice

The leader of the Project Design Department of Suzhou

and Dynacord.

Olympic Sports Center mentioned: “Generally speaking,

The sound reinforcement system includes the following

most stadiums adopt the steel framed structure. The

Electro-Voice products: 104 EVH weather-resistant

special structure used in this project means that we have

loudspeakers, 70 X2 line array loudspeakers, almost

to use 40 cable heads across the stadium to fasten the

100 TG7 amplifiers integrated RCM28 modules and EV

membrane.”

UW30 underwater loudspeakers. In addition, Dynacord

Due to this unique design, the catwalk is above the

Cobra series loudspeakers provide an excellent audio

membrane and there are no fixed mounting points for

performance for portable use in three venues of the

loudspeaker installation, therefore making the installation

Olympic Sports Center, while Dynacord VL Series

and maintenance very difficult. Furthermore, the swing

loudspeakers deliver exciting music to all the players in the

range of up and down exceeds 1.5-metres. Those increased

skating rink.

the difficulty of whole sound system design.

“After elaborate consideration, Bosch team introduced the

050

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

THE FULL PITCH

installation method of London Bowl. Bosch guys worked

beginning. The central funnel screen is designed according

with specialised designers to make a mounting point on

to the standards of large international events, such as

each tapered end and install a pulley. Then we can use a

NBA. It can offer superb viewing experience for variety

winding engine to lift the loudspeakers, or take down for

shows and exhibitions. In order to provide both visual and

inspection and maintenance. By this way, the challenge of

audio enjoyment, 70 EV X2 new-generation line array

installation was finally conquered,” he also added.

loudspeakers achieve 360º sound coverage for the floor

“In addition to tackling the hanging technical difficulty,

and audience area. This allows the audiences to enjoy clear,

another reason why we choose the single-layer cable

real and exciting sound. During daily use, the audiences on

membrane structured roof is that we hope to make a

site are regularly impressed by the audio quality delivered

breakthrough in the aesthetic appearance of the stadium.

by X2.

EV’s white-coloured EVH weather-resistant loudspeakers perfectly match the cable membrane structure not only

NATATORIUM INTEGRATING SPORTS AND FITNESS

on colour but also on overall environment. What’s more,

In addition to standard competition pools and training

EVH’s audio quality makes sure that every audience at any

pools, the natatorium also provides various spa facilities,

position can hear clear sound and dynamic performance.”

stores selling water sports supplies, children’s amusement

Gymnasium integrating sports and cultural recreation

and leisure equipment for local citizens. The owner also

As a comprehensive venue, this 13,000-seat gymnasium

chose the white EVH loudspeakers below the roof of the

has been designed to serve multiple purposes since very

natatorium, which blended into the decoration of the

051

THE FULL PITCH

venue in terms of appearance and sound clarity.

All audio and control signals within the sports venue

“Considering the needs of diving, as well as training

including stadium, gymnasium, natatorium and ice rink

and performance of synchronised swimming, we have

are transmitted on the basis of OMNEO protocol. The main

also selected EV’s UW30 underwater loudspeakers in

digital signal and redundancy digital signal can be the

the swimming pools, so that people under the water

backup to each other. This ensures smooth, stable signal

could hear the music, as well as the messages through

transmission throughout the sports centre.

microphone sent by people on shore clearly without additional receivers.” said the leader of the Project Design

EV and Dynacord’s total solution on sound reinforcement

Department.

not only addresses the design and application requirement of the sports centre, but also helps boost the robust

COMMERCIAL PLAZA WITH COMPREHENSIVE

development of China’s cultural and sports. The high audio

FUNCTIONS

quality at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center has opened a

The commercial plaza, which is designed with affiliated

new chapter of the development of sports venues in China.

functions including shopping, office and hospitality, supports the three sports buildings and adds the leisure entertainment atmosphere to the entire park. The ice rink in the commercial centre is installed with Dynacord VL series two-way full range loudspeakers to cover every corner in a balanced manner and add more fun to the skaters with beautiful music.

ARCHITECT: gmp | BRANDS: Electro-Voice, Dynacord | WEBSITES: www.gmp-architekten.com, www.electrovoice.com, www.dynacord.com 052

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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.

Contact us, we are happy to answer all your questions: BLV Licht- und Vakuumtechnik GmbH • phone: +49 8094 906-400 • email: sales @blv-licht.de

1968 I 2018

50

www.blv-licht.com

YEARS OF INNOVATION

THE FULL PITCH

SPECIAL OLYMPICS Abu Dhabi, UAE

Images: Special Olympics World Games / Abu Dhabi 2019, Creative Technology and Delta Sound (now part of the PRG)

F

or over 50 years, the Special Olympics organisation has worked tirelessly to provide year-round sports training and competing to men and women with intellectual disabilities

giving them continuing opportunities.

However, the annual competition has come a long way since its early roots back on a Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois back in 1968 and is now a global spectacle. It is now cited as one of the world’s largest humanitarian sporting event and a global movement, which focusses on the empowerment of People of Determination with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport.

This year, following a bidding campaign led by The Crown Prince Court, saw Abu Dhabi successfully be awarded the hosting medal. The Crown Prince Court led the winning bid efforts with a mission to promote positive social change for people with intellectual disabilities and create a more inclusive society. The Crown Prince Court’s bid was very much in line with its mission to promote positive social change for people with intellectual disabilities within the region. In fact, last year H. H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed declared 2019 as the Year of Tolerance, with the hope to be a bridge of communication between people of different cultures in a respectful environment that rejects extremism and emphasises on the acceptance of the other.

For both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the organisers made a temporary home in the city’s Zayed Sports City Stadium. During the opening and closing celebrations, all 7,500 athletes from 190 nations were treated to two lavish performances courtesy of celebrities from around the world, who came to give the audience and athletes a show they would never forget. Performances came from the Global Unified Choir, DJ Paul Oakenfold, Avril Lavigne and Luis Fonsi, to name a few.

LIGHTING & RIGGING Commissioned by People, illuminating the proceedings was eclipse, which provided an impressive array of fixtures throughout the venue for both events. eclipse Staging Services’ Project Manager, Duncan Shortt, spoke about the various challenges that arose in the project: “In terms of challenges, beyond the duration of the build running up to the Opening Ceremony, there was a major overhaul and redesign of the stage and scenic elements prior to the Closing Ceremony.

Collectively, this involved 24-hour work across all departments of the event to facilitate the change around, and allow for the technical creative team to then reprogram and choreograph a spectacle fit to be televised

THE FULL PITCH

on the world stage.”

Duncan gave his final thoughts on the event. He

Designed by dbnAudile’s Lead Lighting Designer, Stephen

commented: “The Special Olympics has been touted as the

Page, the lighting rig for the event consisted of an

single biggest event the UAE has ever hosted, and so to play

impressive array of over 800 lighting fixtures. From the

such a major supporting role in the Opening and Closing

Clay Paky range, there were around 60 Scenius Unicos,

Ceremonies is a great privilege and a very rewarding

100 Mythos 2, as well as Sharpys and Super Sharpys. There

experience. Our crew worked day and night to keep

were also Spots, Profiles and Washes from the Alpha 1500

everything at the highest possible level of production.”

stable.

056

Robe brought a further 80 BMFL Blades and 50 Robin 150

VIDEO

LED Beams with Vari-Lite, Martin by HARMAN and SGM

Creative Technology (CT) worked alongside client People

bringing a further 100 VL3500 Wash FX, MAC Auras and P5

to deliver all live video aspects of both the Opening and

LED Floods respectively, all controlled from a network of

Closing Ceremony for this prestigious and heart-warming

five MA Lighting grandMA2 consoles.

event.

The lighting team comprised around 10 technicians, on

CT supplied a 600 sq metre upstage screen, a total of 270

night and day rotation covering about 18 hours a day on

sq metre relay screens, 580 sq metre LED floor, 90 sq

site to maintain and manage the continuous functionality

metre tracking screen, and 2,500 sq metre of mapped floor

of the lighting rig in quite testing atmospheric conditions

projection using RZ31k Panasonic Laser projectors.

over a six-week period to see things through to the end of

The impressively large 600 sq metre LED screen was

the Closing Ceremony.

placed directly opposite the VIP box where the Crown

For rigging, eclipse’s offerings included the provision

Prince and heads of state sat, and the relay screens were

and installation of the rigging infrastructure for all the

strategically positioned around the arena to ensure all

lighting, audio and video components. In total, it supplied

attendees didn’t miss a thing. The floor LED was integrated

over 120 motors, as well as deploying high-speed winches

into the main stage construction, creating a six-metre

to move LED panels while the main LED screen was built to

wide ‘doughnut’ display area some 32-metres in diameter,

a height of approximately 20-metres. “Health and safety

which was then covered with a white projection material

was of utmost importance,” remarked Duncan. “Ensuring

diffuser.

that the event achieves the highest HSE standards,

Dan Hughes, CT’s Senior Project Manager, explained:

People drafted in the support of Gallowglass to manage

“There was a central circular stage, and outer ring stage

the stadium side work, and Flash Entertainment ran the

which we projected onto and an inner ring of 8mm LED

overall Special Olympics site infrastructure, including a

joined the two surfaces. We used a white diffusion on the

separate set of HSE inductions.”

LED to open up the viewing angle of the screen fully. The

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F1_stadia_ad_Aug2018.pdf

1

02/08/2018

16:57

white diffusion also served to turn the LED screen into

they managed this with their team. The feedback from all

a matching white surface, so it appeared as one full area

involved has been 100% positive, and the live broadcast

instead of a black/negative ring in-between two white

looked fantastic. We are enormously grateful to you for

stages.”

your support, and we look forward to working closely with

A key feature of the opening ceremony production

you again.”

was a 10-metre diameter flying disc, weighing nearly five tonnes, the disc incorporated lighting, pyro and,

SOUND

impressively, a nine-metre diameter LED screen. The disc

Throughout the seven-day event of sporting events, Delta

rose up 30-metre from the stage at the start of the show

Sound was responsible for two main components. The first

and tracked back over the main LED screen, relaying show

was being commissioned by People to provide full audio

content throughout to enhance the floor projections. At

support PA networking and control as well as timecode

the climax of the ceremony, the two torch bearing athletes

distribution for both the opening and closing ceremonies.

travelled on board the disc as it flew back to its centre stage

The second was to provide the audio overlay package for

position.

sporting events specialists Great Big Events.

Tom Stocks, CT’s Senior Video Engineer, went on to say:

For the both opening and closing, Delta supplied an

“For the LED we utilised our new HDMI 2.0 and 12G SDI kit

L-Acoustics K1 over K2 systems in a general L-R hang with

to maintain a fully redundant 4k at 60 4:4:4 uncompressed

outfills all flown from the stadium roof. Commenting on

workflow from the media server to screen. In the field,

the company’s involvements with the event was Delta’s

we had a remote screen management system comprised

Director of Projects, Al Woods. “We used Kara delays flown

of linked Barco E2 and S3s managing all LED scaling and

above the VIP from the stadium roof and ground stacked

mapping.”

K2 delays to cover masking of audio from flown screens

All projection, LED control and image processing was

along with subwoofers and rear fills either side of the stage

integrated on a centralised fully redundant network ring

with SB28’s and K2’s respectively.”

controlled from FOH and utilised CT’s new 1G and 10G fibre

Delta coordinated the full sound design package and

networking solutions.

utilised its DiGiCo stock of SD7s and FOH and a SD11 at

Tom stated: “Our 288 x 288 crosspoint matrix took on all

playback, as well as an SD5 at monitors.

the main feeds and distributed them across the site, and

With only a few suggestion event organisers were happy

our new Lightware 2.0 matrix managed backup feeds.” CT

for Delta to take the lead of the sound design for the

also provided a selection of disguise media servers with

event. Meanwhile away from the stadium, Delta’s overlay

two pairs of 4x4pro (main and understudy) running HDMI

component of the project was spread across 28 venues with

2.0 VFC cards and 3G VFC cards respectively with a further

an army in excess of 40 engineers and technicians working

main and understudy 2x2 running production.”

around the clock to prep, build, manage and de-rig in the

Dan gave his final thoughts from the project: “Both the

venues throughout Abu Dhabi.

opening and closing ceremonies were amazing. Our client,

Delta Sound is now part of the Production Resource Group

People, did a fantastic job bringing this production to

LLC.

life. We want to congratulate all the athletes that have

Following the week of competition in a selection of

participated in the games over the last week. It has been

sports from athletics, badminton, swimming and tennis,

inspirational to watch and a pleasure to have been part of

the event came to a close with all athletes once again

such an uplifting event.”

collecting under the metaphoric roof of the Zayed Sports

Mark Fogwill, Technical Director at People also

City Stadium and entertained by Nicole Scherzinger and

commented: “I would like to thank CT for their support

Keala Settle ended it with a dramatic performance of This

on this very successful project. The screens, projection

is Me from The Greatest Showman. Surely a fitting end

and content management were a massive part of the

to an event that celebrates diversity within the global

ceremonies, and we are all very pleased with the way

community.

BRANDS: Clay Paky, Robe, Vari-Lite, Martin by HARMAN, MA Lighting, Barco, L-Acoustics, DiGiCo | LIGHTING DESIGNER: dbnAudile | SUPPLIERS: eclipse, Creative Technology, Delta Sound | WEBSITES: www.claypaky.it, www.robe.cz, www.martin.com, www.malighting.com, www.barco.com, www.l-acoustics.com, www.digico.biz, www.dbnaudile.co.uk, www.ct-group.com, www.eclipse.ae, www.prg.com/ae/en

058

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THE FULL PITCH

059

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05 VENUE FOCUS

AUDIO

BROADCAST

062 Hangzhou Tennis Center | Hangzhou, China

090 PreZero Arena | Sinsheim, Germany

066 Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, USA

096 Champions Hockey League Final |

Gothenburg, Sweden

072 Panzer Stadium | Pennsylvania, USA

VIDEO

ARCHITECTURE

076 Chinese Super League Round-Up | China

098 American Family Fields Phoenix | Arizona, USA

080 Movistar Arena | Bogota, Colombia

5G STADIUMS

TRUSSING & RIGGING

084 Dacia Arena & Stadio Olimpico | Udine,

Rome, Italy

102 Gerry Weber Stadium | Halle Westfalen, Germany

HANGZHOU OLYMPIC SPORTS CENTER Hangzhou, China

Images: D.A.S. Audio

H

062

angzhou Olympic Sports Center is located

central business district.

in the historic city of Hangzhou, capital

The stadium’s structures were complex and demand for

of the Zhejiang province. Currently under

steel increased by 78% in the last decade alone, as well

construction, the sports centre is preparing to

as the cost, which has sky rocketed 217% since 2007.

host the 2022 Asian Games and will be fully completed in

NBBJ’s designers leveraged advanced parametric scripts

2021.

and modelling techniques to develop and optimise the

While the city centre was historically developed around the

exterior shell of the stadiums at Hangzhou Olympic Sports

West Lake area, opportunities for industry and commerce

Center. The steel shell and concrete bowl systems were

shifted the city’s expansion towards the Qian Tang

coordinated and linked for stability and optimised steel

riverfront. New construction has tripled the city’s size,

use. As the model was parametric, design changes could

creating a modern architectural fabric that is powerful in

be made with an extremely short turnaround, eliminating

scale. Architectural firm NBBJ, in partnership with China

the ‘build, test, discard’ method common in traditional

Construction Design International, designed the sports

modelling.

park on a 400,000 sq metre site, opposite the city’s new

The upper section of the sports centre is shaped by a

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AUDIO

tennis court for finals, which can accommodate 10,000 spectators, two venues for semi-final matches each with 2,000-seats, and a 6,000-seat temporary swimming pool

“D.A.S. Audio’s sound system rose to the occasion, delivering consistent highperformance sound at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.”

constructed on top of the main arena.

Set to become a reference for local and international sporting events, the Tennis Centre’s sound system had to complement the unique and modern design of the facility and ensure safety and reliability. The team at D.A.S. Audio China worked closely with the local engineering contractor to design and complete the installation. In record time, the sound amplification system was set up and adjusted to the highest standards to provide clarity and intelligibility in all of the seating areas.

Providing wide coverage was also essential to enhance the acoustic experience at the Tennis Centre. To this end, the system was precisely distributed throughout the facility on four clusters of two HQ212.95 flown over the east and west spectator stands, 12 clusters of two HQ212.95 flown over the north and south spectator stands, six clusters of two HQ212.95 flown over the main arena, four clusters of four HQ212.64 flown over the VIP spectator area, and two

series of cutaway ovals and houses the stadium and the

Vantec12 as floor monitors in front of the podium.

natorium, while the lower part includes the commercial

The versatility of the Tennis Centre and the unique design

stores and parking lots. The stadium also boasts a

of its roof posed a challenge for the acoustic installation

063

AUDIO

since it was necessary to guarantee wide coverage,

made for weather resistance and extended durability in

consistency and high performance in all the seats. The

extreme environments. In addition, D.A.S. Audioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest

impressive rotary retractable roof formed by eight steel

DX (100I/80I) Series digital amplifier with built-in DSP

petals, which can be opened or closed depending on

processor and Dante transmission protocol were installed

weather conditions, required a weather-resistant audio

to improve reliability and stability.

system to perform to the highest level regardless of the

The sound system was put to the test at the official

position of the roof.

inaugaration of the stadium for the 14th FINA World

For this reason, the HQ Series loudspeakers with IP54

Swimming Championships. D.A.S. Audioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sound

certification were chosen for the installation. The HQ

system rose to the occasion, delivering consistant

Series are specifically designed for medium-to-large-

high-performance sound at the Opening and Closing

size installations, offering tightly controlled coverage

Ceremonies. The system provided wide coverage and

patterns, long-throw and high output capabilities. Besides,

exceptional audio quality.

their cutting-edge interior and exterior coatings are

ARCHITECTS: NBJJ, CCDI | INSTALLER: D.A.S. Audio | BRAND: D.A.S. Audio | WEBSITES: www.nbbj.com, www.ccdi.com, www.dasaudio.com 064

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AUDIO

WELLS FARGO CENTER Philadelphia, USA

Images: L-Acoustics

T

he Wells Fargo Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Philadelphia.

Home to the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), the Philadelphia

Soul (AFL) and the Philadelphia Wings (NLL), The venue was completed in 1996 to replace The Spectrum on the former site of the John F. Kennedy Stadium. At a cost of $210m, the centre was largely privately financed, though the city and state helped to pay for the local infrastructure.

In addition to hosting home games for its residents, the

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068

arena has been the site of a number of other notable

Dallas, Texas.

sporting events including games from the 1997 and 2010

The Philadelphia arena’s new L-Acoustics system is

Stanley Cup Finals, games three, four and five of the 2001

comprised of two flown arrays of 12 K2 three-way, full-

NBA Finals, and various collegiate events for the National

range enclosures covering each long side of the arena,

Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Wells Fargo

plus four arrays of 13 K2 covering the ends and corners.

Center has also hosted two political conventions, the 2000

Six arrays of four K1-SB subwoofers are flown in an

Republican National Convention and 2016 Democratic

end-fire configuration behind each K2 array to support

National Convention, as well as having a regular venue for

low-end impact and offer enhanced LF directivity in the

concerts and WWE events with a seating capacity of 21,000

venue. To further optimise performance, the subwoofers

and at least 21,500 standing.

are precisely spaced and time aligned to maximise both

This year, sports fans enjoyed a significantly enhanced

forward directivity and rear rejection of low frequencies.

experience thanks to $250m in upgrades currently

The lightweight yet incredibly powerful K2/K1-SB system

underway at the arena as part of its ‘Transformation 2020’

solves a major issue that all sports venues face today: the

initiative.

need to provide complete and consistent coverage and high

In addition to setting exceptional standards for the fan

SPL to each and every seat in the house, while at the same

experience, this modern multi-use venue is now served by

time avoiding interference with sightlines to video screens.

future-proofed, expandable AVB networking connectivity

“The L-Acoustics K2 system hit all of the main points for

for the transmission of high-quality audio alongside

this project, like power and coverage, but the decision

system control and monitoring.

was also driven by budget, and L-Acoustics was able to

With new lounges boasting large-format video displays

provide the performance this installation needed within

and other amenities already in place to help get Philly’s

the project’s budget guidelines,” said Justo Gutierrez,

sports fanatics off their couches and back to the arena,

Diversified’s Director of AV and Sound, Sports & Live

the centrepiece of the venue’s renovation so far is its new

Events. “But, just as importantly,” he added: “L-Acoustics

L-Acoustics K2/K1-SB sound system. Designed by global

was also the choice of the exceptionally knowledgeable

technology solutions provider Diversified, headquartered

Wells Fargo Center operations staff.”

in nearby Kenilworth, New Jersey, the system features

In addition to the main line arrays and subwoofers, two

significant input from sports-design consultant

arrays of ARCS WiFo enclosures are hung to provide

Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon and Williams (WJHW) of

coverage across the bowl floor, with each fill array

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AUDIO

composed of one ARCS Wide and three ARCS Focus

when the venue is used for activities beyond sports. The

enclosures. Three more hockey fill sources are used at the

K2 and K1-SB arrays are flown in the arena on motorised

ends of the ice around the dasher boards, each comprising

hoists, and individual groups of speakers can now be

three ARCS Focus.

quickly flown out to the grid or dropped back into play

The full audio system is powered via 37 L-Acoustics LA12X

position to improve sightlines or support various venue

amplified controllers and two LA4X, all integrated using

configurations, unlike the arena’s previous dead-hung

Cisco Catalyst AVB-enabled network switches and the

clusters.

new L-Acoustics Q-SYS control plug-in on an Ethernet-

The choice of the L-Acoustics K2 system furthermore

based network. Arena staff can switch between dedicated

reflects another key trend in the sports venue sector: as

setups for different game days and even trigger emergency

arenas and stadiums are increasingly called on to host

evacuation messages with just the press of a button,

entertainment events, as well as sports, those venues are

courtesy of a customised Q-SYS control interface.

making their audio system choices based on the same

Wells Fargo Center’s AVB digital audio network can

criteria that concert touring does - full-range musicality

transmit high quality audio alongside system control

and clear intelligibility.

and monitoring data, with no dropouts or degradation of

“The L-Acoustics K2 system is truly a concert sound

media - even over long distances. Ease of use is ensured

system, and that’s what venue operators are looking for

via a customised GUI, facilitating the use of the sound

now,” said Justo, who noted that the K1-SB subwoofers

reinforcement system for highly intelligible PA/VA.

have brought exceptionally articulate and powerful

From the start, Diversified and its partners set about

low-end performance to the Wells Fargo Center. “Sports

designing the sound system to both accommodate

are being increasingly regarded as entertainment, and

the current needs of the arena, as well as its future

consumers’ expectations are changing as a result. They

requirements. For instance, plans for a new scoreboard-

want concert-level sound in the stadiums and arenas, and

touted by venue owner Comcast Spectacor as ‘the first-

L-Acoustics is one of a very few brands that can deliver

ever kinetic 4K centre-hung entertainment system’ - have

that experience. Great sound is part of fan engagement,

recently been announced, and the K2 system design and

and L-Acoustics certainly scores big in that regard.”

installation would have to provide for that future addition.

That also applied to the K2 system’s deployment flexibility

DESIGNER & CONSULTANTS: Diversified, WJHW | BRAND: L-Acoustics | WEBSITES: www.l-acoustics.com, www.diversifiedus.com, www.wjhw.com 070

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Rupp Arena â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Lexington, KY, USA

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22/01/2019 09:20:38

AUDIO

PANZER STADIUM Pennsylvania, USA

Images: Clair Solutions

T

he story of the new Penn State Panzer

transform the current facilities into a premier lacrosse

Lacrosse Stadium doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t date back too long,

stadium that would act as a flagship for the entire country.

in fact, only to 2017 when Ken Panzer, a 1982

Further gifts by the Penn State lacrosse alumni and donors

Penn State graduate and former co-captain

totalled US$2m, taking the total to US$5.6m for the

of the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lacrosse team, and his long-time business

construction of the stadium, which was completed by PJ

partner at real estate investment trust company, Douglas

Dick, after design by Moody Nolan and APArchitects.

Emmett, Jordan Kaplan, committed a US$3.55m gift to

The official opening ceremony took place in September

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2018. Now, practice and games for the Penn State men and

Jim’s design gives Panzer Stadium comprehensive

women’s lacrosse teams are very much at home in the new

connectivity via a lot of single-mode fibre, CAT6 data,

multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art facility. Its 1,300

video, and audio. “The cabling itself wasn’t cheap,” Jim

seats are close to the action, and the entire facility is wired

observed. “When you’re buying a lot of wire, well, it is

for modern broadcasting, which will allow Penn State to

what it is.” Wires run from all possible camera positions

host high-profile NCAA and Big Ten championship games.

and then sensibly split or go to the press box and/or the

Pennsylvania-based audiovisual design and integration

broadcast truck pedestal. Since there’s no better time to

firm, Clair Solutions handled the broadcast infrastructure

get the cabling right than during original construction –

and sound reinforcement at Panzer Stadium, earning the

both for near-term needs and long-term growth, the Clair

job based in part on the sensible proposal of Jim Devenney,

Solutions installation team endeavored to provide Penn

Clair Solutions’ Senior Systems Designer and in part on the

State with cabling infrastructure that will serve Panzer

successful completion of numerous other projects at Penn

Stadium season after season after season without so much

State.

as a hiccup.

“We originally got involved because we’ve done a lot of

As per the school’s request, the sound reinforcement

other work at Penn State, including 100,000-plus-seat

system is modest but capable of future growth if needed.

Beaver Stadium,” Jim explained. “The school benefited

A Soundcraft Si Expression 1 console serves as the user

because we’re a one-stop-shop with deep in-house

interface for Penn State’s audio techs and brings together

knowledge about the design and installation of audio and

a bevy of Shure wired and wireless microphones and

broadcast systems. In Clair’s long history, we’ve seen it all.

various playback devices. A BSS Soundweb London BLU-

The decision-makers at Penn State who were responsible

160 DSP system handles input conditioning, routing logic,

for Panzer Stadium’s audio and video systems had a clear

and loudspeaker conditioning and also provides simple,

vision for what they wanted, which gave us a solid, fixed

on-field input and volume control so that the teams can

target to shoot for.” Clair Solutions’ design/build worked

control their own music for practices and warm-ups.

in synergy with the designers and construction company.

Lab.gruppen C-series multi-channel amplifiers power

Jim continued: “Penn State wanted the broadcast cabling

Community R2-series outdoor loudspeakers and JBL

infrastructure in Panzer Stadium to meet the high

Control-series indoor loudspeakers.

expectations of first-rate media outlets like ESPN. When

Thanks to a starting gift from an ex-student and lacrosse

an ESPN crew rolls in, they expect tie-ins for camera

player, students of the future will now benefit from

positions all around the field. They have high production

all of the new facilities, which includes: a videoboard,

values, and they’re every bit as high for lacrosse as they

permanent concessions, accessible bathrooms and a

would be for, say, football or basketball.” Anticipation of

ticket office; the press box above the new seating has full

high-profile media attention is not just wishful thinking

broadcasting capabilities for multiple television and radio

on the part of Penn State; and lacrosse is now a Big Ten

outlets; and a multi-purpose space overlooks the field and

sport, and the Nittany Lions men’s and women’s lacrosse

can be used for a variety of events.

teams are among the best in the nation.

DESIGNERS: Moody Nolan, APArchitects | CONSTRUCTION: PJ Dick | INSTALLER: Clair Solutions | BRANDS: Soundcraft, BSS, Lab.gruppen, JBL, Community | WEBSITES: moodynolan.com, www.aparchitects.com, www.pjdick.com, www.clairsolutions.com, www.soundcraft.com, bssaudio.com, lab.gruppen.com, www.jblpro.com, www.communitypro.com 074

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VIDEO

ABSEN - CHINESE SUPER LEAGUE China

Images: Absen, CSL

B

Back in November 2016, Absen announced

and continues to the winter months.

that they had agreed a deal to become the first

As part of the agreement, Absen supplied LED solutions for

official LED display supplier to the Chinese

a total of 480 games in the 2017/2018 seasons. With such

Super League (CSL).

a successful partnership established, CSL and Absen have

The CSL features the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top 16 domestic football

since signed a supplementary agreement up to 2020.

clubs in a nine-month season, which starts in early spring

Lion Li, Marketing Manager at Absen takes up the story:

078

“Based on the successful cooperation and our commitment

metres of Absen videowalls, both outside and inside of the

to providing the highest level of service in the sector, CSL

stadiums.

and Absen agreed to extend the partnership period from

The LED services provided by Absen to the football league

four to five years.”

include a total of 16 sets of Absen A97 LED perimeter

Under the new five-year agreement, Absen will continue

displays for 16 stadiums across the country, covering LED

to have heightened involvement during the CSL games

display hardware equipment, software and supporting

throughout the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons, further

services.

helping the CSL to promote its brand, particularly when

“Before every match, Absen send around 10 to 20

it comes to creating more return of investment for its

technicians and engineers on-site to install and test

sponsors.

the LED displays for each CSL match,” said Gavin Chen,

For the CSL, Absen provided its flagship product; the A97

Service Manager of Absen Sports. “The live game is so

LED perimeter display. Since its foray in the football world,

important that even a tiny mistake on the displays cannot

before the partnership with CSL, Absen’s A97 product had

be tolerated during the match. Besides the stunning and

already been extensively used in top international football

robust quality, Absen also sends several technicians to

leagues including Eredivisie, Lega Serie A, European Cup,

keep a close eye on the operation of the screen.

German Bundesliga, FIFA World Cup, the French Ligue 1,

“Some of the existing stadiums of CSL are comprehensive

Russian Premier League, Portuguese League, and others.

venues, where the perimeter LED displays need to be

“Absen’s A97 meets FIFA and UEFA’s strict requirements,

installed before the football match and removed after

which fills the blanks of this area in China at that time”

the match. This means there is a significant need for fast

added Li.

installation and to be able to remove the displays quickly.

Absen has extensive experience providing equipment for

The A97 has a systematic solution for this, making them

major sporting events, and football in particular. As the top

the ideal choice.”

Chinese exporter of LED displays for ten consecutive years,

The LED pitch panels in each stadium measure

Absen was heavily represented at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

approximately 96cm high by 128cm wide, with a depth of

in Russia, where the Kazan Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium

just over 16cm. With 204 panels, the overall width of the

and Rostov Arena were all equipped with well over 1,000 sq

super-wide stadium configuration measures more than

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VIDEO

260 metres.

south. Ensuring the displays continue to operate in all

Designed for stadium perimeter applications, the

weather conditions is critical and Absen’s engineers are

European-standard A97 series offers robust reliability,

on hand to ensure the screens continue to perform at peak

excellent image clarity and contrast, brightness and

performance before, during and after the games.

visibility for fans and television viewers with a horizontal

“Additionally, they are safe with regards to the players on

viewing angle of 160 degrees and 125 degrees on the

the pitch, with a top protector, a soft mask and a rubber

vertical plan.

protector at the bottom.”

The LED displays are able to show statistics, graphics and

Shanghai SIPG claimed their first ever CSL crown with a

animations, and sponsorship messages, creating values

2-1 victory over Beijing Renhe FC at Shanghai Stadium

for CSL’s partners and sponsors by engaging the audience

back in November 2018.

with their brands.

According to a recent official news conference, for the

Terry Zhu, Absen’s Product Manager added: “Absen A97’s

season 2018, more than 1.79 million people attended the

features greatly improve the picture definition and visual

first nine rounds of matches, with an average attendance

experience in the stadiums. The 3840 high refresh rate

of 24,900 people, making the CSL the fifth most attended

ensures the picture is clear for the fans in the venue, as

professional football league in the world.

well as those watching on television”.

With 16 stadiums located across China, the physical demands on the displays must also be factored in as temperatures can range from minus 30 degrees with heavy snow, to the hot and humid conditions of the

INSTALLER: Absen | BRAND: Absen | WEBSITE: www.absen.com 079

MOVISTAR ARENA Bogata, Colombia

Images: Gtek

O

080

pened in 1973, Coliseo Cubierto El Campín was

beverages and private events.

an indoor sporting arena located in Bogotá,

Despite the huge changes, 70% of the old Coliseum

Colombia that was well known for hosting

Cubierto El Campín was utilised. With over 500 sq

basketball, concerts and other entertainment.

metres, the site offers support areas, such as backstage,

Recently, in a bid to make the venue one of the largest and

warehouses, control and changing rooms, among others.

the most modern multi-purpose arena in South America,

The seating arrangement throughout Movistar Arena can

the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá and Movistar rebuilt and

be modified and changed between ice rink, basketball

renovated the venue at a cost of nearly $24m.

court, exhibition space, conference venue, private hire

Now, under its new name of Movistar Arena, the Bogotá

venue and concert venue with a riggable footprint of 85

landmark offers the highest architectural and technical

tonnes.

standards, with a totally redesigned space of 37,000 sq

Furthermore, to ensure a smooth and secure flow for each

metres. The arena is now able to host 14,000 spectators

of the events at Movistar Arena, circulation areas with over

for sport, cultural and artistic performances, offering

6,100 sq metres for entrance and exit, corridors, access

VIP rooms, 21 suites, 20 boxes, a party suite, restaurants,

points, waiting areas and exclusive rows for each sector of

offices, lounges, car park and other areas for food,

the arena have been modernised in innovative ways.

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VIDEO

As part of the revamp at Movistar Arena, the technical plans included an outdoor, large format LED display as part of the venue’s stunning façade - an indispensable part of the upgrades.

To assist with the new LED display, Movistar Arena enlisted the help of Gtek, a leader in LED video solutions

“The requirements from Movistar Arena were strict on product quality and supplier qualification, with the LED display needing to be 200 sq metres in size.”

based in China, with offices in Germany, Japan, Mexico, UK and USA. With 27 years of experience in delivering landmark LED display projects, Gtek was seen as the perfect partner to work on the project.

The requirements from Movistar Arena were strict on product quality and supplier qualification, with the LED display needing to be 200 sq metres in size - offering the chance for the arena to promote upcoming events and advertising.

For the new display, Gtek suggested the adoption of its innovative product, the Bri-Curtain H Series - H10TC, which has a 10mm pixel pitch, with an aluminium structure specifically designed for self heat dissipation.

The Bri-Curtain series is 65% lighter than conventional cabinet-based LED displays. It is low-energy (fanless), too, helping significantly save on operating costs – responding to the government’s calls to save on energy and emission reduction.

With the Bri-Curtain Series being lightweight and thin,

081

VIDEO

with a simple structure and high stability – as well as front

further enhancing the incredible exterior of the venue. The

and rear maintenance – it is ideal to work with on large

scene as you approach the Movistar Arena is genuinely

projects such as the Movistar Arena.

breathtaking in terms of design – and the dominant LED

On the basis of unique structure design, the installation

display is a huge part of that.

mode of Bri-Curtain is very flexible, including hanging,

The Movistar Arena is of vital importance to Bogotá,

stacking and bracket fixed pressing plate installation.

allowing the city to further consolidate its position as a

Importantly for this particular project, the Bri-Curtain

place that can welcome international sports, concerts

Series has an IP65 rating, with an anti-dust, anti-moisture

and events on a regular basis. It has become one of the

and anti-corrosion performance, making it extremely

most important venues in Latin America – contributing

weather resistant and perfect for long-term outdoor use.

to the growth of the cultural experience in the region and

Officially opening back in October 2018, Gtek’s Bri-Curtain

country.

Series has offered a hugely impressive performance,

INSTALLER: Gtek | BRAND: Gtek | WEBSITE: www.gtek.aoto.com 082

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Stream broadcast quality live events instantly over the internet with ATEM Television Studio HD and Blackmagic Web Presenter!

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18/1/19 4:37 pm

5G STADIUMS

DACIA ARENA | STADIO OLIMPICO Udine | Rome, Italy

Images: Udinese Calcio

T

he introduction of 5G in stadiums and sporting

ranging and consistently developing, meaning that clubs

venues will revolutionise the fan experience,

and organisations are looking into the possibility of

from the interaction with the game itself

upgrading their venues with a view of what is to come in

through live VR to ordering half-time food

the near future.

directly to their seats. The capabilities are vast, wide

JMA Wireless, a global leader of wireless technology

5G STADIUMS

086

systems, have been laying the groundwork for an exciting,

stadium design. XRAN is a virtualised baseband solution

new, 5G digital experience for fans with their work in Italy

that allows extreme savings in OPEX with significant

at both the Dacia Arena and Stadio Olimpico.

reductions of power, footprint, and cooling required

Dacia Arena, the home of Serie A club, Udinese, opened in

to provide high performance and capacity at crowded

1976; however, a huge redevelopment was completed in

locations, while maintaining full mobility.

2016, which became the modern venue that we see today.

“Thanks to those key features, it’s the ideal solution

Continuing this modernisation, Infrastructure Wireless

for densification, while also allowing easy plug-in edge

Italian, S.p.A. (INWIT), the leader in wireless managed

computing and Internet of Things.”

infrastructure and services across Italy, commissioned

“XRAN fits perfectly our Neutral Host DNA, as provider of

the installation of JMA Wireless’ XRAN virtualised RAN

multi-operator and multiband solutions,” said Giovanni

software connected to a high-capacity indoor coverage

Ferigo, CEO at INWIT. “Never before has the wireless

system based on JMA TEKO DAS (Distributed Antenna

industry had such a breakthrough that enables this level

System), to offer high quality voice and data connection.

of network efficiency and agility to adapt to fast changing

The solution marks the emergence of true all-software

demands. XRAN changes everything.”

RAN technology, empowering a radically new approach

The demand for connectivity during matches at Dacia

in large venues, delivering on significant efficiencies,

Arena is ever increasing and, with this system in place, it

and enabling flexibility to deliver new capabilities faster

has brought the fans significant new capacity.

than ever before. Moreover, it earmarks the shift toward

“Cost, simplicity, footprint, power, and cooling changes

managed service providers like INWIT, who provide the

dramatically with XRAN,” said Remo Ricci, President of

ability to operate edge network elements such as vRAN

TEKO Systems at JMA Wireless. “XRAN was designed from

(virtualised radio access networks) in collaboration with

its inception to close the gap between rapidly growing

mobile operators.

in-building mobile connectivity demands and today’s

Andrea Casini, Senior Vice President, International

complex, proprietary hardware solutions that were unable

Business, at JMA Wireless, takes up the story: “At Dacia

to evolve and adapt for multi-operator services.”

Arena, the club wanted a solution aligned with the new

The selection of XRAN for Dacia Arena further

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5G STADIUMS

demonstrates to the world what the evolution to

75%. XRAN’s programmability as software means it can

software RAN can deliver. XRAN provides significant cost

easily be configured as needed for different venues. Stadio

efficiencies by utilising standard commercial servers,

Olimpico utilises two commercial LTE bands in 1800 and

digital fiber connectivity, and tools that streamline

2600 MHz to enable mobile 4G for fans.”

operations.

Through the virtualisation of the access network, Stadio

At Stadio Olimpico, the historic home of Roma and Lazio,

Olimpico has continued the evolution toward 5G by

in response to the growing demand for greater connectivity

ensuring efficiency and flexibility as it provides new

- and to guarantee a high-end digital experience for

digital services. Real-time products like 360° HD video

visiting fans – Telecom Italia (TIM) has premiered 4.5G

increase dynamic interaction between spectators and the

capacity using JMA’s XRAN virtualized RAN platform.

environment, ensuring maximum navigation performance

“The live XRAN network at Stadio Olimpico, deployed on

within apps and social tools as thousands of mobile users

a multi-operator JMA Wireless TEKO DAS, is designed to

all communicate at once.

optimise the mobile experience for more than 70,000 fans,

“We are very satisfied with the transformation of stadium

but it must also be feature-rich enough for transparent

capacity with the XRAN solution and the benefits we

hand-off to 2G, 3G, and 4G cells surrounding the

have been able to experience in the field,” said Domenico

stadium,” explained Andrea.

Angelicone, TIM’s Head of Access Network Technology.

“As part of the XRAN deployment, Telecom Italia

“This is another important milestone in the process of

expanded the capacity of the system by nearly double for a

transforming our evolution toward 5G through virtualised

significantly improved customer experience, yet the head-

software solutions. The ability to manage and reduce

end footprint required to accomplish this shrunk by about

complexity improves customer value and network quality

087

5G STADIUMS

in an economically efficient way, paving the way for the

the radio design, the better the user experience.

new 5G digital services, such as immersive and virtual

“These are the first two large stadium networks

reality services.”

transformed by XRAN and integrated into the TIM live

Andrea added: “The proximity of XRAN servers to the area

network further demonstrating that XRAN software

of service guarantees minimum latency and best-in-class

technology is ready for expansion and offers huge benefits

throughput. Using 3CA and MIMO2, we have proven >1GB/s

to network operators, in terms of operational savings, and

on standard UE. The 5G migration will be extremely easy,

to their customers, in terms of improving the signal quality

thanks to the pure software upgrade with the ability to

they enjoy.”

add/replace software packages as technology evolves.

“A stadium design process is very complex. The radio propagation environment needs to be simulated along with the density of users and the physical options/constraints for antennas and equipment installation.

“The venue needs to be ‘sliced’ into sectors, each sector covering approximately 2000 seats, depending on the desired performance. The in-building area involves additional sectors. Each sector requires dedicated antennas, equipment, and network resources. The better

SYSTEM INTEGRATOR: Infrastructure Wireless Italian | BRAND: JMA Wireless | WEBSITE: www.jmawireless.com 088

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F RANKF U RT 2020

OR LAND O 2 019

A MS T E R DA M 2 0 2 0

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PREZERO ARENA Sinsheim, Germany

Images: Blackmagic Design

A

third place finish in last season’s Bundesliga secured TSG 1899 Hoffenheim an automatic, first-time qualification for the UEFA Champions League 2018-19. Prompted by

this new journey, the production team at TSG wanted to overhaul its existing SD infrastructure, and improve its streaming platform, TSG.TV. Enlisting the help of production partner GBMS GmbH, the club’s new workflow was developed around the ATEM

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4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K and a pair of ATEM 1 M/E

affords far greater flexibility, as external events and

Advanced Panels, used in tandem to produce multiple

corporate clients can now come in and make use of the

live program mixes simultaneously. As well as big screen

stadium’s in house video resources. “We added an extra

coverage for spectators in the PreZero Arena, the program

edit seat to accommodate a larger team, but the technical

mixes include behind the scenes infotainment, statistics

specification of the workflow means TSG is fully prepared

and graphics, which are distributed to LED screens

for any event requirements,” explained Frank Briel,

throughout the public areas and to the business club.

General Manager of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

According to Maurice Gundt at GBMS: “Whatever we

“We have been really impressed with the quality of content

implemented for TSG had to streamline and simplify its

production that can be achieved with the solution, not only

video workflows while improving handling for higher

within the stadium but also out on the road,” Briel Holger

resolution formats and general system usability. That

Kliem, Head of Media and PR at TSG said. “Wherever we

meant a complete modernisation of the club’s existing

are in the world, we can be assured of consistent and high

infrastructure. From a technical and financial standpoint,

quality production capabilities, thanks to Blackmagic

Blackmagic Design was the obvious choice.”

Design, which our fans across the world can immediately

There are always external broadcasters present at the

access.”

stadium on match day, so TSG wanted to have a system

To further enhance its fan experience, TSG 1899

in place that could match that level of broadcast quality.

Hoffenheim has also deployed an Exterity IP video system

Maurice added: “A series of Mini Converter Optical Fibre

to deliver live TV and video to its VIP lounges and boxes.

12G allows TSG to take a clean feed from those external

Exterity AvediaStream TV gateways deliver live digital TV,

broadcasters, and seamlessly work those pictures into the

while AvediaStream e3655 and e3635 encoders stream

club’s own production mix.”

Fan-TV from the stadium and live events from VIP areas

GMBS has also developed a small portable production

to AvediaPlayer Receiver set-top boxes connected to every

unit (PPU) for the club, featuring an ATEM Television

screen in VIP lounges and boxes.

Studio HD, HyperDeck Studio Mini and Blackmagic Web

An Exterity AvediaStream r9350 Reciever has also been

Presenter, to cover away matches, press conferences,

installed to take the IP video streams and contribute

training updates and information, by sending feeds

them directly into the SDI broadcast environment. The

via Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) to Facebook and

entire system is managed centrally via the AvediaServer

YouTube simultaneously.

management platform.

The 4K solution now in place at TSG’s PreZero Arena

“TSG 1899 Hoffenheim wanted an in-stadium experience

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to match the high-quality football being played on the

the entire process, which means we can easily deliver the

pitch,” said Colin Farquhar, CEO of Exterity. “Video

right content to the right screen. Our VIP guests can take

is playing a fundamental role in transforming the fan

an active part in the action - and for sports fans, there’s

experience during live events, and we are delighted that

nothing like the match day experience.”

our IP video solution will deliver high-quality video streaming to many football fans.”

Deployed by systems integrator Schweuckert Netzwerktechnik, the Exterity IP video system also enables in-house distribution of content such as press conference materials and interviews from its arena sport studio. VIP’s and corporate guests also benefit from the Exterity system, which delivers welcome messages on screens in the VIP reception area, as well as full presentations and agendas from both internal and external events hosted in the arena.

Joachim Bohn, Facility Manager at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim commented: “By deploying the Exterity IP video system, we are able to seamlessly stream high-quality video content to all screens in our VIP areas. A key benefit of the Exterity system is that it enables us to centrally manage

INSTALLER: GMBS, Netzwerktechnik | BRANDS: Blackmagic Design, Exterity | WEBSITES: www.blackmagicdesign.com, www.exterity.com, www.gbms.de, www.elektronik-kompendium.de 094

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CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE FINAL Gothenburg, Sweden Images: IMT Visilink

W

hen the puck dropped on the Champions

or glass-cam solution. Quickly installed and remote

Hockey League final last month, IMT Vislink

controllable within two-mile distance, the Refcam

and Movicom teamed up to provide a compact

provides a unique visual experience that brings viewers

referee camera solution that gave ice-level

closer to the action.

points-of-view during the game between the Frolunda

“Our wireless technology is ideal for integration in

Indians and Red Bull Munich at the Scandinavium Arena in

innovative bodyworn solutions such as the Movicom

Gothenburg, Sweden. The Movicom Refcam system used

Refcam,” said John Payne, President and COO of Vislink

for this event included a mini-camera, specially designed

Technologies. “We are committed to delivering systems

camera mount, IMTDragonFly wireless camera transmitter

that help put audiences at the heart of the action as it

and the Vislink 2 input H.264 receiver with Fanbeam

happens, allowing them to engage with their favorite

antennas to deliver solid coverage throughout the arena.

sports in unprecedented ways.”

Throughout the game, cameras were remotely controlled

The IMTDragonFly Transmitter is a miniature wireless

by RCP from the OB van using Movicom’s proprietary

video transmission system designed to capture real-

wireless telemetry channel. “Bringing the audience closer,

time, high-quality video from UAV/UGV/Body Cams/

helping them stay connected to the action and providing

Concealments for display on fixed or mobile receive

an ‘inside experience’ is one of the most thrilling aspects

applications. The transmitter features HD/SD-SDI or

of today’s sports broadcasting,” said Victor Pakhomov,

optional HDMI inputs with COFDM transmission in a

CEO, Movicom. “Through our productive cooperation with

small, lightweight chassis. The IMTDragonFly delivers

Vislink, we are proud to help broadcasters meet these goals

up to 50mW of power in a package weighing less than

and enhance their production.”

1.2oz/34g, providing long-range, reliable HD video

The lightweight kit (only 7oz/190g) can be neatly and

transmission.

easily attached to referees’ personal helmets, without wires, thereby eliminating any discomfort for the user. It can be mounted on most any helmet, including hockey, horseracing and American football. This POV system also bears the possibilities of being arranged as a chest-

BRANDS: Movicom, IMT Vislink | WEBSITES: www.movicom.tv, imt-solutions.com 097

ARCHITECTURE

AMERICAN FAMILY FIELDS OF PHOENIX Phoenix, USA

Images: Mortenson

T

he Milwaukee Brewers headed into spring

surpassed by other training camps in terms of facilities,

training following the team’s highly

for both fans and players. This meant that a significant

successful 2018 campaign, including 96 wins

renovation was needed, with the Brewers involving the

on their way to becoming National League

community, pitching the revamp as an investment and

Central Division Champions - and just one game shy of a

bringing in the Grand Canyon University as partners.

World Series berth. It’s that kind of playoff run - the first

HKS Architects and contractor, Mortenson, were enlisted

for the Brewers since 2011 - that leaves a club itching to get

to help with the project. Fred Ortiz, Principal and Design

back to baseball. With that in mind, the Brewers and their

Director at HKS, takes up the story: “HKS’ relationship

fans will welcome the 2019 season in a new spring home -

the Brewers had already existed as we were part of the

the recently-renovated American Family Fields of Phoenix.

architectural design team, including Eppstein Uhen

After years of examining options for a new or renovated

Architects and Clark Construction, for Miller Park;

facility elsewhere in the Valley of the Sun, Brewers

completed in 2001.

ownership decided instead to revamp Maryvale Baseball

“However, when it came time to respond to the RFP for

Park - the only spring training facility in Phoenix that

their Spring Training facility, we competed and did not

opened in 1998. However, since then, the venue had been

win the project. As they moved forward with another team

100

and the programming phase progressed, the client came

allowing the players to practice on a field that mirrors the

back to HKS and we had to move at a fast pace - tasked at

feel and dimensions of their regular season home.

completing the project in 330 days.

Other upgrades to the venue include new player

“The client wanted to create a ‘Brewers’ Haven’ to

clubhouses, executive offices and many fan-centric

enhance the fans’ connectivity to the Spring Training

features: a more welcoming main gate entrance to the

experience. Everything that is special about the Milwaukee

park, fixed seating to replace metal bench seating, widened

Brewers, from regional food and beverage offerings to the

concourses, a flagship retail store and practice diamonds

Famous Racing Sausages, are all part of the lore and Spring

designed so fans can watch their favourite players in an

Training experience that will resonate with the team

up-close and intimate setting.

culture. Bringing the past along to the present instils pride

With such a wide range of upgrades and renovations,

and is all part of the fun.”

there was plenty to consider for HKS and the rest of the

The facility has kept the best parts of the complex,

team working on the project, as Fred explained: “From a

such as the trellised seating bowl and expansive berm,

design perspective, the facility had to be highly functional

with expansions taking place on the workout areas and

and provide ease of access for players to move within the

clubhouses, while adding a performance centre and larger

grounds. There are a lot of variables and all must allow

team offices.

for ease of flow – for fans, players, everyone. For Spring

The work at American Family Fields of Phoenix by HKS and

Training facilities specifically, the key is to retain the

Mortenson included:

intimate experience that draws fans to Spring Training

• The new 106,298 gross sq ft clubhouse, including baseball

while integrating every modern amenity. Allowing for

operations, sports medicine and psychology and executive

state-of-the-art amenities maximises the accessibility,

office spaces.

comfort and enjoyment of both the fans and the players

• Baseball operational facilities doubling in size:

that are preparing for the 162-game regular season.

previously, Major and Minor League buildings were

“Sports and entertainment venues have to function from

separate; now, the 82,000 sq ft expansion combines Major

inside and out. There are many essential components

and Minor League operations under one roof.

that we have to consider such as field dimensions seating

• Sports medicine and psychology spaces, and executive

capacity, team amenities - lockers, coaches offices,

offices total 24,000 gross sq ft.

weight room and so on. We have to look at the concourses,

• Additionally, visitor and commissary spaces total: 6,606

whether or not it will have premium offerings, concessions

gross sq ft.

and the distance of the everything. Access ways and

• The third base concourse has been replaced with new

gateways into the stadium are important as are the

ticketing, fan concessions, back-of-house offices and

parking, local transportation and tailgating experience.

restrooms.

The local community were very much involved with the

• A new player agility field, as well as an expansion of one

project - and that is something that HKS put a lot of focus

of the half-fields into a full-size replica of Miller Park,

on in terms of activating the surrounding and offering a

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ARCHITECTURE

more public presence.

immediate with the sound of pitchers/catchers being right

“Community impact is critical and is always taken into

there - hearing the sound of the ball.”

consideration for our projects,” Fred explained. “The

The project wasn’t without complications, with an

new Brewers facility has gathering spaces including a

extremely tight construction schedule to deliver the

learning lounge where free tutoring will be offered to

complex design programme that fulfilled the Brewers’

neighbourhood students via a partnership between the

three key project goals: develop a world-class facility for

Brewers and Grand Canyon University. We also made sure

Spring Training and year-round player development;

the signage played a role in the fan experience – a great

create a markedly improved fan experience; and make an

example of this are the numbers of historic ballplayers in

impactful investment in the community.

the area.”

“The short time frame of 10 months was definitely a

Another aspect that was crucial for the American Family

challenge,” admitted Fred. “Working in tandem with

Fields of Phoenix was the experience of the fans visiting

Mortenson, the contractor, we were able to minimise any

and how the venue can keep them engaged. This begins

challenges. All design partners kept the bigger vision of a

with a more-inviting entry plaza that welcomes fans – this

Brewers Haven in the forefront of our minds.”

features the primary ticket office and gates to the stadium.

The final result has been a huge success, with the Brewers

Most fans enter through this new plaza, with the east side

and their fans enjoying an exceptional facility with a

of the plaza area featuring a welcoming lobby entrance to

significant impact on all the key areas expressed in the

the new clubhouse building. Also, fans can access the new

initial brief. A commemoration ceremony was held at

retail store from outside the home plate gate during non-

American Family Fields of Phoenix on 12 February, with

game times.

the gates opening to fans for the inaugural game on 26

“Fixed seating has replaced metal bench seating, widened

February.

concourses, a flagship retail store and practice diamonds

“This project is an example of how the experience of

that are tailor made for the ultimate spring training

Spring Training visits are being transformed and it can

experience: fans can watch their favourite players in an

be done for existing facilities, not just new builds,” added

up-close and intimate setting,” said Fred.

Fred. “Renovations can be impactful. It’s important to look

“New landscaping and associated irrigation are featured

at the cost-benefit and determine how it can be redefined.

throughout the complex. New planting materials provide

That is the value proposition that HKS brings to the table.

improved aesthetics, helping define circulation paths and

“The feedback has been great and at an appreciation night

fan use areas.

with the owners and sponsors, we were told that the work

“We also minimised the sense of distance of travel by way

of all design partners exceeded their expectations.”

of the training components. The connected experience is

ARCHITECT: HKS Architects | CONTRACTOR: Mortenson | WEBSITES: www.hksinc.com, www.mortenson.com 101

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TRUSSING & RIGGING

GERRY WEBER STADIUM Halle Westfalen, Germany

Images: Prolyte

L

ocated in Halle Westfalen, Germany, Gerry

The two sections of Prolyte Mammoth truss are both

Weber Stadium is primarily known as a tennis

suspended at each end and attached to the roof structure

arena, with the only German ATP lawn tennis

without impairing the function of the slidable roof. “The

tournament, the Gerry Weber Ope, taking

advantage of this solution is that you can easily check

place there each summer. Other sporting events do take

all load profiles over and over again”, explained Jens

place there, too, including the Davis Cup home matches,

Kannacher of Cast. “When using another crossbeam,

handball major events, ice skating shows and the German

significantly more suspension points or counterweights

Volleyball Cup finals.

would need to be installed. Thanks to the Prolyte

The venue is actually a multipurpose arena with a

Mammoth truss, we only have to manage two points. At

capacity of 11,500, and it has a retractable roof, which

the top, other trusses can be placed, which allows a free

weather-proofs the pitch, as well as enabling the venue to

choice of the distance between individual suspension

accommodate larger tour productions, too. In recent years,

points. “

artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Lionel

Stadium Manager, Torben Griese added: “We can hang

Richie, Eros Ramazzotti, Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, Peter

15 tonnes of extra load in the front-stage area via the two

Maffay and Elton John have graced the stage.

pre-rigging routes.”

Underneath this sliding roof, trussing manufacturer

The installation was premiered at the end of September

Prolyte, together with its German distribution partner,

2018 during the tour production, Andreas Gabalier. “We

Cast have installed Mammoth truss to enable heavy-duty

were already able to successfully hold numerous tour

lifting points under the slidable roof. After planning, Cast

premieres and kick-off concerts, with the implementation

Managing Directors, Ralf Weber and Alexander Hardieck,

of this project, a progressive investment has been made in

decided to install two flexible heavy-duty truss lines as

the Gerry Weber Stadium,” concluded Torben.

an additional pre-rig to enable further central suspension points. The design includes 77-metres long Prolyte Mammoth M145RV truss, which is considered one of the largest aluminium truss ever made.

INSTALLER: Cast | BRAND: Prolyte | WEBSITES: www.castinfo.de, www.prolyte.com 103

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SPORTS VENUES. SOPHISTICATED. To enhance the fan experience, stadiums and arenas are turning to AV technology to get people off the couch and into the seats. The result? An inclusive, interactive experience that puts fans at the center of the action. Find the technology you need to build a better sports venue experience at InfoComm.

Learn more about the power of integrated AV experiences in sports venues at infocommshow.org.

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PRODUCT FOCUS

EVENT DIARY

108 Chief

113 Conferences & Exhibitions

110 VITEC

112 Spidercam

FULL TIME 114 Waring Hayes, XTA Electronics | MC² Audio

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Chief | TiLED Series hief, an industry leader in audiovisual mounting solutions, has expanded its award-winning TiLED LED Video Wall Mounting System to include the Samsung IFH Series, the Absen Acclaim Series and the Unilumin UpanelS Series.

Chief’s latest design for digital signage solutions, the TiLED Series, is a modular, LED mounting system to support creative video wall configurations. The system can include any of three mounts that support LED displays and connect together to form a seamless video wall.

“As creative as you are with the content, you can be as creative with the supporting structure as well,” said Robert de Jong, Director Product Management for EMEA. “We want to support audiovisual companies by providing the unique experiences that make them shine.”

C

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Integrated plumb adjustment of up to 25mm helps to compensate for imperfections in the wall, keeping everything flat. Offset mounting slots allow for easy installation and protect LEDs from the damaging friction that can occur when display edges rub together. A secure adjustment screw gently nudges displays together and keeps them in place.

Chief’s TiLED Series maintains a low profile to enhance the sleek aesthetics of LED displays. The total depth, including display, ranges from 88-123mm, depending on the amount of plumb adjustment needed. Check with each mount for specific depth ranges for that system. www.legrandav.com

Chief’s new TiLED LED video wall mounting system is suitable for the Samsung IFH Series, the Absen Acclaim Series and the Unilumin UpanelS Series.

Introducing the XQ-series subwoofers

XQ-subwoofers are designed to give the biggest punch from the smallest footprint in space limited installations!

Hall 8.0 stand F85 Frankfurt am Main 2-5.4.2019 Live Demos at Concert Sound Arena

www.auraaudio.fi

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VITEC | MGES-7000 4K/UHD/HD HEVC and H.264 ITEC has announced the new MGES-7000 4K/ UHD/HD HEVC and H.264 eight-input IPTV encoding blade. Setting a new benchmark in processing density, the MGES-7000 offers real-time hardware encoding of four 4Kp60 or eight 3G/HD/ SD input ports for live sources of SDI, HDMI, or IP (SMPTE ST 2110) video with advanced features such as secondary channel, integrated resolution and frame-rate scaling, AES 256/128-bit encryption, and low latency mode.

“The streaming landscape has become incredibly diverse, which demands powerful, high-input solutions with the agility to support multiple channels of both HEVC and H.264 with broadcast quality and ultra-low latency across any network infrastructure,” said David Ben-Atar, Product Manager, Streaming and Delivery Products, VITEC. “The MGES-7000 is the first encoding solution with the input availability to fully support these applications.”

Featuring the highest density available on the market, the MGES-7000 4K/UHD/HD HEVC and H.264 IPTV encoding blade is the industry’s premier encoder for input flexibility.

With the increased density of blade-server configurations, it is an ideal multichannel blade encoder for a variety of applications - including in-house broadcast; real-time highquality sport events; low-delay encrypted FMV distribution - and any installation with high-quality, low-latency IPTV distribution demands or that require support for legacy

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H.264 players as well as new, cutting-edge 4K HEVC endpoints. In addition, it is a future-proof encoder solution that meets the current IPTV demands of H.264 and HD encoding while its advanced capabilities of HEVC, 4K\UHD, and HDR allows for technological growth and supports market trends.

Using hardware-based encoding chips supporting 4:2:2/4:2:0 10-bit and 8-bit H.264 and HEVC codecs, it can support any application demand while providing benefits such as support for secondary video streams up to 1080p60 for each input.

All streams can be managed with an easily configured web UI. When coupled with VITEC’s Media Gateway MGW family of carrier-grade IPTV platforms, IPTV providers can serve up to 208 IPTV streams from the MGW 5100 (10RU), up to 96 IPTV streams from the MGW 1100 (4RU), and up to 16 IPTV streams from the MGW 1000 (1RU). VITEC’s Smoothing™ algorithm guarantees low jitter for flawless IP over any LAN or WAN network. In addition, it is fully supported by the VITEC Cluster Manager (CM) System, which provides global system monitoring and control, as well as automated N+K redundancy to ensure high availability operation for even the most critical use cases. www.vitec.com

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Spidercam | spidercam field + pidercam is an Austrian based cable camera system developer and rental house with subsidiaries and partners across the world, including a presence in Charlotte, North Carolina. The namesake spidercam systems consist of winches, that via catenary cables move a camera transport platform, or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;dollyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, over a three-dimensional area. While there have been many minor updates to the systems over the years, Spidercam has recently released its new spidercam field + and launched it across the globe. Despite few visual changes to the system itself, the field + has undergone some major upgrades.

The most notable change is that the camera systems now sport a fully stabilised 3D-remote head, a Newton by Intuitive Aerial. Newton remote heads are used widely across the broadcast sector and are generally well received due to their small frame and high reliability. By adding this feature, the spidercam field + is able to further reduce camera shaking during movements and enjoys increased overall picture stability.

Besides the corresponding camera control console by Intuitive

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Aerial, named Dominion, the new spidercam field + systems also boast completely reworked digital consoles for the pilot (the crewmember steering the dolly). In addition to an integrated touchscreen the new consoles implement the motion playback feature, allowing moves to be recorded and played back later. This makes it possible to not only rehearse camera moves with the director, but recreate them with absolute accuracy for the live event.

Another feature that is possible with spidercam field + is Augmented Reality (AR) support. By interconnecting the camera feed with a graphics engine it is possible to augment the actual picture with virtual objects that seem to be part of reality. In order to correctly calculate the virtual objects (and how they change when the camera is moving) the exact position and facing of the camera is needed. The new spidercam field + system provides this hardware tracking, and directors can add graphics - like player cards - directly to the picture. spidercam.tv

EVENT DIARY 2019

World Football Summit Asia 29th - 30th April, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia asia.worldfootballsummit.com

ALSD Conference & Tradeshow 30th June - 3rd July, Chicago, USA www.alsd.com

ALSD International 28th - 29th October, Dublin, Ireland www.alsdinternational.com

Sports Decision Makers Summit 6th - 7th May, Miami, USA www.sportsdecisionmakers.com

Sports Decision Makers Summit 9th - 10th July, London, England www.sportsdecisionmakers.com

FSB 5th - 8th November, Cologne, Germany www.alsdinternational.com

Coliseum Summit US 9th - 10th May, Detroit, USA www.coliseum-online.com

IBC 12th - 17th September, Amsterdam, Netherlands www.ibc.org

The Stadium Business Design & Development Summit 25th - 27th November, London, England www.stadiumdesignsummit.com

World Stadium Congress 20th - 22nd May, Amsterdam, Netherlands www.worldstadiumcongress.iqpc.ae The Stadium Business Summit 4th - 5th June, Manchester, England www.stadiumbusinesssummit.com InfoComm 8th-14th June, Orlando, USA www.infocomm.org Major Events Summit 26th - 27th June, Birmingham, England www.majoreventsinternational.com

PLASA 15th - 17th September, London, England www.plasashow.com Coliseum Summit MENA September, Yas Island, UAE www.coliseum-online.com World Football Summit 24th - 25th September, Madrid, Spain www.worldfootballsummit.com SPORTELMonaco 21st - 23rd October, Monaco, France www.sportelmonaco.com

05 FULL TIME

Who? Waring Hayes Job title?

Technical Brand Manager, XTA Electronics | MC² Audio Favourite stadium or sporting venue?

Volgograd Arena Why? I would have gone local and said Holywood Rugby Club outside Belfast, but recently Volgograd has knocked them off the top spot - mainly due to the massive amp install we did there. Rugby is in my family and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll kill me for choosing a football stadium!

Life motto?

Better to make the wrong decision than no decision at all.

Future-Proof Technologies / Reliable Solutions / Safe Investment /

THE ONLY INTERCOM THAT... talks all audio standards including AES67 SMPTE2110-30/31

THAT...

THAT...

THAT...

supports the SMARTPANEL concept

integrates BOLERO, the state-of-the-art wireless intercom

loads a full conďŹ guration in less than 3 seconds www.riedel.net