mondo | stadia - Issue 11

PUSKÁS ARENA

AVIVA STADIUM

JULIAN TAN, PH.D.

BROADCAST FOCUS

Hungary’s new national stadium is fully equipped with state-of-the-art audio, lighting and visual technology.

Daktronics and Musco Lighting provide extensive upgrades at the home of Irish football and rugby.

Formula One’s Head of Digital Business Initiatives discusses how they have entered the world of eSports.

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

ISSUE 11 - APRIL | MAY 2020

THE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION FOR TECHNOLOGY IN SPORTING VENUES

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11 WELCOME

n these uncertain times, MONDO | STADIA will offer our complete support to the whole industry. While games, tournaments and events may be postponed for the foreseeable, we’ll continue to shine a light on the incredible work that goes into the stadiums and sporting venues across the world – the magazine will still be landing on your desks, in your inbox and on our website.

With tradeshows, conferences and events currently not an option for us all, we know that it’s more important than ever for us to help you communicate with the industry. In the meantime, if you’d like your copy of MONDO | STADIA delivered to a different address, let us know.

In this issue, our cover story is Motera Stadium – the largest cricket stadium in the world and clearly a future iconic venue. We’ve also taken a closer look at the state-of-the-art technology in Puskás Arena and Aviva Stadium – two seriously impressive national venues.

I also spoke to Julian Tan from Formula One, who gave us some fascinating insight into the world of esports and F1’s plans for the future.

There’s plenty more, too, not least the report from our very own AGORA Amsterdam conference – a huge thanks to all the speakers and delegates for joining us. We’ll be back with more AGORA plans soon!

Remember, when we’re out on the other side of this unprecedented situation, one of the first things people will want to do is get straight back into the world of sport – which is something that you create and deliver – so let’s keep talking about it ahead of the industry coming back stronger than ever.

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Sam Hughes Editor

WWW.MONDOSTADIA-AGORA.COM

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

11 INSIDE…

Cover image courtesy of Signify Editor Sam Hughes s.hughes@mondiale.co.uk

Deputy Editor Emma Bilardi e.bilardi@mondiale.co.uk

Editorial Assistant Emma Davidson e.davidson@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

Events Manager Sara Walker s.walker@mondiale.co.uk

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

Mel Capper m.capper@mondiale.co.uk

CEO Justin Gawne

TEAM TALK

006 Michel Bais, Mobile Viewpoint

VENUE FOCUS AUDIO

062 Jan Breydel Stadium | Bruges, Belgium

j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk

068 CHI Health Center | Omaha, USA

Finance Director Amanda Giles

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a.giles@mondiale.co.uk

010 YTL Arena | Bristol, England

072 Kia Oval | London, England

012 The Den | London, England

BROADCAST

Credit Control

078 Biathlon World Cup | Ruhpolding, Germany |

ar@mondiale.co.uk

Pokljuka, Slovenia | South Tyrol, Italy

Group Chairman Damian Walsh

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ESPORTS

014 Broadcast

082 OMEN Challenge | London, England

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

INTERVIEW

EXTRA TIME

032 Julian Tan Ph.D. | Formula One

090 AGORA Report 094 Innlights

Printed By Buxton Press WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

095 Atlas Audio

THE FULL PITCH

096 Link

038 Motera Stadium | Gujarat, India

097 Event Diary

046 Puskas Arena | Budapest, Hungary

098 Full Time

054 Aviva Stadium | Dublin, Ireland

MICHEL BAIS, MOBILE VIEWPOINT Cost-effective artificial intelligence for recording sports events.

Images: Mobile Viewpoint stadium’s primary objective is to

For the price of a single camera mounted

has developed a system that requires no

host events, which can naturally

above the field of play and onsite AI server,

on-site personnel. Events can still be live

include a range of sports, music

productions can be live streamed, highlights

streamed either to a social media platform

and entertainment productions.

can be configured, and with the option of a

such as YouTube or Facebook, or, thanks to the

Some of these events have the wealth behind

commentator, who could be situated anywhere

high quality, could be sent to an OTT broadcast

them to have an onsite camera production

in the world, a professional production can

platform of choice.

team, capable of live streaming and unique

be created at a fraction of the cost of a

The intelligent part is the camera technology

fan engagement, while others would like to

traditional sports production.

and AI software running locally on a nearby

have that capability, but often do not have the

A typical live production consists of a multi-

server. Mobile Viewpoint has created a

resources to make it happen. However, with

camera crew to cover the field of play, and

camera that can be installed permanently

the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is

then a director to cut between different

above the field of play. It has four 4K cameras

now changing.

camera shots. There is then the requirement to

giving a panoramic view of the whole playing

Mobile Viewpoint, a Dutch technology

playout this event to a broadcast channel and

area, therefore it doesn’t need to move like

company, is driving the innovation necessary

someone else who may be creating clips for

a traditional camera. The AI technology then

to provide live streaming of sports events

social media.

takes the whole live panoramic stream and

without the need to have an onsite camera

With such an extensive team behind a

creates a virtual camera zoom of the action.

team or director.

broadcast of this nature, Mobile Viewpoint

The AI is designed to follow the ball and the

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TEAM TALK

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reaction of fans. The output is created in real-

All the productions for different stadiums can

tier sports and leagues, university games,

time as if there is a camera, on-site, following

be managed remotely from a central location,

student games, women’s league and other

the action. It takes a zoomed-in picture from

and the management platform includes a

games that

the panoramic zoom, but also collects audio,

clipper feature where small clips of events,

don’t have the budget of the major players

as sound is a major part of any sporting

such as goals or touchdowns, can be posted

can now offer live productions, making sport

match.

to social media immediately to raise awareness

available for all. This will increase their

For a facilities provider or stadium owner,

or increase branding.

awareness to help promote their sports, while

this means they can provide as a managed

As the whole panoramic view is recorded in

giving the stadiums the ability to offer an

service a production offering. They can

high quality, if any other action is missed

additional revenue service or monetise content

monetise content by offering to manage the

by the AI, then it can be viewed later, and

on behalf of the leagues. A win for all grass-

media rights and offer a shared subscription

separate streams can be created to show it as

roots and home production sports.

service for people wishing to view the content.

part of a highlight package. Nothing is ever

Sponsorship could be an extra revenue

missed from the whole field of play.

possibility, where adverts can be added and

The benefits of such an AI system is that

superimposed on any board around the pitch

professional productions are no longer the

as part of the broadcast.

only domain of the top-flight sports. Second

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www.mobileviewpoint.com

YTL ARENA Bristol, England

Renderings: YTL Arena he planning application for Bristol’s multi-purpose YTL Arena was approved in early March this year. The new stadium aims to put the city firmly on the world stage for live music, sport and entertainment, repurposing the historic Brabazon Hangars, with a capacity of 17,080.

Behind the project, Grimshaw architects, alongside MANICA architects, aim to redesign the central, east and west hangars to create separate hubs for entertainment, food, drink, work and play across a 365-daya-year calendar. The performance space will offer a variety of different stage configurations and capacities with the ability to support a range of events.

With sustainability high on the agenda of many sports venues at the moment, the stadium will use battery storage systems on site, as well as recycling rainwater and developing a green transport policy for staff and visitors.

In order to ensure the best sound quality within the stadium, internal walls and ceilings will be equipped with sound absorbing materials, and seats will be designed to further reduce reverberation and minimise acoustical changes.

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THE DEN London, England

Renderings: AFL Architects ew proposals for Millwall FC’s historic stadium, The Den, have been drawn up by AFL architects. The design of the new proposals has been inspired by the history of Millwall FC and its surroundings. The use of brickwork arches references the railway viaducts and industrial past that surround the current site, and also those at Millwall Park, which was home to the club on the Isle of Dogs over one hundred years ago, where the brick railway viaduct can be seen in the background of historic match photographs. Internally, as much of the original stadium infrastructure as possible will be kept, to ensure the unique atmosphere of the Den is retained.

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The stadium is set to receive phased expansion of its existing venue, up to a total maximum capacity of 34,000 seats. This will provide additional media and player accommodation, meet premier league requirements and also, in time, provide enhanced facilities for fans to transform their match day experience.

Part of the proposal is the creation of a vibrant new public plaza at the heart of New Bermondsey railway station providing a valuable amenity for the surrounding community, as well as engaging space for fans on match days with retail, commercial and community areas. The Millwall Community Trust will also gain facility upgrades including a new sports centre with a sports hall, gym and community cafĂŠ.

The development strategy is also set to retain as much of the existing stadium structure as possible, while providing for a flexible phased uplift to both facilities and capacity over time. This not only maintains the stadium in use for fans, but minimises demolition and construction waste.

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KICK OFF | BROADCAST A closer look at products and projects from the broadcast world.

HBL PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE SPIDERCAM The fifth edition of the PSL kicked off on February 20, at Karachi National stadium, and across the coming weeks saw further sold out matches played in front of ecstatic crowds at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, Multan Cricket Stadium and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Austrian-based special camera manufacturer, Spidercam, was appointed by production company, Sportzworkz Pvt Ltd, to provide two of its state-of-theart aerial camera systems to cover the PSL T20 cricket action on the field.

Jan Peters, CEO at Spidercam, said: “We are proud and honoured that our Spidercam systems played a major role in making this tournament a huge success for the Pakistan Cricket Board, the broadcasters, the crowds in the stadium, and the country as a whole. We are looking forward to continuing this journey with the PCB in the coming seasons.”

Spidercam deployed a highly versatile aerial system consisting of a rope suspended camera dolly featuring a Newton S2 fully stabilised head, four high powered winches, a set of pulleys and a control station. Over the years, Spidercam has built up a reputation of being the aerial camera system of choice for high-profile cricket production worldwide. Directors and production companies alike praise the systems reliability and speed, as well as the highly experienced cricket crew that Spidercam can provide along with its kits. These well-trained individuals such as pilots, camera operators, technicians, riggers and coordinators are necessary to set up and safely operate a Spidercam 014

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system. This year’s successful delivery for PSL was handled by a highly-skilled crew from Germany, Austria, Australia, Pakistan and India.

A key challenge during this season was the short turnaround time to move the kits between venues. Meeting this tight schedule was achieved by installing fibre connections ahead of the tournament, and pre-rigging the pulleys atop the light towers with the help of rigging specialists, Even2 based out of UAE. For the final leg of the tournament, Spidercam also introduced its new ‘SpiderCOM’ feature, which allows players and commentators to directly interact on the field through a custom designed two-way audio solution mounted on the Spidercam camera dolly, adding further versatility to Spidercam’s delivery of services.

Matthias Kluth, Key Account & Project Manager Spidercam concluded: “After last year’s playoffs and finals, this is the second year we have brought Spidercam to Pakistan and the passion and hospitality with which we were received was, again, overwhelming. The PCB and local authorities went above and beyond to ensure everyone felt safe at all times and we are very grateful for their efforts and look forward to returning soon.” www.spidercam.tv

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XPLORER AEQ

RCD ESPANYOL DE BARCELONA SUPPONOR

AEQ’s Xplorer is more than a beltpack, it’s an authentic wireless intercom user panel. Based on Wi-Fi technology, it is equipped with four shortcut keys, user interface arranged in pages, another two programmable keys, and a multifunction screen. It can operate with an intercom matrix or as a Party-Line terminal.

Xplorer is a terminal based on WiFi technology. This simplifies the installation, start-up and maintenance of the system as the wireless technology, following the worldwide standards for implementation, allows the use of existing wireless networks to be used to service these terminals.

Using managed access points, the panel uses the ‘roaming’ function, allowing the user to move freely throughout the coverage area.

The Xplorer can be part of a system based upon an intercom matrix or as a terminal for a Party-Line system without the need for a matrix. When the intercom works as a client for AEQ Crossnet, Conexia and TH5000 / TW5000 / IL5000 Intercom matrices, each key can activate any of the following commands: talk, listen, talk and listen, remote one way, remote both ways, remote volume and dial call.

When connected to any of the Intercom Matrices mentioned, the Xplorer will coexist with 8000 series wired user panels, and also with terminals using the Xvirtual application on iOS and Windows operating systems, such as iPad, iPhone and PC. The system can also work in Party-Line mode, as a terminal for the Kroma E@synet system, with four channels and up to 28 devices, without the need for a central matrix.

The multifunction screen has four quick access keys and another two for mute and page or menu. The Keys are labelled through the display that also shows information regarding the audio level for each destination/ origin, battery level and WiFi signal.

Xplorer has a recording playback function for the last 30 seconds corresponding to the last call or communication to the terminal. The Beltpack has dual volume control to give direct access to the level adjustment of the main interlocutor, differentiating it from the rest. The unit can be fastened to a belt or hung from a ribbon and offers sufficient battery autonomy for 20 hours of work, with the ability to charge by means of a multiple base.

RCD Espanyol de Barcelona recently deployed Supponor’s state-of-theart technology at all its home games in La Liga. The leading soccer club’s games at the RCDE Stadium will now feature the use of Supponor’s innovative DBRLive virtual replacement technology and NSA virtual carpet placement solution, which is offered in partnership with the worlds leading LED perimetre display specialist TGI. The two Supponor technologies allow the placement of targeted adverts within the live feed that can be specifically geared towards geographic or demographic market segments. This is a particularly important consideration for La Liga clubs as they grow international audiences, providing an additional revenue stream with advertising and sponsorship deals targeted to fans wherever they are watching in the world.

The solution is being operated by Mediapro, which acts as the production partner for Supponor technical solutions in La Liga. Over the last six seasons, the deployment of Supponor’s virtual advertising solutions

by Mediapro in La Liga has grown from a handful of games, to over 80 per season. It now features in matches played by FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and RCD Espanyol de Barcelona.

“Virtual advertising helps to grow club revenues by making available new advertising opportunities on the international broadcast feeds of the club’s live matches,” said James B Gambrell, CEO, Supponor. “For example, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona is cultivating a large Chinese fan base given the popularity of its striker Wu Lei, who joined the club in 2019. This has created the opportunity to develop new sponsorship opportunities and regional advertising revenues on the Asian feeds of RCD Espanyol de Barcelona’s matches using Supponor technology.”

“Virtual advertising solutions targeting different markets need to offer both technical reliability and seamless operational capability to unlock the significant commercial returns for clubs such as Espanyol,” commented Julian Fernandez, Mediapro. “We are delighted with the way that the Supponor and TGI solution has worked in La Liga and look forward to further expansion and increased monetisation opportunities with LaLiga clubs and participating global brands.” www.supponor.com

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KYLE FIELD - 12TH MAN PRODUCTIONS AUDINATE Located in the heart of the Houston-Dallas-Austin triangle, Texas A&M Athletics’ award-winning 12th Man Productions handles the television production needs for Aggies sports – including content for 12thMan.com, TV shows, videoboard presentations and ESPN’s SEC Network productions, along with producing live broadcasts and video features for all teams.

The 12th Man team moved into an all-new facility at the south end zone of redeveloped Kyle Field in 2015. The new facility was created with a nearly $12 million investment in the electronics infrastructure to serve Texas A&M Athletics.

The state-of-the-art facility hosts four HD control rooms, an ESPN bureau camera studio, a main studio set area, a radio broadcast room, and six postproduction edit rooms. 12th Man Productions produces 110 events a year, and the facility’s multiple control rooms allow the staff to produce side-by-side productions for the SEC Network from different venues, as well as support in-venue shows at the same time.

In his role as Chief Broadcast Engineer for Texas A&M, Zack Bacon oversees all technical support for the 12th Man Productions facility – as well as provides lead technical support for new and emerging technology needs. He also provides live event technical support and manages the student engineering staff.

With the Kyle Field renovation, the team began moving toward an IP infrastructure for their audio network.

“When we started the renovation, we had to choose our audio network platform, and it was obvious that Dante fit our immediate needs and was also supported by the industry enough to cover our future plans,” said Zack.

“We definitely have an extensive Dante deployment, and we’re trying to grow it as much as possible. It’s a great technology, and we can vouch for its flexibility and how using the IP infrastructure allows us to do a lot of things we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.”

Zack explained that as a centralised facility, audio from all facilities is transported to the production control rooms via Dante, and nearly all audio for broadcast is on a Dante network as well. The team produces everything essentially through Dante with Yamaha consoles. The audio signals are mixed, married to the video, and then either used within the venue or broadcast out.

The team also has a direct fibre connection to ESPN, allowing them to share audio and video content directly.

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“We have four control rooms, so we’re able to do two sports at a time,” said Zack. “That means two big-screen shows and two ESPN broadcasts simultaneously, so things can get pretty hectic - and we’re relying on Dante more and more so we can be as efficient and responsive as possible.”

Recently, the team upgraded their Studio Tech 214 announcer consoles to be Dante native, instantly improving audio quality and signal flexibility.

The team has also integrated this type of Dante connectivity into their intercom system and are able to directly patch the announcer consoles into the intercom system as well as the audio mixer.

“There are multiple ways we could get it into Dante and to the PA mixer, but we run it through our console and do direct out, then we set up the shared audio group within Domain Manager,” explained Zack.

The PA systems are distributed audio DSP networks that are all interconnected

by Dante because of the large distances covered. The Dante network delivers the signal to a network of BSS Audio by HARMAN BLU DSPs, and from there to the individual amplifiers.

“With Dante Domain Manager in the football stadium, we’ve already seen the benefits integrating the PA and being able to send multiple sources to the PA mixing console, as opposed to previously, we would only be able to send two,” said Zack.

Dante Domain Manager is network management software that enables user authentication, role-based security, and audit capabilities for Dante networks, while allowing seamless expansion of Dante systems over any network infrastructure. Dante Domain Manager organises a network into zones called ‘domains’ that each have individual access requirements, making it clear and easy to know who can access any area of the system. All activity is logged, tagged, and date-stamped so problems can be quickly identified and solved.

With Dante Domain Manager, Zack and the 12th Man Productions team are able to route their audio signals across subnets to cover the multiple venues and the production areas. Dante Domain Manager enables the team to create management groups and to segment areas, venues, subnets, and production rooms as needed. The team is now able to create some very granular control and security parameters across the network.

www.audinate.com

W H AT YO U D O IN TH E D ARK W ILL M AKE YO U SH IN E BRIGH T

www. das audi o. com

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FA WOMEN’S SUPERLEAGUE BLACKMAGIC DESIGN & TIMELINE TV For many sports broadcasting contracts, production teams have to balance delivering high quality live match content from locations across a country or even across national borders, with their personnel and technical resources.

A revolutionary remote production system, devised by Timeline TV, delivers comprehensive coverage of high-profile events from stadia and venues from anywhere in the world.

The first professional season of the FA Women’s Superleague (WSL) was the perfect testbed. With its production contract with its content partner, Whisper TV, stipulating comprehensive, broadcast ready coverage to match the elevation to the professional leagues, Timeline designed a system that harnesses public IP channels to send live match footage to a central control system housed at Timeline’s Ealing Studios’ HQ. The challenge was how best to handle several OB multicam productions from various grounds around the country simultaneously during each match day.

“With up to four matches to cover, we needed a reliable, mobile OB system across multiple venues,” began Dan McDonnell, Timeline’s Managing Director.

“However, there was literally nothing on the market that was going to give us the flexibility and scope to handle the high quality production values we wanted without going down a route of having a full OB vehicle at every venue, so we had to build our own control system that would give us the control we needed.”

The innovative system is built within a Blackmagic Design camera system environment, utilising Blackmagic’s open SDI camera control protocol to build a bespoke control solution.

Eight URSA Broadcast units are despatched pitch-side each weekend, in a variety of set-ups. “We pride ourselves on delivering broadcast quality footage for our creative partners, and we can use the URSA Broadcasts, paired with our B4 lenses, to provide high quality content for Whisper Films to produce the final match mix,” continued Dan. “It’s like having two cameras for the price of one, as we can track the players around the pitch with crisp and fast-paced footage from the gantry, and then produce pre and post-match

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interviews with brilliant close ups, accurate skin tones and colour quality, no matter what daylight and weather conditions we’re filming in.”

Each camera operator has a transmitter housed in a backpack for signal transmission back to the central control unit, allowing them to roam freely throughout the stadium to capture the action and atmosphere. “It’s incredibly quick to set up - the operators switch on the cameras and backpacks, and they are ready to go, so we can quickly adapt our production plans to have more or fewer cameras at a match, dependent on the league’s requirements.”

Back at Timeline HQ, the central control unit is built around the Blackmagic 3G-SDI Arduino Shield and allows an operator to have access to all of the URSA Broadcast features, from iris, zoom and colour temperature, as well as tally and talkback.

“Working over IP channels provides reliable and consistent remote signal feeds from wherever we are around the country, and this, combined with Blackmagic’s open protocol, has given us the flexibility to devise a high-quality remote production solution that meets broadcasters’ strict standards for live sports coverage.”

The system’s efficiency and technical capabilities means it can easily be transferred to other sporting leagues, tournaments and touring events.

Since the success of the Superleague coverage, Timeline’s remote production system has been in action for many high-profile sporting events across the globe, including Sail GP and Formula 1 highlight shows.

“The ability to control an entire multicamera system via IP means that we can produce comprehensive coverage of topflight events from anywhere in the world, without having to send a huge amount of staff or equipment out to the venues,” Dan concluded. “That balance of speed, flexibility and quality would only be possible at this budget with Blackmagic Design cameras and hardware.” www.blackmagicdesign.com www.timeline.tv

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RTL CROATIA RIEDEL

INTELLIJIB POLECAM

Launched in 2004, RTL Croatia is a division of RTL Group, a Luxembourg-based digital media company with interests in 61 television and 30 radio stations in 10 countries. Working with Riedel’s local distributor and consultant, AVC Zagreb, RTL Croatia has just finished a 4 year project to upgrade its production facilities to deliver its eight channels in HD. RTL Croatia chose Riedel Communications’ MediorNet real-time network and Artist digital matrix intercom to meet signal transport and communications requirements for its new HD operation. MediorNet and Artist form an integrated and decentralised signal routing and communications backbone that drives RTL’s news and master control rooms, including a large video wall with more than 100 picture-in-picture (PiP) displays.

“When RTL Croatia presented its requirements for a comprehensive networking and routing solution for the studio upgrade, we had no hesitation in recommending Riedel Communications,” said Juraj Novina, Sales Manager at AVC Zagreb. “We were completely confident that MediorNet could provide the seamless, reliable, and high-quality signal transport and communications needed for RTL’s new HD service. Plus, MediorNet also gives RTL the guarantee of a smooth transition to IP in the future, with the proven track record of a market-tested solution.”

Zoran Jankovic, Chief Technical Officer of RTL Croatia, added, “We had rather complex signal routing requirements — namely, decentralisation, a high degree of flexibility, and the ability to transport and route signals over fibre. We could see right away that MediorNet would not only meet, but exceed, those requirements. Plus, MediorNet and Artist were incredibly fast and easy to install.”

MediorNet and Artist drive signal routing and comms for RTL’s playout control room, consisting of 10 playout channels, 20 servers, 10 logo inserters, 10 subtitle inserters, and a multi-view video wall that includes up to 70 PiP displays. In addition, the Riedel solution supports a control room for news programming that manages 20 incoming feeds, studio cameras, computer graphics, and news playout and includes a multi-view video wall with 108 PiP displays.

Playout is supported by a Riedel MetroN core router and 14 MicroN high-density media distribution network devices, six of which are configured as multi-viewers. The production routing solution includes two MetroN core routers and 22 MicroNs, with six configured using the MultiViewer App. Production is supported by 29 SmartPanel app-driven user interfaces that enable agile routing and control of audio and video signals transported across the MediorNet network. For intercom functions, an Artist-1024 high-density digital matrix mainframe delivers AES67-compliant communications, with intercom capabilities supported by an additional 23 SmartPanels.

Polecam’s IntelliJib and GoalCam systems are providing previously unseen and unprecedented views of all the sporting action, including long-ranging shots, penalties, set pieces, free kicks and all the goalkeeper action - available live and with instant replay. Football and soccer ‘through-net-technology’ (TNT) cameras have become the recognised standard for the higher profile games for Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and many more across the globe.

Polecam was recently approached by Jamie Oakford, an established BT/ World Cup Director, regarding the feasibility of using a Polecam camera crane system with a high-speed HD camera behind the goal for Premier League Football. It started with a standard Polecam PSP+ system, with two or three carbon fibre boom sections fitted with the narrow pan and tilt remote head, complemented by Antelope Camera System’s ‘Pico’ highspeed HD camera. This configuration enabled the high-speed camera to be positioned and controlled very accurately and directly through the goal netting, giving broadcasters and spectators a first perspective of all the action. Despite the immediate success, there were some grounds where there was physically no space available for the standard Polecam system and operator behind the goal.

So, with a rapid solution needed for immediate implementation, a unique mini-Polecam boom and remote head system, operated remotely from a bespoke twin joystick panel via standard fibre connections, was created.

The ‘IntelliJib’, which can be remotely controlled from an OB truck or on the pitch side camera pit, was born and ‘through-net-technology’ (TNT) cameras have become the adopted standard for the higher profile games for Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, CONCACAF Champions League, A-League Australia, J-League Japan, South Americas Cup Brazil and the Arab Gulf states– with many more sporting applications utilising the intelligent remote system. Some of the system’s features include; a remote pan and tilt head specifically designed to withstand a direct hit by incorporating modified and improved dampers and clutches – providing both camera and PTZ motor/gearbox protection, as well as independent and simultaneous control of the boom and head with 360° rotation.

Speaking about Polecam’s products, Felix Marggraff, TV Director at Live Motion Concept explained: “The IntelliJib is a wonderful tool to create new angles that are usually almost invisible. No need for chunky cranes or heavy installations. Also because it’s so light and simple the option to move the IntelliJib from one position to another during a live event opens up so many possibilities to use it on sports like Golf or Athletics and many more. It‘s really precise and the combination to use it with an Antelope PICO Ultra Slow Motion thrills me, as a slomo from a flying camera is still the icing on the cake!”

www.riedel.net

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KICK OFF

SPORTS PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS TSL PRODUCTS TSL Products continues to see expanded uptake of its broadcast control system offerings to meet the specific needs of sports broadcasters, who require solutions that keep up in fast-paced, high-stress environments. Using TSL’s powerful control tools to support remote production - local production teams can maximise their resources and take control of devices located anywhere, allowing them to save valuable time and investment when it matters most.

“The conversation about broadcast sports solutions and applications today is heavily focused on remote production, and all the major events and broadcasters are seeking solutions that are quick and simple to implement,” said Mark Davies, Director of Products and Technology at TSL Products. “Our control offerings allow customers to quickly set up systems and take control of their configurations - making TSL’s control platforms incredibly versatile for live productions. At TSL Products, we strive to provide our customers with reliable gear that simplifies and expedites remote command and control over production capabilities. This is especially important for sports productions, where there’s an audience of millions, and no margin for error.”

TSL’s device controllers can be used to pass camera tally signals and trigger graphics between multiple production trucks and venues. Delegating who has control over what camera tallies and what resources at a remote site can be configured ahead of the game, or even while live on air - saving precious time. Additionally, the company’s kit is perfect for production fly-packs deployed to remote game sites communicating with a local system at the home base facility to route tallies from production studios to the event location.

TSL inherited a powerful ingest management solution as part of its acquisition of DNF Controls in April 2019. These solutions have been designed with a sports broadcaster’s high-volume recording facility in mind, where sometimes overwhelming amounts of incoming material must be secured. Specifically, the company’s GTP-32 Control Processor offers a simple, cost-effective, and easily accessible solution, which can be configured for multiple simultaneous

ingest channels, with units located remotely.

When reconfiguring requirements for OB trucks, TSL’s controllers enable broadcasters to achieve interoperability, regardless of differing manufacturers and format specifications, while Virtual Panels provide powerful control over these devices via feature-rich intuitive, drag-and-drop controls. This brings all key operations together into an intuitive and easy to maintain interface.

Everything is pre-configured prior to production, which requires minimal labour and training to operate effectively, resulting in a substantial decrease in the potential for mistakes and increase in operational cost savings. In addition to interfacing to devices and their functions, presets can be established across workflows, allowing the operator to easily take control of configuration and key functions, when required. www.tslproducts.com

FÜ1 LAWO The new, fully IP-based Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), FÜ1, is optimally equipped for production of sports and cultural events. Central to its ability to cover Alpine winter sports, football broadcasts, entertainment shows and concerts with equal ease are two Lawo mc²96 grand production console systems, and five V__matrix frames loaded with 37 C100 processing blades for multi-viewing and IP streaming.

The Lawo installation was a key part of the audiovisual infrastructure of the Vienna-based OB van, which was constructed by system house BFE. The new truck replaces ORF’s FÜ22 TV OB, which had been in operation since 2005.

FÜ1 had its baptism with the production of World Cup events in the Hochfilzen Biathlon, as well as the coverage of the Vienna Opera Ball on 14 February 2020.

“Two image and sound control rooms provide the international and national video and sound signals, respectively,” explained Andreas Fraundorfer, Group Manager, Video Technology in the broadcast technology planning department at ORF. The initial concept used IP switches and converters with an optional monitoring IP solution but now, apart from the existing cameras and the connection to the outside world, everything is IP.” The 38-tonne trailer has two extendable walls meaning FÜ1 offers around 77 sq metres of floor space for 24 workstations. Networking of the mobile SMPTE2110 production unit uses two Arista network switches for audio and video data, and another 14 switches for the control network and other tasks.

In the two video control rooms, five Lawo V__matrix units host a total of 37 C100 processing blades – 13 perform multiviewer tasks as vm__dmv units and 24 perform the conversion between SDI and IP as vm__streaming blades.

Using Lawo theWALL software, up to 52 individual screens can be configured here for multi-viewing.

Lawo mc²96 production consoles are installed in both audio control rooms.

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The console for international sound in Control Room A is equipped with a dual-fader unit, providing the sound engineer with 56 faders. The console’s HD core, equipped with six DSP cards, calculates 288 DSP channels and offers Waves SoundGrid integration. The core also integrates six RAVENNA cards and redundant router cards; four DALLIS stageboxes provide the interface between the contribution and the audio system.

The Control Room B, for national sound, is equipped with another Lawo mc²96 that also integrates a dual-fader option, providing 24 faders. The HD core with five DSP cards allows the use of 240 DSP channels – Waves SoundGrid is also integrated here. Two RAVENNA cards and redundant router cards complete the equipment. A further four DALLIS units serve as stageboxes. www.lawo.com.

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Advanced Control Systems Ease Dynamic Production Let TSL’s Advanced Control Systems do the hard work so you can stay focused on the exctiment of live sports productions.

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KICK OFF

GRAVITY MEDIA GRASS VALLEY Grass Valley’s IP solutions have been selected by Gravity Media to form an open standards-based IP core, built together with Cisco Nexus 9000 IP switches, as part of an upgrade to its live production capability. The deployment includes Grass Valley UCP-25/50 Gateway cards and MV-821-IP multiviewers as part of a wider roadmap to full IP migration by the global provider of complex live broadcast facilities and production services to content owners, creators and distributors. The system was deployed at the UEFA Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan in May, 2019, and also formed the heart of the live production environment at the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid on 1st June, 2019. It was more recently used for the core of a Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Grass Valley’s advanced IP solutions help customers transition to flexible, scalable infrastructures and smart, agile workflows. To evolve its live production capability, Gravity Media began migrating towards a live IP-based production environment at a major sporting event in Australia in January 2019, making use of Grass Valley IP multiviewers to handle its monitoring requirements. The new Grass Valley IP core enables Gravity Media to leverage a powerful, future-proofed production environment that is agnostic to evolving production needs and can adapt rapidly - even during an event.

“By taking an IP-based approach we have been able to vastly simplify the system. Now we can get the whole IP core up and running within a day that is unheard of for a major sporting event,” explained Ed Tischler, Acting Managing Director for the UK at Gravity Media. “As the frontrunner in the industry transition to IP, Grass Valley has the best pedigree, delivering the most accomplished solutions on the market. Their monitoring system is second to none and unlike solutions from other vendors — which require a lot of time spent in set up — with Grass Valley, everything just works out of the box.”

The inherently flexible nature of IP means Gravity Media can easily scale the system up or down to meet the requirements of a wide range of live events.

The open standards-based approach allows the broadcast services provider to seamlessly add IP elements to the live production environment, selecting bestof-breed systems as more vendors roll out solutions based on SPMTE ST2110.

“As consumers demand stunning images and captivating viewing experiences across a wide range of platforms, agility and adaptability are central to helping our customers take on the challenges of a rapidly evolving market,” said Mark Hilton, Vice President, Live Production at Grass Valley. “As the vendor with the most deployments for open standards-based IP solutions, we deliver reliable, field-proven solutions that draw on our unmatched experience and expertise in live production. We have been working closely with Gravity Media for many years and are very proud that the company has turned to us again for this crucial migration to an IP-centric production model.” www.grassvalley.com

ESPORTS FACTORY CLEAR-COM The recently retrofitted Esports Factory in Osnabrück, Germany, needed to create the right competitive atmosphere with tight communications capabilities to execute successful events. To acheive this, they chose Clear-Com solutions including the Encore Analog Partyline Intercom, the Agent-IC mobile app, and LQ Series IP Interfaces.

The previously existing facility was completely gutted and renovated, and now houses an eSports Bootcamp training facility, an eSports academy and the production environment where the tournaments are staged, with seating for up to 200 spectators. The facility also hosts viewing events for remote productions.

“We built a cosy but premium location for medium-sized eSports events where visitors have a unique experience by being so close to the action,” said Moritz Esche, Technical Director of maze GmbH. “It’s also a technologically up-to-date space capable of handling all the needs of a modern broadcast production.”

One of those needs is communications, with 96 possible camera inputs, 9km of SDI cables and 40 computers needed to produce an eSports tournament.

The production teams’ requirements specified an intercom system with enough capacity for crews to move freely around the facility capturing event footage, with the added capability of ‘segmenting’ the traffic so each person only communicates with the part of the crew they need to cover their job.

“Well before the opening of the Esports Factory, it was clear a professional intercom solution was indispensable for handling live broadcasts of the events,” said Jan Saueressig of Audio-Technica, Clear-Com’s distributor in Germany.

“With different event formats and varying communication requirements, a flexible, IP-based solution was key. They needed intercom stations that could reconfigure and change form factors quickly and easily, from small systems with just a few required channels to large systems for users with more complex communication requirements.”

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The LQ interface enables mixed operation of Analog Partyline, Analog 4-wire audio and Agent-IC stations with only one base unit. The extensive routing options within the system allow a flexible reaction to new production conditions at any time, and the scalability of the LQ network guarantees a future-proof investment in case of future expansions.

The system can be accessed via the 3G and 4G data connection of the end devices from any point in the world, which considerably simplifies work at external production sites.

“With the Agent-IC app in combination with our LQ system, we are seamlessly able to achieve all of our requirements. We’ve even started using Agent-IC for our external productions. The production team simply connects to the LQ box, which is still installed at our main location, via the data connection of their mobile phones,” concluded Moritz. www.schmitzfoam.com

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11 INTERVIEW

“I’m really excited at the growth trajectory that Formula One Esports has seen in such a short amount of time. To be able to be mentioned in the same sentence as FIFA or the NBA 2K League after just over two-and-a-half years speaks volumes about the product that we’ve been able to create and adapt to the market.”

Julian Tan Ph.D. Head of Digital Business Initiatives and Esports Formula One

INTERVIEW

JULIAN TAN PH.D. Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports, Formula One First of all, can you give us some background to your career so far?

Can you give us some insight into Formula One’s overall plan for

My background is in Engineering Science – that’s always been a passion

esports?

of mine, I suppose. I did Engineering Science at the University of Oxford

We launched in August of 2017, so we’re still a baby in the world of

and then I did my PhD at the University of Cambridge in carbon fibre

esports. However, we have grown significantly and very rapidly over

laminates, working with Boeing to basically investigate the way in which

what has been a very short space of time. Our first season in 2017 ran

damage proliferates in carbon fibre laminates. After my PhD, I joined

between the months of September to December – this was basically a

a company called the Boston Consulting Group - they are a strategy

trial to see what the appetite was from our fans, particularly as it is

management consultancy. As part of my role there I did a lot of digital

something that was really quite different from what Formula One has

transformation and digital strategy projects with large clients. As part of

done in the past. We saw a lot of success with our first season, which

that, I joined Formula One as a secondee in 2017.

is why we accelerated our plans for the second season. So, in 2018, we launched a full season that ran from March to December – and that was

So, coming into Formula One, what were you tasked with?

the first season in which we managed to get the Formula One teams

At the time, Formula One was going through a major transformation

on board, with nine of the 10 teams included. It was a very successful

with the acquisition by Liberty Media. So, I came in there with my

season, which, again, helped to build momentum towards the 2019

experience to define the digital strategy for Formula One, which at that

season, which was by far our biggest - both by way of the scale that we

time there was no digital department. So, I worked with our Global

were doing it and also in terms of the numbers that we were seeing. In

Director of Digital, Frank Arthofer, to basically help set up the digital

2019, we had all 10 Formula One teams participating, with Ferrari being

business within Formula One - and identify the key priorities and

the final team to join the virtual grid with us here. We had a $500,000

initiatives that we want to launch across all areas. Obviously, esports

prize, which put us as the largest prize fund in this genre of esports,

was one of those, but, in addition to that, there was a full relaunch of

and we saw a 65% increase in participation to 109,000 globally who

our website and a launch of our flagship OTT product in F1 TV, as well as

attempted to take part. Then, from a viewership perspective, we saw

social media surrounding those.

record-breaking numbers, with approximately a 75% increase in viewers as well.

As part of the wider transformation at Formula One, there were a huge amount of intiatives being kicked off and esports was the one I leaned

So, all in all, our esports programme has been growing tremendously

in on in the early stages, so it naturally fell within my remit to grow.

and there are many reasons for this. There are a lot of synergies that

With my background as a strategy consultant, it was simply a case of

we have between our esports proposition and our core Formula One

shaping a digital product – whether it’s esports or an app, you find that

proposition that takes place on the grid. We’re very optimistic and I’m

you ask the same questions, despite the different contexts. For example,

really excited at the growth trajectory that Formula One esports has seen

who is the target audience? What are your core competitive advantages?

in such a short amount of time. To be able to be mentioned in the same

What does the industry look like? In asking those questions and esports

sentence as FIFA or the NBA 2K League after just over two-and-a-half

growing very rapidly, we’ve been able to create a successful product that

years speaks volumes about the product that we’ve been able to create

makes sense for the business.

and adapt to the market.

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INTERVIEW

For our readers that may not yet be well versed in the world of esports, can you give us some insight as to how Formula One approaches it and what you offer?

Our esports programme is across multiple trenches, but what I call the backbone of our esports programme is the Formula One Esports Series, which is, by all accounts, the virtual equivalent to the Formula One World Championship.

The series itself consists of three main stages, so it opens up with qualifications, which primarily take place online - this is an opportunity for anyone with a copy of the Formula One game to participate and

“It’s not necessarily finding the fastest gamers out there, but just giving them an opportunity to engage with the sport that they love in an immersive way.”

attempt to qualify. From there, the top racers across the globe will qualify into a draft – and this is where we’ve got the official Formula One teams picking their esports drivers to represent them. So, as I mentioned, we have 10 Formula One teams who have set up their own esports teams to compete in the Formula One Esports Series. Once they have selected their drivers, we go into the third stage of the competition, which is the Formula One Esports Pro Series - this consists of all 10 Formula One teams battling it out on the official Formula One game in

esports to give race-goers a chance to experience the world of Formula

a championship. Just like in the real world, you’ve got two drivers per

One and what it’s like to drive a Formula One car. It’s not necessarily

team in each race and, depending on where the drivers end up on the

finding the fastest gamers out there, but just giving them an opportunity

finishing line, they will accumulate and earn points for themselves for

to engage with the sport that they love in an immersive way.

the drivers’ championship, as well as the team’s championship. So, by the end of the season, we have a team and drivers’ champion.

Are there any companies Formula One works with to help deliver the esports events?

In addition to that, we also have, in 20 of the 22 Grands Prix around the

We work with a company called Codemasters - they are our licenced

world, we also have dedicated Formula One esports activations that take

developer for the game, so we work very closely with them to put on

place there during the race weekends. That’s very much about using

these events. We also work with Gfinity, an esports company, who

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INTERVIEW

support us in terms of delivering our live events, as well as giving us

approach will be paramount to its success.

advice on how to navigate the world of esports.

Have you seen a significant increase in engagement recently?

With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the disruption it has caused to the

We have, especially with Sky Sports and a few other big-name

sporting calendar, are you hoping that esports can help fill that gap

broadcasters from across the globe showing the races. From the

and provide a welcome distraction?

conversations that we’ve had, certainly with Sky Sports, it’s been very,

The whole world really is going through a really difficult time, and,

very positive. It’s good to know that there is a demand for racing, even

obviously, sports provides people with an escape and some relief - and

if it’s just a bit of fun at first.

we think that esports is no different to sport in that it can serve a similar role. We think that, particularly during this time where there is

Do you think it will bring in new viewers for Formula One in general –

a lot of terrible news out there, we can put on some light-hearted relief

both esports and the traditional sport?

through our Formula One Esports product in these virtual Grands Prix.

I think so. I mean, it’s a nice intersection between traditional sports and

At the end of the day, we’re here to serve our fans, who want to see

esports for us – it sits nicely between those two worlds. I think there

Formula One action, but, unfortunately, can’t due to the circumstances.

is an opportunity to definitely get more esports enthusiasts watching Formula One Esports and then Formula One, but also it is a great way

So, if the postponements continue, will you keep offering more on the

to get our traditional audience engaging with esports, which may not

esports side?

necessarily be what they’re used to, but something we feel they could

I think what we’ll continue to do is monitor the situation - I’d say,

enjoy.

right now, the intention is to be able to organise a virtual Grand Prix for

032

every postponed or cancelled race, but at the same time, we want to be

What are the aims over the next few years for Formula One within

mindful about how we do it as well. I don’t think it’s necessarily a plan

esports?

that we will rigidly stick to – we will, as ever, continue to adapt it and

At the very core, it is about trying to use esports to reach out to a new

see how we can improve it. Ultimately, if the fans want more of it, we’ll

audience - particularly as Formula One does have an ageing audience

give them more and like any digital product, adopting a test and learn

– so, through initiatives like esports, we’re trying to speak to those

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INTERVIEW

that we haven’t been able to effectively in the past. We want to create

Finally, how do you see the esports industry developing as a whole?

something that appeals to Millennials and Gen Zs – something that

Will it ever be considered alongside traditional sports?

speaks to them in a language they understand. I think as we continue

It’s an interesting one because I think esports is a very diverse industry

to explore esports as a proposition, we can see that it is a compelling

– each game has its own esport, the same way in which basketball is

viewership product as well, because the game is very realistic and,

different to golf. League of Legends is very different from FIFA, which

whether it is virtual or real, it’s racing at the end of the day. Those that

is very different to Formula One, so within esports, we’ll see different

have a thirst for racing will be able to enjoy our esports product as it

trajectories for different genres. I mean, I think the reality is, as we

isn’t too far removed.

become more connected and technology becomes a bigger part of our

I think that the ability for us to leverage our resources for supplementary

lives and entertainment starts to diversify into different streaming

content pieces are really quite compelling, because that the type of

platforms, these kinds of crossovers will become much more normal.

racing that we see is racing that you can’t replicate in the real world - all of the Formula One cars are equalised, so you have racing that’s

Whether esports can rival traditional sports remains to be seen. I mean,

perhaps a little bit more thrilling. Plus, the drivers themselves are taking

traditional sports have a huge advantage in that they’ve been around

more risks as there is no chance of injuring themselves or incurring

for a long time, so there is more structure and governance. However, I

hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of in damage due to a crash. So,

think we’ll start to see that forming within esports, but it does depend

purely from a racing perspective, you do get that excitement on a virtual

on the game as esports is cyclical. The popularity of the game can be

track.

huge one year and then nowhere near as popular the next year, so that side of esports can fluctuate. I think there are a lot of different elements

034

We’re also already seeing a lot of stories around esports drivers crossing

involved in determining how the industry will shape up in the years to

the chasm to become drivers in the real world and vice versa, too, with

come, but there are a lot of things going for the industry and I wouldn’t

professionals who didn’t have the resources to continue a career in

be surprised to see it continue to enjoy the attention and growth that

racing – they now have an opportunity through esports.

we’ve seen so far for many years to come.

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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11 THE FULL PITCH

038 Motera Stadium | Gujarat, India 046 Puskas Arena | Budapest, Hungary 054 Aviva Stadium | Dublin, Ireland

THE FULL PITCH

MOTERA STADIUM Ahmedabad, India

Images: Signify, Bose, Walter P Moore uilt on the 63-acre site of the original stadium in the city of Ahmedabad, the new Motera Stadium – which will be officially known as Sardar Patel Stadium – is now the largest cricket stadium in the world, with a capacity of 110,000.

The new home of the Gujarat Cricket Association includes 76 corporate boxes, four team dressing rooms and facilities, state-of-the-art club facilities with three practice grounds, an indoor cricket academy, and a 55-room clubhouse, which will have an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Motera Stadium - which is also the second largest sports stadium in the world overall - was designed and constructed within three years at a cost of US $100m. The stadium was also the venue for the ‘Namaste Trump’ gala on 24 February 2020, where Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, hosted the President of the United States, Donald Trump, during his recent visit to India.

With world-wide cricket stadium expertise including the masterplan and new Warner Stand at Lord’s, as well as work at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Populous was invited to join their team, as the designers, in a fully priced Design and Construction competitive bid tender. Contracted by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Populous delivered the masterplan, as well architectural design services up to Schematic Design, including landscaping, interior design and wayfinding to create an iconic stadium for India.

Andrew James, Director at Populous, takes up the story: “Cricket is like a religion in India and the Gujarat Cricket Association had a vision to create an iconic venue – a world-class stadium that would bring together the biggest crowd of cricket fans anywhere in the world.

So, we agreed on the target of 110,000 people.

“Along with meeting International Cricket Council regulations for Test, Twenty20 and One Day International matches, Motera Stadium was designed to become an iconic sports venue for both aspiring and elite players.

When the seating bowl is full, this will be one of the biggest crowds ever assembled in a single space.

“The precinct, masterplanned by Populous, ensures that male and female cricketers of the future have facilities to support their development. Young players can live and breathe the game with an indoor cricket academy housed under the stadium, including a dormitory for up to 40 athletes, as well as access to six indoor practice pitches and three outdoor practice fields. The Hall of Fame will provide emerging players and fans with an insight into the heritage of cricket in India.”

B

Populous’ masterplan also included four team dressing rooms and facilities, state-of-the-art club facilities and a VIP pavilion, an Olympic-size swimming pool, 76 corporate boxes and a media lounge with press rooms.

With such a vast project, the task was huge for everyone involved with the stadium – and there was plenty that Populous had to consider when it came to the design.

“A great sporting venue is not only fit for purpose. First and foremost, it must be a great place to come together – a venue that creates memorable and extraordinary experiences for the fans and players. It also needs to be authentic and true to its location. For a nation like India, where cricket is almost a religion, what could be better than being part of the biggest group of cricket fans in the world?” posed Andrew.

“Operational flexibility is critical for the long-term viability of a stadium like Motera. The design of two open-seating bowls with 360º views allows the operators to fill only the lower bowl for smaller matches and still create an exciting atmosphere for the fans. Four team changing rooms means the venue can host double-headers or cater for youth or community tournaments.”

With the sheer size of Motera Stadium, Populous had to take the fan experience into serious consideration. It was vital that each visitor felt part of the action – something that can be so easily lost in stadiums with a huge capacity.

However, Populous had a plan to combat that, as Andrew revealed: “For major cricket matches, the arrival on the main podium outside will be an experience in itself, as 110,000 people make their way into the stadium.

“As you enter the seating bowl, you will have your first view of the whole arena from the concourse, so no matter where you move around the stadium, you stay connected to the action. Every seat has uninterrupted sightlines and 360º views of the field and pitch. When you combine this with a round, open bowl design, you get an amazing sense of be-

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ing together and you feel you’re a part of what’s happening out in the middle.

“Unlike many other stadiums of this size, the majority of seats are general admission, ensuring the widest possible group of fans can enjoy the action.”

Although the project was clearly a successful one, it wasn’t without its challenges, with the scale of the stadium presenting issues for the team involved.

Andrew added: “The site was barely large enough to fit the width of the stadium and we needed to preserve an existing temple. The solution was to develop a stadium consisting of two large seating tiers, each of approximately 50,000 seats, along with an additional 10,000 seats for VIPs and corporate patrons.

“The timeframe was also relatively short – the stadium was designed and constructed within three years.”

The roof structure at Motera Stadium was a particularly complex part of the project, with Walter P Moore serving as roof structural engineer. The city of Ahmedabad, where Motera Stadium is located, is in a level three seismic zone, meaning that the roof needed to be lightweight to reduce seismic demand and develop an economical roof system.

Viral Patel, Director of Design at Walter P Moore, explained further: “Seismic forces are proportional to the mass of the structure. Therefore, very early in the design phase, it was decided that the best option would be to incorporate a lightweight, cable-supported tensile membrane roof. Additionally, we decided that the reinforced concrete bowl and the roof structure needed to be independent of each other.

This decision was motivated by the seismic hazard for the project.

“Achieving a good performance of structure economically under seismic events was the primary reason for separating the roof from the bowl. The bowl is a reinforced concrete structure that is inherently very heavy. The roof of Motera Stadium is a lightweight structure made up of tensile mem-

THE FULL PITCH

brane, cables and a steel perimeter frame. If the bowl and roof structures were not separate from each other, it would have created a very high seismic demand on the roof.

“The prescriptive code requirements also allow inelastic behaviour in a reinforced concrete structure when enhanced seismic detaining is adopted. The lightweight roof structure, on the other hand, is not arranged to readily accommodate inelastic behaviour. Without separating the bowl from the roof, the bowl would have been subjected to an amplified seismic demand from the roof.”

Walter P Moore also used Load Response Correlation Method to develop critical wind load patterns from the wind tunnel test.

“Wind load provisions in most codes do not address roof structure for stadiums such as Motera. Additionally, for a structure such as the Motera Stadium roof, it is very important to study the effects of unbalanced wind loads, which is not covered in building codes. Accordingly, we decided to commission a wind tunnel test to ascertain wind loads on the roof accurately.”

The Walter P Moore team faced challenges during the project, too, which Viral highlighted to MONDO | STADIA: “The roof erection involved synchronous pulling roof cables from the compression ring supported on ‘V’ columns. In order to maintain proper cable forces during the entire erection process, it was very important to avoid unbalanced loading on the compression ring.

“This process was challenging due to a limited number of strand jacks that were used during erection. However, various parties including L&T, Walter P Moore, and a specialty contractor for cables came together and worked collaboratively, which resulted in a successful erection process.”

Viral concluded: “Through Walter P Moore, I have worked on a number of sports projects. I grew up in the City of Ahmedabad before moving to the United States over 35 years ago. Designing the roof for the world-class Motera Cricket

Stadium was very special for me.”

When Motera Stadium officially re-opens for international cricket matches, spectators will be treated to a pristine sound experience, courtesy of Bose Professional. The colossal venue boasts an immersive soundscape, due to the new audio system, comprising a total of 162 units of the ArenaMatch series. The system was acquired primarily to efficiently and effectively meet the increased aural demands. It has created a record of sorts for Bose Professional as a brand in India – as it stands, it is the largest comprehensive sound system deployment from Bose Professional in a permanent installation in the country.

Vibhor Khanna, Country Manager – India & SAARC, Bose Professional, commented: “We are extremely happy with the sound system installation at Motera Stadium, and we are proud and honoured to have deployed this system in light of the historical significance of the venue. This is the largest cricket stadium in the world, and I consider this installation as one of the feathers in the Bose cap. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase our latest ArenaMatch loudspeakers from the DeltaQ family of arrays and the whole company is energised by this contract, which is among one of our largest permanent installations in India to date.”

The ArenaMatch system from Bose Professional was chosen as the preferred system for the venue after an on-site simultaneous live demonstration was conducted, featuring three of the most reputed loudspeaker OEMs available in the country.

“The Bose Professional ArenaMatch line of loudspeakers was launched during ISE in 2019 to coincide with the unveiling of the ArenaMatch installation at Philips Stadium in The Netherlands, which provided consultants, Sis, and end users an opportunity to witness the system’s sound quality, consistency, vocal clarity and flexibility in outdoor venues such as sports stadiums, arenas and outdoor entertainment

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centres,” Vibhor added.

“After our return from ISE, we approached the Gujarat Cricket Association and L&T, and it was suggested to have an on-site shootout between three of the industry’s most reputed PA brands. After evaluating the performance on various parameters, the authorities hailed Bose’s ArenaMatch system as the clear winner, and this is how we bagged this prestigious project. Our systems are perfectly suited to the demands of this world-class sporting arena.”

Since the ArenaMatch system had just recently debuted at the time, the brand had to make special arrangements to ensure that the demo was executed perfectly as planned.

Navin Datta, Sales Engineering Head - Bose Corporation, furthered: “At the time of the shootout, the company had just recently launched the product, so it wasn’t even available for demo. We had to request the head office to support us with the demo units, which were then air-shipped to India just in time for the shootout. The outcome of that promptly arranged but wonderful demo almost closed the deal for us.”

Intimately involved in the planning of the sound system deployment, Bose Professional was instrumental in guiding the GCA in setting up a world-class audio system. “The design of the sound system had some inherent challenges of meeting the very high SPL levels required for stadium application, while also ensuring acceptable STI levels, especially given the high ambient noise levels of such large arenas,” said Navin.

The main challenges in commissioning the system involved delivering uniform and clear sound experience to every seat, while maintaining average SPL levels of 100dBA plus, and assuring an STI of 0.5 or above, from already defined loudspeaker mounting locations.

To achieve this, various models of the Bose ArenaMatch were deployed throughout the facility - with the three sections in the venue; the Lower Bowl, the Upper Bowl and VIP

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area featuring multiple units of the AM10, AM20 and AM40 boxes in meticulously planned specific configurations.

While the Lower Bowl area features 16 arrays of four units each of the AM10, AM20 and AM40; the Upper Bowl area has a total of 19 such arrays. Bose Professional products are also used in three of the VVIP sections, as well as the banquet area within the VIP section.

With the Panaray 402 featuring a full-range-driver array and being fully outdoor rated, a total of 11 units have been installed in the VIP section and 10 units in the VVIP section, eliminating the need for tweeters and crossovers, to provide unsurpassed reliability and vocal clarity. Furthermore, 10 units of the Panaray 402 and six units of AM40 have been deployed as point source to cover the banquet area within the VIP section.

The Articulated Array design, with wide 120º x 60º coverage, reduces the number of required loudspeakers, while the 73Hz low frequency range reduces the need for subwoofers, providing a cost-effective solution.

“The system, as a cohesive unit, delivers clearly audible commentary and voice announcements to every seat in the venue,” Navin added.

“We used a Bose EX-1280 C processor, which is a Dante-enabled (64X64) DSP. It has on-board logic/control to interface with third-party devices, and the same is used to interface with fire evacuation systems of the BOH areas.

Being Dante enabled, it can communicate seamlessly to various amplifiers installed across four control rooms.”

The new Bose Professional system has certainly impressed since its installation at Motera Stadium, as Vibhor concluded: “This design provides seamless coverage, volume and clarity for fans in all areas of the stadium. This major installation illustrates the depth and clarity of our high-performance loudspeaker systems and we look forward to further installations in similar venues in the future.”

When it came to the lighting system at Motera Stadium,

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THE FULL PITCH

L&T commissioned Signify to provide the perfect solution for the venue.

“We were involved in this project from a very early stage and worked closely with L&T to design and deliver the lighting to the ultimate end user - the Gujarat Cricket Association,” said Sumit Padmakar Joshi, Market Leader for Signify’s Indian operations.

“The lighting design was finalised after multiple iterations to suit the need of the end user. The final design features a unique ring lighting solution on the canopy - a first for any stadium in India, which meets the customer’s requirements of vertical illumination, uniformity ratios, glare calculations, shadow-free play and spill-over light.

“The stadium also has the distinction of being India’s first LED floodlit cricket stadium that meets the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) broadcasting standards for sports illumination. The lighting system has been designed exclusively for sports and multipurpose venues, offering outstanding light quality, higher energy efficiency, effective thermal management and a long lifetime.”

Signify provided 580 Philips ArenaVision LED flood lighting luminaires for Motera Stadium, with the current installation being future ready, too.

Sumit explained further: “The luminaires are arranged in the form of a ring all around the stadium canopy, leaving the forbidden zone as per the International Cricket Council’s broadcasting standards for sports illumination. As the luminaires are arranged all around the stadium, it ensures excellent vertical illumination for different camera positions located in the stadium. This lighting design, which is currently deployed in leading sports stadiums globally, also

minimises the effect of shadows during play.

“The lighting illumination levels are configured to three switching modes to suit three different playing conditions - international, national and practice games. These switch modes are controlled through a relay controller and the control command can be sent through a computer and keypad setup located in the Field of Play (FOP) control room.”

Motera Stadium is the first sports venue in India that features the unique ring lighting arrangement of LED luminaires installed on the catwalk of the stadium. This meant that the Signify team had to do a mock-up installation of the lighting at ground level to ensure the actual installation would be a success.

“The Philips ArenaVision LED luminaries had to be installed at a height of 43-metres all around the catwalk of this stadium. This presented a unique challenge of lifting all the material at that height, which was done with the help of construction cranes and pulleys. Installing equipment at such a height also required a certified skilled workforce along with the use of special PPE,” added Sumit.

“The project material was supplied within three months on site and the installation, testing and commissioning of the lighting system was completed in just three months - much faster than usual for projects of this scale.”

Everyone involved in the Motera Stadium project has delivered a venue that Gujarat – and India as a whole – can be proud of. With expert design and state-of-the-art technology in place, it is surely ready to become a truly iconic venue – and one of the world’s greatest cricket stadiums.

CONTRACTOR: Larsen & Toubro | ARCHITECT: Populous | STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Walter P Moore | BRANDS: Bose Professional, Signify | WEBSITES: www.larsentoubro.com, www.populous.com, www.walterpmoore.com, www.pro.bose.com, www.signify.com 044

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PUSKÁS ARENA Budapest, Hungary

Images: INTERTON Group, GRIVEN

T

aking its name from the legendary Hungarian footballer, Ferenc Puskás Stadium was commissioned in 1948 and completed in 1953, becoming the largest sporting venue in Hungary. The stadium hosted

matches during the national team’s golden era, as well as a while host of shows and concerts, including the likes of Queen, The Rolling Stones, U2, Louis Armstrong and Placido Domingo, to name but a few.

Over the years, Ferenc Puskás Stadium began to show signs of deterioration, which led to serious discussions regarding refurbishment as far back as 2011. However, it was when Budapest was nominated among the 12 host cities of UEFA Euro 2020 – now Euro 2021 - in 2014 that the plans started to come to fruition. The stadium was officially closed in 2016 and demolished the following year, however, it inspired the design for its replacement – Puskás Arena.

Awarded with the Order of Merit, the appointed architect, György Skardelli, wanted to preserve the distinctive character of the original building, while creating a modern facility that is capable of meeting the most advanced expectations, as well as FIFA requirements.

Taking inspiration in particular from the oval shape and entrance building of the old stadium, the decorated pylons were kept as main architectural features of the new arena. In fact, the old stadium’s entrance building is the only original element left untouched – it still remains, with its exposed brickwork walls as a symbol of the past glory days. It hosts a sport museum, too, offering the perfect connection to the legacy of the old stadium.

Built on three levels, the majestic grandstand has a capacity of 67,215 seats for matches, and 80,000 for concerts. Ranked as the 19th largest stadium in Europe, Puskás Arena held its first official match in November 2019. A friendly between Hungary and Uruguay - a true classic of the Hungarian football golden era of the 1950s – kicked off a new epoch in front of a sold-out crowd.

Puskás Arena, which will hold three group stage matches and a quarter final during Euro 2021, is the most modern stadium in Central Europe, with technology playing a key role in the stadium’s design, facilities and experience.

For the audiovisual and IT elements of the stadium, INTERTON Group were asked to prepare the tender documentation for Puskás Arena by early 2016 when it went public.

István Bogár, Marketing Manager at INTERTON Group takes up the story: “They requested a state-of-the-art, UEFA Category 4 stadium, both from architectural and technological point of view.

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048

The most important guide that the design team had to

Enterprise CORE processors, supported by a redundant

follow was the UEFA Euro 2020 Technical Requirements

IT network. The system serves the premium sound

Handbook.

reinforcement system of the bowl, but also takes care of the

“The tender documentation phase started in quarter three

public address system.

of 2013, lasting until quarter one of 2016. Considering

“The venue is divided into a total of 175 zones, and only

the requirements of the UEFA Euro 2020 handbook, we

two of these are used for providing audio feed for the

designed a state-of-the-art audiovisual and IT solution,

32 line array rigs of the main PA. 18 high priority zones

including premium-quality products. During the tender

can serve as an independent local audio system, but, in

phase, close cooperation with different parties was

all of the cases, the redundant CORE manages the whole

essential; architects, the team from UEFA, statics engineers,

system. Using several customised GUIs, we supplied an

high and low voltage designers, building automation

integrated control solution that manages the entire audio

consultants were all involved to achieve the best result of

system, video matrices, displays, digital signage content,

the tender documentation.

interpretation system, assistive listening solutions and also

“When the general contractor group was selected, the

the emergency announcements.”

installation design phase started for the audiovisual and

A fully-weatherised d&b audiotechnik V-Series system

IT systems – this was early 2017. At the end of 2017, a

is used for Puskás Arena, with QSC Q-Sys controlling

complete audiovisual and IT design package was prepared,

and monitoring the amplifiers, indicating and logging all

which meant that the construction could be started for

potential issues.

these fundamental systems. So, at the beginning of 2019,

“Using a unified GUI, different presets can be recalled,

INTERTON Group was appointed as the audiovisual system

depending on the actual scenario. This GUI also provides a

integrator of the Puskás Arena.”

comprehensive control for all other audiovisual functions,

The audiovisual system at Puskás Arena included the

and ensures an intuitive, simple usage, reliability, and

following solutions; public address system, professional

cost-effective operation. DANTE/Q-LAN network used by

audio system for the stands and the pitch, local audiovisual

d&b and QSC works perfectly well together, resulting in

systems in the restaurant, press conference room, mobile

unparalleled flexibility.

audiovisual system, internal broadcast system, assistive

“First and foremost, the stadium’s sound system had

listening solutions, wireless intercom and central control

to comply with the specifications outlined in the UEFA

system.

Euro 2020 Technical Requirements. These include high

István explained further: “The entire audiovisual and

STI, wide frequency response, high sound pressure level

control system is built on a redundant pair of QSC

and exceptional sound quality parameters. The sound

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system also had to provide sound diffusion zones for

NDI signals for future expansions,” added István.

the press area, which could easily be realised using

Although the new, state-of-the-art audiovisual and IT

d&b audiotechnik’s Array Processing Technology. The

systems have been a huge success for Puskás Arena,

loudspeakers were mounted on the roof structure and, due

there were challenges during the installation process, as

to design considerations, the lightweight solution provided

Istvân explained further: “The timeframe for the design

by d&b audiotechnik was ideal.”

and installation work was rather short - less than nine

Zsolt Kiss, Audio Project Manager for Puskás Arena was

months. However, we knew that having the professional

impressed with the new d&b audiotechnik system, too

support from our friends at d&b audiotechnik and QSC, as

– particularly during the game: “The sound is physics-

well as our AVC system integration experience, would help

defying considering the mounting height of 54-metres. The

us to complete the installation on time and as expected.

moment of proof was when 67,000 fans loudly celebrated

The most challenging part of all, though, was to create 12

a home goal and the d&b audiotechnik system managed to

different graphical UCIs, which transforms the complex

still clearly carry the voice of the commentator across the

audiovisual system into a user-friendly solution.

immense volume.”

“Despite the challenges, the team at INTERTON Group

INTERTON Group also provided a Wi-Fi-based intercom

managed to reach the initial goal that was set out. In fact,

that is able to deliver seamless communication throughout

according to the test results carried out by UEFA experts

the whole venue. Not only that, there is also the internal

Puskás Arena is the second stadium in Europe that fully

broadcast system, which is there to provide content for

complies with the strict audio requirements of the UEFA

scoreboards and digital signage displays, as well as giving

2020 Technical Requirements. We are extremely proud that

the option of recording, archiving and post-production.

we could participate in this prestigious project.”

“The main features of the system include permanent and

To complete the renovation of Puskás Arena, a ground-

mobile 4K cameras, real-time infographics, slow motion

breaking lighting system was required to deliver a lasting

and playout server based on Apple MacPro computers,

impact to the venue at night. To achieve this, the GRIVEN

software-based intercom and 32x32 video matrix, handling

distributor for Hungary, Lisys-Project Kft, was tasked

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with the complete development – specifying GRIVEN’s

200 units of Coral fixtures used to illuminate the glass

LED lighting fixtures to comply with all the project

walls above the staircases, as well as the upper ring of the

prerequisites.

stadium. The museum was lit up by units of Ruby MC R

GRIVEN provided the colour to the new stadium, with an

embedded at the four corners of the building, while its side

array of Powershine MK2 S and Coral units, as well as

walls shine in bright colours with the help of an array of

Zaphirs, Rubys and Jade 16s used for the football museum.

Zaphir units fitted with wide optics.

A lighting test was held a few days before the inauguration

To complete the lighting scheme, JADE 16 fixtures enhance

match to double check that the complex lighting system

architectural details of the entrance building façade.

of Puskás Arena was working seamlessly, delivering the

All the installed fixtures were customised with a hybrid

required colour-changing effect. The fixtures installed to

monocable, which can facilitate the mounting and DMX

light up the whole arena were chosen with different optics

controlling of all the units. The final result is dynamic and

layouts, but in the same RGBW colour configuration.

exciting, all while fully enhancing the impressive design of

120 units of Powershine MK2 S with either extra wide,

Puskás Arena.

medium or wide optics were installed in groups of four

The overall design of the venue, paired with its impressive

on poles located in front of the squared pylons in order to

technology, delivers an incredible, stand-out experience for

deliver an even colour distribution to their whole height,

visitors, ensuring that Budapest is ready for Euro 2021 and

enhancing their traditional pattern. There were also over

beyond.

ARCHITECT: KÖZTI Architects INSTALLER: INTERTON Group, Lisys-Project Kft | BRANDS: d&b audiotecnik, QSC, GRIVEN, LG, TOA, Yamaha, Shure, IVS, Taiden, Icom, Ampetronic, Panasonic, Teradek, AJA Video Systems | WEBSITES: www.kozti.hu, www. intertongroup.com, www.lisys-project.hu, www.dbaudio.com, www.qsc.com, www.griven.com, www. lg.com, www.toaelectronics.com, www.yamaha.com, www.shure.com, www.taiden.com, www.icomuk.co.uk, www.ampetronic.com, www,panasonic.com, www.teradek.com, www. aja.com 052

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THE FULL PITCH

AVIVA STADIUM Dublin, Ireland

Images: Musco Lighting, Daktronics

D

ublin’s Aviva Stadium, home of the Irish Rugby Union team and Republic of Ireland Football team, was built in 2010 to replace the historic Lansdowne Road Stadium, which had been serving avid sports

fans since the 1800s. With a 51,700 capacity, Aviva Stadium is Dublin’s second largest sporting venue, and has played host to many major tournaments, including the Rugby Union and the FAI Cup Final.

The bowl-shaped, cosmic construction, designed as a result of a collaboration between Populous and Dublin-based architects, Scott Tallon Walker, earned the stadium a British Construction Industry Award back in 2011, and the venue still continues to attract and impress sporting fans from across the globe today.

More recently, Aviva Stadium looked to upgrade its lighting and video board system to create an even more dynamic fan experience at the heart of every game. To implement the new solutions, sport floodlight specialists, Musco Lighting, and LED display giants, Daktronics, were brought in to help.

Holding an already-longstanding relationship with the venue, after deploying the original floodlights back when the arena opened in 2010, Musco Lighting was keen to be back onboard with the renovation. “We’ve had a very positive, longstanding relationship with the stadium operations team. For this LED pitch lighting upgrade project, the stadium brought ME Engineers back in to support them for the specification and tender process. Musco developed our design based on the performance specification and, once appointed, worked closely with the design team to fine tune it to the finished solution,” explained Jeff Rogers, President of Musco World.

Last summer, Musco supplied Aviva Stadium with its stateof-the-art Total Light Control (TLC) for LED technology as its

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056

new field-of-play lighting system. 2020’s upgrade saw 52

said Jeff.

colour-changing RGBW LED fixtures strategically located

Stadium FX, based in Leeds, UK, worked with Musco

throughout the bowl to illuminate the roof structure.

Sports Lighting and Aviva Stadium to deliver the lighting

Additionally, bracketing and cabling for 24 spotlight

control system for all of the recent upgrades. The new

mounting locations was installed, which allows for

Musco system is controlled from one Stadium FX Apollo

temporary, moving spotlights to be added when necessary.

touchscreen system that is installed in the main event

“Due to the interworking of the primary steelwork

control room.

supporting the stadium structure and the main gantries

The addition of the colour mixing RGBW floods adds a

where the floodlights are located, Aviva Stadium

huge effect to Aviva Stadium’s permanent lighting rig.

presented one of the most challenging venues to deliver

Previously only used a few times a year, with a temporarily

an international broadcast-standard lighting system to.

hired-in set of lights, the stadium can now light up the

However, because of Musco’s ability to develop a lighting

iconic translucent roof any time they wish, for people

solution customised to every stadium, including the

all over Dublin to see. The field of play floodlights are

utilisation of various luminaire types and optics, we have

individually controllable and not only mapped in the SFX

been able to deliver a solution which complies with the

Apollo controller in their physical location, but also where

highest levels of UEFA, FIFA, and World Rugby lighting

they light the field. This allows their programmers to create

requirements, while enhancing the already impressive

pitch-mapped effects, sweeping up and down the pitch as

visual qualities of the stadium itself,” furthered Jeff.

well as pinpointing specific areas.

The lighting control selected for this particular project

Stadium FX Technical Director, Sam MacLaren, and Project

was supplied by StadiumFX. A trusted partner of Musco,

Manager, Dan Tiley, worked closely with IT and technical

it was a no brainer to get the company and its solutions

staff at the stadium to fine tune the scope in order to

involved in the project. “Their experience in delivering

meet and exceed the fail-safe and backup requirements.

customised, cutting-edge light shows and lighting control

With the advent of controllable LED floodlights, the codes

solutions in the concert and live events industries is

and sporting bodies’ rules and regulations are rightly

an ideal complement to Musco’s expertise as a leading

changing and being fine-tuned season by season. Stadium

sports lighting supplier. StadiumFX partnered with us

FX have been working for several years with the RFU and

at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the San Siro, Wembley

UEFA to help them understand what is possible, as well

Stadium, Parken Stadium, and many others. It was ideal to

as demonstrating fail-safes and putting minds at ease.

have them back on our project team for Aviva Stadium,”

Working at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin brought the IRFU

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and FAI into this sphere.

the hardware, it was very important to Aviva Stadium that

“Working in conjunction with all the governing bodies

their existing Daktronics Show Control would be the central

and television companies, wherever we go, is paramount

hub for their operators, to ensure all LED displays are

to the success of a controllable lighting system like Aviva

synced and performing as one.”

Stadium’s” added Stadium FX’s Creative Director, Nick

In terms of stadium control, Daktronics implemented

Collier. “Our experience in lighting events in stadia all over

it’s Show Control user station, which gave the stadium

the world for television and live audiences is proving to be

complete control of how and where content is presented.

a huge benefit to our clients.”

“Due to the flexibility and functionality of the Daktronics

Not only did the stadium gain a new lighting solution, the

Show Control user software, when the addition of the mid-

video boards were upgraded, too. Like Musco, Daktronics

tier LED was added, no additional user interface software

had already established a strong bond with Aviva Stadium,

was required. Show Control powers all the stadium owned

working with them for an impressive 10 years, so after

LED on match days, whilst Daktronics Venus software

winning the contract for the mid-tier solution, it worked

schedules content and playlists for non-match days,”

with on-site partner EDS to implement the new technology.

explained Ewan.

“The brief set by the customer was to deliver a world

For both Musco and Daktronics, the quick turnaround of

class install, ready for the start of the Six Nations Rugby

this project proved difficult, however, both companies

Championships, that would add to the fan and game day

completed the project without any major issues and the

experience, while having the robustness and diversity to

client was impressed with the upgrade and the diversity

withstand up to 10 years of operation,” explained Ewan

it has delivered to fans. “It was a fairly short installation

Prentice, Daktronics’ Regional Manager. “We had already

window, with a massive amount of work to accomplish in

updated the North East display back in 2017, so it was great

both the removal and new installation. Fortunately, we had

for us to be able to complement an already fantastic system

our long-term partner, McSherry Electrical, on board on

and fan experience with more Daktronics displays.”

our project team. They installed the previous Musco system

For the stadium’s main video display, Daktronics had

at the Aviva, so their integral knowledge of the venue,

already installed its DVX 13HD technology. This time

fantastic work effort, and years of experience working with

around, Daktronics offered the RTX 13HD, which is designed

Musco systems allowed us to deliver the project on time,”

specifically to be used in fascia displays. “The difference

concluded Jeff.

between our DVX and RTX is in the access for service and

“It was a fast-paced project with a lot occurring at one

configuration of the cabinets. RTX displays allow ‘top’

time. Co-ordination was key and by working hard day and

access for continual preventative maintenance, reducing

night, the work was managed and completed within the

costs and time as no machinery is needed. Something very

short time frame. We’d like to thank the team at Aviva

important to Aviva Stadium, as the brief was to provide a

Stadium for their continued trust in our products and for

world class product that can grow with the stadium over

allowing us to work on this brilliant stadium!” added Ewan.

the course of the next 10 years,” furthered Ewan. “Besides

BRANDS: Musco Lighting, Daktronics, Stadium FX | WEBSITES: www.musco.com, www.daktronics.com, www.stadiumfx.co.uk 058

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11 VENUE FOCUS

AUDIO

BROADCAST

062 Jan Breydel Stadium | Bruges, Belgium 068 CHI Health Center | Omaha, USA

078 Biathlon World Cup | Ruhpolding, Germany | Pokljuka, Slovenia | South Tyrol, Italy

VIDEO

ESPORTS

072 Kia Oval | London, England

082 OMEN Challenge | London, England

AUDIO

JAN BREYDEL STADIUM Bruges, Belgium

Images: Koen Galle

O

pened in 1975, Jan Breydel Stadium was built for the city of Bruges to provide a shared home for the two local football clubs - Club Brugge KV and Cercle Brugge KSV.

Back then, the venue had the capacity for around 30,000 fans, though this was mostly standing only. In the 1990s, the terraces were equipped with seating, which saw the capacity reduce to under 20,000, however, following its selection as a venue for Euro 2000, plans were put in place to expand two stands and refurbish the other two. The work was completed in 1999, leaving the stadium with a seated capacity of 29,042.

Interestingly, the ground was originally called Olympiastadion, however, in order to qualify for subsidies from the Flanders government, a more Flemish name was required, which led to the decision to change the name to Jan Breydel Stadium – named after a folk hero from 14th Century Bruges.

During the Euro 2000 tournament, Jan Breydel Stadium hosted three group matches and the quarter-final between France and Spain.

Nowadays, it is still home to both Club Brugge and Cercle Brugge, however, it was due an upgrade, with the audio system being first on the agenda.

Kirsten Willem, Head of Communications at Club Brugge, spoke to MONDO | STADIA to explain further: “The audio in our stadium was very poor – and, more than ever, we realise the importance of the pre-match build up and how that affects the atmosphere for the games. Just simple things like playing the right music and announcing players’ names, for example. It’s really important.

“So, at the beginning of 2019, we had some internal discussions about the audio after receiving some negative feedback – the system simply wasn’t capable of achieving what we wanted. We decided to look for a new solution that we wanted to have in place by the playoffs in April.”

From there, Club Brugge contacted Belgium-based audio experts, Soundsystem.be, with the task to help improve the audio experience throughout the stadium for the fans. Having already installed a new audio system in one of KV Kortrijk’s Guldensporen Stadium a few years ago, the Soundsystem.be team were well placed to provide the perfect system for Jan Breydel Stadium. Plus, as an official Funktion-One distributor, they had access to the suppliers of an audio system that has been deployed with great success at Volgograd Stadium for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Lieven Pillaert, Technical Director at Soundsystem.be, takes up the

story: “First, the club asked us for a temporary solution

announcements – but it’s also a very powerful system

that they wanted in time for the play-offs, but we believed

that can be aimed to specific areas of the stands to offer

that would be a very expensive option to have in place for

a consistent sound quality for all of the fans. Plus, it’s

just six weeks. So, we approached them with the idea of

weather resistant, too, making it the ideal solution for Club

a new system being installed and, by February 2019, they

Brugge.”

went with that option.

The new audio system is always operating at the stadium

“A lot of research went into the plans that we presented to

for safety reasons, with the police and fire department

Club Brugge as we had to understand what each area of the

directly connected and able to take control of the system

stadium needed. I used a decibel meter during a game to

when needed. During matchdays, the system is operated

work out what approach we needed to take in the different

by the stadium speaker and DJ. Soundsystem.be has also

stands.”

installed a direct input close to the pitch for any kind

Working with Funktion-One Founder, John Newsham, a

of connection, as well as a plug-in for Club Brugge’s

3D visualisation of the entire stadium was drawn, which

television channel.

then saw a sound simulation applied to it. From there,

Since the new Funktion-One system was installed, there

Soundsystem.be ordered close to 30km of audio and

has been a vast improvement, with great feedback so far.

loudspeaker cables to connect a total of 146 Funktion-One

“The feedback we have had from the club and those in

loudspeakers, with five amplifier rooms.

the stadium for the games is that it is very clear and

Using custom-made stainless steel frames, the team fixed

understandable, especially for the announcements. The

24 Funktion-One EVO 6 loudspeakers, 72 Funktion-One

second kind of feedback is much better, though, as we can

RES 2SH loudspeakers, 22 Funktion-One F55 compact

see people in the stands reacting to the music and creating

loudspeakers and 28 F218 MK2 subwoofers from Funktion-

that experience the club wanted,” said Lieven.

One.

Kirsten is in agreement, too: “The fans are much happier

“We started with the North Stand, where the loud, die-hard

in the stadium now – you really get the feel of the music.

fans are situated, and this was completed by the end of

You can feel that bass, which really adds to the atmosphere.

March,” added Lieven. “Then, we started work on the West

Beforehand, we were getting complaints from the fans, but

Stand in April, before finishing the rest of the stadium just

we don’t have that anymore. It really has improved the

before the play-offs.

overall experience.”

“The Funktion-One system has very high intelligibility – it’s very clear when it is used for voice alarms and

INSTALLER: Soundsystem.be | BRAND: Funktion-One | WEBSITES: www.soundsystem.be, www.funktion-one.com 064

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

AUDIO

065

AUDIO

CHI HEALTH CENTER Omaha, USA

Images: Creighton Athletics

A

new Meyer Sound system, based on LEOPARD line array loudspeakers, is the keystone component of a complete audio upgrade for Omaha’s 18,300-seat CHI Health Center arena. Now equipped with the latest in audio

reinforcement technology, the venue offers an enhanced audience listening experience for a wide range of large-scale athletic, community and corporate events.

Integrated and installed by the Sports and Entertainment division of Alpha Video, the new system replaces a sturdy, but dated Meyer Sound point source cluster system that had been in place since the arena opened in 2003.

“The durability and craftsmanship of the Meyer Sound loudspeakers outlasted most of the rest of the system,” noted Gino Meyer, Manager of audio-video technology for the Omaha Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA), the venue’s manager and operator. “So, when it came time to upgrade to the latest in line array technology, going with a new Meyer Sound system was a no-brainer.”

After the video boards were updated in 2013, ideas started to trickle in as to how the venue could provide fans with a better listening experience to match the new, stand-out visual upgrade.

Gino and the rest of the audiovisual team knew they wanted a system capable of catering to a wide variety of sports and corporate events, therefore, after previous experience with the brand, Meyer Sound was chosen and system design began. “Meyer Sound took the building schematics and created a 3D model of the space so they could see how the LEOPARD line arrays would react in the arena. This helped ensure that all of the seating would be covered.

Following a stamp of approval from our structural engineer, we began working with the electrical contractors to figure out the power cabling needed for not only the powered loudspeakers, but the chain motors that hold them,” explained Gino. “The next step was assessing the network infrastructure. We needed to decide where the switches would reside, where the networked QSC touch

070

panels would be placed, and how the fibre and ethernet

deployed in four cardioid arrays, with two low frequency

cabling would move throughout the building. It was at this

arrays of three each flown over the end LEOPARD arrays

point we knew we had a nearly complete picture of what

and two on the sides between the corner arrays. System

the system would look like.”

drive and processing is courtesy of five GALAXY 816

CHI Health Center had worked extensively with Alpha Video

network platforms, with three RMServers implementing

on their broadcast systems, so MECA’s Gino called on Jeff

comprehensive remote system monitoring.

Volk, Vice President of Sports & Entertainment, to work on

“QSC amplifiers were also chosen for the arena,” explained

solutions, whilst Alpha Video’s Broadcast Design Engineer,

Gino, “because we wanted to incorporate the Q-SYS

Fred Street, collaborated with Meyer Sound Design

system to drive the network-based amplifiers. Beyond

Services on the system design. Although the planning

the venue, several spaces needed sound amplification and

process extended back to 2018, the actual installation was

reinforcement. These spaces included the press rooms,

accomplished in two compressed time windows in summer

suites, restrooms, and concession stands.”

and then late autumn of 2019. The result, according to

The system produces remarkably uniform coverage across

Gino, has been a markedly improved audience experience.

the full bandwidth, according to Alpha Video’s Fred. “Meyer

“Creighton University men’s basketball is our main tenant

Sound likes to hit within a couple dB consistently, and

here, so we really wanted a system with both very high

we’re doing that here,” he said. “Predicted maximum levels

intelligibility plus a really solid low end,” said Gino. “Since

are well over 90 dB, and we’re certainly capable of doing

most of the incidental music for them is hip-hop. We really

that. We didn’t have time to do any formal intelligibility

needed a system with punch, and the new Meyer Sound

measurements, but it really wasn’t necessary. The clarity is

system definitely delivers.”

amazing. It’s smooth, consistent and beautiful-sounding,

The system’s 88 LEOPARD line array loudspeakers are

top to bottom and all the way around.”

configured in six hangs, with four arrays of 16 each at

For Jeff, the bottom line is making the sound work with

the corners for near and far throw, and two of 12 each for

the contemporary shift in sports video presentation. “It

the end arrays with a shorter throw. For low end impact,

used to be just speech reinforcement in the PA, but what

the 12 900-LFC low frequency control elements are

we’ve designed gives them a full range of music playback

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AUDIO

capability, including a lot of low frequency power. Now

great products, they back them with great engineering and

when the basketball team comes out, they can complement

great support. We couldn’t be happier with this project or

the opening video with a lot of low-end punch to match

the others we’re working on.”

the visual elements on the screen. Yet it still delivers

Alpha Video’s complete overhaul of systems in the arena

a very high level of speech intelligibility, even when

also included a complete network infrastructure upgrade on

announcements are over the music.”

10 GB fibre optic with fully redundant topology, new back-

Testifying on behalf of the principal user of the venue is Joe

of-house systems, and new DSP and control systems. Also

Willman, Director of marketing and broadcast services for

new are the two Yamaha consoles, with a QL5 at FOH and a

Creighton University Athletics.

QL1 at scoreboard control.

“The new Meyer Sound system certainly has delivered,”

As Gino explained, the project did throw up some

he said. “Whether you are courtside or in the last row, you

challenges, especially with the team’s tight deadline of less

get clear intelligibility and enhanced dynamic range. We’ve

than a month, however, all were met with positivity and

revised the way we create content for the venue, knowing

accomplished to a high standard. “We were still ironing out

that we have a lot more room to play with as far as what

the last details the day before the first event, the Creighton

we’re giving the system. We’ve received compliments on

Men’s Basketball season opener. An unbelievable amount of

the clarity of our PA announcer, and now when the opening

hard work guaranteed a successful installation and launch

video plays and the sound booms, the fans really know it’s

of the new system. We were especially grateful to Meyer,

game time!”

who flew to Omaha to tune the LEOPARD system,” he

For Jeff, client satisfaction is a consistent result when

concluded.

partnering with Meyer Sound. “Everything we do with them is a great experience,” he said. “Not only do they make

INSTALLER: Alpha Video | BRANDS: Meyer Sound, Focusrite, QSC, Yamaha | WEBSITES: www.alphavideosports.com, www.meyersound.com, www.focusrite.com, www.qsc.com, www.yamaha.com 071

VIDEO

KIA OVAL London, England

Images: Pioneer Group

S

urrey Cricket Club is one of England’s oldest and most prestigious cricket clubs, taking residence at the iconic Oval ground in South London since its establishment in 1845. Having held first-class status since conception, it

is one of the 18 clubs in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. Cricket has been played on the site of The Oval since the early 18th Century, prior to this the land having been given to Henry Prince of Wales by his father, King James 1st, in 1611, hence the prince’s feathers feature on the club’s badge. The ground’s rich heritage has continued throughout history, famous for its location next to the iconic Victorian gasholder and for hosting the first game of international Test cricket.

The ground has always had a reputation as one of the UK’s top venues to watch cricket, and ticket sales generated from repeated hosting of domestic and international games have resulted in Surrey Cricket’s lucrativeness as a club. To ensure this is maintained, the ground needs to consistently remain at the forefront of innovation, providing spectators with the best possible experience – it is famously noted for illuminating the game with the first use of artificial lighting at a sports arena in the form of gas lamps.

The venue now has capacity for 25,300 spectators and has undergone constant redevelopment throughout the 21st Century. In 2005, the north stands were replaced by the now famous 1845 Stand – a sweeping four-tiered grandstand, offering great vantage points for all spectators and world-class corporate hospitality. This stand significantly helped Surrey CCC elevate its position as a leading sports venue and the venue soon became a popular conference and events destination.

Important sponsorship deals – the main one being with Kia Motors, hence the naming rights – have played a key part in driving revenue for the club, and the sweeping design of the 1845 Stand lent itself

074

perfectly to advertising and brand awareness. Each tier of

place, used for displaying varying content, all connected to

the 1845 Stand is currently used for these purposes. This

the same IPTV network. From a logical point of view, the

year, Surrey Cricket decided to maximise usage of the top

decision was made to use the existing infrastructure for

tier, by installing LED to provide the ultimate platform

content delivery of the new upper-tier system.

for showcasing content, advertising and improving fan

The club enlisted Pioneer Group to devise the ultimate

experience.

digital signage solution for the upper-tier, 1845 Stand,

The club has had mixed success with permanent tier LED

largely due to its experience and expertise in stadium LED

products in the past and had been actively looking for a

experience - especially within the cricket environment,

solution that combined reliability, robust pixel longevity

having recently completed work at Emirates Old Trafford.

and excellent content delivery. Because of the precarious

As the tier’s balcony had previously been used for static

location of the display, mounted on a concrete balustrade

advertising, attention to the concrete balustrade’s inner

above three other levels and 20-metres off the ground,

infrastructure had been unnecessary. However, with the

there were obvious challenges with installation, not to

weight of LED, considerations needed to be made regarding

forget preventing disruption to the club’s ever-growing

the reinforced steel rebar that supports the concrete.

conferencing and hospitality business. Finding a short

Engineers therefore needed to scan the framework to

window to fit the product was challenging, previous

locate the inner support system, so as to avoid affecting

installations were cumbersome, untidy and were distracting

the structural integrity of the concrete. Interfacing Pioneer

to spectators watching from the balcony behind. Speed of

Group’s own ultra-high bright p10 LED, a simple rear

install was therefore a factor to be considered, with the

support system was fixed into the concrete to support the

hectic calendar of back-to-back games, stadium work

total 76 cabinets which make up the 80-metre banner,

needs to be done quickly and with minimum impact on

covering the entire surface of the upper-tier. This was then

operations. This was especially true in the summer of

tested, commissioned and connected to the club’s IPTV

2019, when the club hosted more cricket and C&E events

network.

than ever before, including the ICC Cricket World Cup and,

The system, approved by the English Cricket Board, was

of course, the final Ashes Test. This left only one suitable

innovatively designed with ongoing maintenance in mind.

window for the work to be completed.

In order to reduce the time taken to make repairs and to

The club’s previous technical investment needed to be

avoid the whole display being affected by pixel failure,

taken into account when integrating the solution, as the

the system is made up of individual cartridges with access

upper-tier LED was not the first display system within

at the top of each unit, which can be lifted out easily.

the ground. There are a multitude of screens currently in

Each cartridge is ‘hot-swappable’, meaning they can be

WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

Recording Formats See recording formats, resolution and frame rate.

Mounting Points Standard ¼ inch mount points on top and bottom.

Heads Up Display View critical status and recording information or swipe to hide it.

Timecode Lock timecode for perfect sync with camera recordings.

Advanced Connections 12G-SDI, HDMI, microphone inputs and more.

Shown with scopes enabled!

Built in Scopes Professional waveform, vectorscope, RGB parade and histogram.

HDR Display Super bright 2,500 nit HDR display with 100% DCI P3 color.

Media Info Displays remaining record time on all available media.

Audio Meters Professional audio metering with customizable ballistics.

SD Card Recorders Single or dual SD card recorders use standard, inexpensive media.

Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR Add HDR monitoring, professional scopes and dramatically better record codecs to any camera!

Advanced 12G-SDI for Working in All Formats

Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR lets you add professional monitoring and recording to any SDI or HDMI camera in all HD, Ultra HD, 2K and 4K DCI formats. Available in both 5 inch or 7 inch models, you get 2,500 nit HDR screens, professional broadcast scopes, focus assist, 3D LUTs, tally, higher capacity batteries, native Blackmagic RAW recording from supported cameras and more.

The 12G-SDI and HDMI connections are multi-rate which means they automatically switch speeds, making them compatible with all SD, HD, Ultra HD, 2K and 4K DCI equipment and formats. Formats such as 720p, 1080i, 1080p and Ultra HD are all supported at up to 60 frames per second. You can even record 2K and 4K DCI formats at up to 25 frames per second for digital film work!

HDR Support with Bright Wide Gamut LCD

Better Recording Formats

Video Assist supports the latest HDR metadata and image standards and has a built in 2,500 nit, wide gamut screen that covers 100% of the DCI-P3 colorspace.

The screen is easy to see in bright sunlight, the built in scopes automatically change to HDR, and all files, SDI streams and HDMI streams are tagged with the correct PQ and HLG metadata information according to the ST2084 standard.

If your camera records compressed H.264 or uses expensive, proprietary media, then adding a Video Assist will let you record better looking images! You get industry standard ProRes and DNx recording, along with Blackmagic RAW for select cameras. Plus, the larger display and focus assist tools make it easier to frame and focus shots. Images are recorded onto inexpensive SD cards or you can even record to external USB-C disks.

Built In Scopes Ensure Compliance to Standards Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR features professional SDR and HDR scopes for technical monitoring so you can ensure compliance to broadcast standards.

You get a traditional waveform monitor, vectorscope, RGB parade and histogram for checking levels and clipping. The scopes can be overlaid on live video or the picture can be viewed in a small window at the top right of the scope!

Blackmagic Video Assist 5" 12G HDR ��������������� 725€* Blackmagic Video Assist 7" 12G HDR ����������������895€*

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12/12/19 4:26 pm

VIDEO

exchanged, should a fault arise, with the power on, even in

invest in modernising the ground and are proud to combine

the middle of a game.

some truly iconic architecture with modern technology.

Work was completed by Pioneer’s engineers over the August

The LED helps us to give spectators a great match day

bank holiday, ensuring the install was up and running for

experience and helps the club stay ahead of the curve as

the final Ashes Test of the series. The innovative display

cricket enters a new era. Fans expect much more when they

was used for fan engagement, using content from the ECB

come to a game of cricket and the upper-tier LED helps

featuring players’ names and pictures being shown at

us deliver a fantastic experience with maximum crowd

relevant points in the game, as well as advertising.

engagement.”

Importantly, the new system is now reliable, as Adam

Sponsorship is also vital to ensuring sustained revenue,

Corbett, Operations Executive at Surrey Oval explained: “I

something LED plays a key part in, as Charlie commented:

am now confident that with a click of the button on my PC,

“The upper-tier location is perfect as it enhances the

the correct content will be showcased across the top tier

stadium experience for spectators, whilst providing a

of the 1845 Stand instantly. Reliability is key, especially

fantastic platform to meet our commercial partner’s

amidst the pressure of hosting a game of international

sponsorship requirements. Many sports stadiums around

cricket in front of 27,000 spectators.

the world are taking advantage of mid-tier/upper-tier LED

“Although we are yet to experience any pixel failure of

and The Kia Oval is pleased it can now offer this.”

the system, it is reassuring to know that the system

The club is in the process of determining objectives for

can be maintained quickly and easily due to its unique

utilising the system ahead of next season. This includes

cartridge design. Previously, we would have to schedule the

the opportunity for fan engagement via social media and

maintenance work and erect scaffolding – not ideal when

creating custom content for county matches.

the ground is regularly hosting international cricket.”

What is clear is the club’s satisfaction with the completion

He added: “Not only does the installation look immaculate,

of the project: “We have been hugely impressed with

all cabinets are seamlessly interfaced, we are now confident

Pioneer Group’s dedication and quality of work. Given

we can use it at any time for any event.”

the difficult location and short time frame to complete

Charlie Hodgson, Managing Director at Surrey County

the project, to have reliable and robust upper-tier LED

Cricket Club stresses the importance of the new system and

is fantastic. We are looking forward to continuing to

what it means to the club: “We are very pleased with the

best utilise the opportunities for fan engagement and

new upper-tier LED installation. As a club, we continue to

commercial sponsorship that is now available to us.”

BRANDS: Pioneer Group | WEBSITES: www.pioneergroup.co.uk 076

Foto: Peter Schatz / Alamy Stock Photo

we shape the future LED-SCOREBOARD TURNKEY SOLUTIONS

Made in Germany

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BROADCAST

INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON UNION WORLD CUP Ruhpolding, Germany | Pokljuka, Slovenia | South Tyrol, Italy

Images: Movicom

M

ovicom was rolled out to multiple events and locations to help cover the extensive International Biathlon Union’s (IBU) World Cup competitions during the 2019/2020 season, culminating with World

Championships in the Antholz Valley, Italy, at the end of February.

The months’ long competition came down to a very close finale between the French and Norwegian teams – with Norway edging out by a small margin to win the competition for the fourth year in a row.

For three years now, Movicom has been called upon to cover the IBU’s competition in Ruhpolding, Germany, an earlier part of the World Cup series. As usual, heavy snowfall and high winds presented the biggest challenge, not only to the athletes, but also to the media and crew covering the event. The Movicom team deployed a Robycam cable suspended camera system with the R2 gyrostabilised head, which handled the adverse climate conditions effortlessly, performing without error for the entire four-day event.

Besides the weather, rigging a cable camera system in a forest valley has its own challenges, but the veteran crew rose to the difficulties and overcame them with ease. The system was rigged to both specially installed points and existing light poles, this configuration was able to fulfill all of the director’s shot desires – covering the athletes at the finish line, during the shooting elements, and even providing incredible footage of the breathtaking valley covered in thick winter snow to complement the sports story.

At Pokljuka in Slovenia, the Movicom team faced a different

a four point Robycam 3D cable camera system, but also

challenge. The coverage required a very narrow working

several jib-mounted Robyhead ‘L’ gyrostabilised heads,

zone squeezed in between the existing stadium and a

the largest such heads in the lineup, which allow the use

dense natural forest. This was solved with the placement

of studio-style cameras on lighter jibs because of their

of a newly developed Robyline system – a point-to-point

light-weight carbon fibre design. This was Movicom’s

system that can cover more than 400-metres and can have

second year covering the finals event and the familiarity

rigging points that vary from 10-metres to 20-metres using

with the venue and the production added tremendously to

only one intelligent winch, but still allows for a working

the coverage. The jib mounted Robycam heads were used

speed of 16-metres per second. At these distances video

primarily on the firing line, using the built-in three-

and data had to be delivered via RF, and no signal loss was

axis stabilisation and auto-horizon the systems provided

experienced for the entire event. The system was equipped

extensive coverage of the whole competition down to the

with the R3 gyrostabilised head which allows prerecorded

intense final showdown between the French and Norwegian

moves, as well as safety zone presets. This allowed the

teams. At the same time, the Robycam 3D cable suspended

system to work at full speed with sometimes as little as

camera system was rigged at the arena itself to cover every

15cm between the front of the lens and pine tree branches!

aspect of the event. The South Tyrol arena is compact, but

This combination of speed and precision delivered amazing

still, the crew had to work tirelessly for the duration of

images for the broadcast from arching wide sweeps of the

the 9 day event to showcase all aspects of each contest in

entire course, to slow motions shots of athletes’ progress

raging winter weather. Safety being a priority in a sport

along its path, close-ups for the shooting competition, as

with live gunfire, many precautions were taken, and the

well as following the athletes - at speed - down the final

Robycam 3D’s safety system allowed for extensive safe

push towards the finish line. The action was tense and

areas to be demarked and avoided in flight paths during the

exciting and the Movicom team helped to capture it all.

broadcast. Despite the adverse weather, or perhaps because

But the real razzle-dazzle was saved for the IBU series’

of it, the broadcast looked awesome with Movicom’s family

final event at Antholz Sudtirol Arena in South Tyrol,

of rugged, weatherproof camera products helping to push it

Italy, which will also be hosting the 2026 Winter Olympic

over the finish line in production value and quality.

Biathlon events. Not only did the Movicom team bring

BRAND: Movicom | WEBSITES: www.movicom.tv 080

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BROADCAST

081

ESPORTS

OMEN CHALLENGE London, England Images: PROJOE Photography

W

hen the OMEN Challenge was held in London in September 2019, disguise gx 2c and gx 1 media servers powered the real-time generative Notch content that accompanied the gameplay. The

eSports event was the first to be broadcast using disguise xR workflows, which combined augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies.

Redefining eSports, the fifth annual OMEN Challenge was held with the support of OMEN by HP, with eight players competing for a prize pool of US$50,000. The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament featured one-on-one matches and fourplayer deathmatches. The event went above and beyond the traditional eSports tournament format, offering a battle arena with unique and immersive staging and content.

The project, run by creative media agency AKQA, was realised in collaboration with Scott Millar and Pixel Artworks, who designed and developed a bespoke pipeline toolset using disguise, Notch and TouchDesigner, to create a never-beforeseen broadcast with augmented reality, mixed reality and live show elements, all broadcast on Twitch and other streaming platforms.

Discussing the project, John Cross, Group Creative Director at AKQA, explained: “When you think about how spectacular some of these eSports events are, that was a sizable feat. So, we approached the OMEN Challenge project from a place of not trying to create a bigger spectacle, but to create something more interesting and genuinely new that fans of eSports had never seen before. We wanted to make sure that we got people’s attention and held it throughout. Obviously, we strived to create something innovative, exciting and entertaining.

The eSports audience receives a lot of content to attract their attention, so getting people to watch and keep them constantly engaged was the challenge.”

“HP wanted to do something different with big LED video walls, AR, and MR tricks that would look good to the live and broadcast audiences,” noted Technical Producer, Scott Millar,

ESPORTS

084

working alongside Pixel Artworks to power video for the

seamlessly delivered and managed the entire stream.

event using disguise. Real-time MR content was made in

“The brief from the start was to make the most immersive

Notch, with data coming in from the game to power the

eSports tournament ever and as Flux was tasked with

infographics. The final output was carried out in disguise

the technical and broadcast infrastructure, we had a big

and output to the LED video walls.

influence on how and when the AR would be used to best

Mixed Reality was used in two ways during the show. The

enhance the live show for the viewer. One of the biggest

first was in using a Notch-generated studio environment,

technical hurdles on an eSports production is the sheer

which allowed the casters to be transported to a different

number of feeds that you are working with. On this project,

world in-camera. The world could also be rendered from

we had 144 feeds distributed throughout the broadcasting

the game engine to place the casters directly into the map.

infrastructure and various vendors. As a result, projects

The second use was to allow players and interviewers

the size of OMEN Challenge require meticulous planning

to “step into” the game world and replay the biggest

so that time is allocated towards camera rehearsals with

moments. Using a Steadicam and rendering the game

presenters, players, and the athletes, both in and out of

engine into both the LED and virtual worlds, the players

the MR environment. We used a mixture of equipment

could see themselves in the game, and describe their best

throughout the broadcast to deliver the broadcast; this

moves.

ranged from a Ross Ultrix machine to rout the signal

“Working closely with the developer of the OMEN game

flow, custom-built EVS machines for replay and observing

and amateur map designers, we built a custom solution

functions, and a fantastic broadcast camera setup using

to make the real-world set, game data and content align

a variety of grip from a Steadicam to a jib, which were all

with the digital equivalent. We essentially created a virtual

racked in our gallery,” explained Ross Mason, Company

studio and OMEN set, which, through camera, would seem

Director at Flux.

as though a real person was in the game,” explained Oliver

The production team overcame a number of challenges for

Ellmers, Interactive Developer with Pixel Artworks. This

this project – the main one concerning the sheer novelty

was achieved by using xR to enlarge and overlay content

of the technologies in use. “What we created had never

in-camera while using MR to track the real-broadcast

been done before in this way,” Oliver pointed out. “On

camera world, including camera tracking, so the live

top of that, the game was live streamed and super-fast:

broadcast cameras were aligned with the digital cameras

These were some of the best OMEN players in the world,

in the game.

and there wasn’t room for error.” They had to pull data

The live broadcast was courtesy of Flux Broadcast, which

out of live matches quickly, to visualise for the broadcast

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ESPORTS

while implementing AR and MR designs in-camera for the

able to achieve three-way communications among Notch,

viewers. Since they worked with cutting-edge technology,

TouchDesigner and disguise. This worked seamlessly, and

there was a lot of figuring out and testing required to fulfil

with the real-time workflow they were able to make fast

the brief.

iterations if any issues came up. “disguise was the only

The show used four disguise gx 2c media servers, supplied

product that had the ability within its framework to make

by 80six and Gray Matter, as well as two gx 1 media

this possible,” Oliver declared.

servers, acting as master and understudy. To power the

With the success of the OMEN Challenge, it’s clear to see

game rendering and control, plus manage the game data,

that the eSports industry is becoming even more advanced

six TouchDesigner machines were used with custom code

than we could have ever imagined. It’s fair to say that the

written to control the game engine.

current pandemic has caused havoc in the sporting world,

“We needed to work with a framework that gave us the

with the cancellation of many events worldwide, however,

flexibility to make changes quickly, and finding those

eSports is at the forefront and brings the field to the front

things together is pretty rare,” said Oliver. “The flexibility

room. Looking to the future, John concluded: “eSports gives

of disguise, the integration of other systems and the ability

people an opportunity and another way to hang out with

to see multiple inputs in one area gave us opportunities

each other and have fun together. Right now, anything that

that other products don’t offer. This is one of the reasons

helps people stay in, while keeping them safe, can only be a

disguise was chosen.”

good thing.

Many functions and features of disguise were particularly

“It’s only going to grow and become more accessible, too.

helpful for this project. Specifically unique to disguise is

It will become even more professional in terms of leagues,

frame sharing over the network – a feature Oliver calls

teams and coverage. It’s unlikely that it will ever replace

“a complete game-changer”. He added: “We could make

or overtake physical sport, but this project really opened

revisions quickly and so much more efficiently than before,

our eyes to its potential and possibilities. There is a real

and syncing systems was never so easy.”

opportunity for it as a culture to embrace diversity and

Due to the flexibility of the disguise solution, the team were

become really inclusive.”

CURATOR: AKQA | BRANDS: disguise, Pixel Artworks | WEBSITE: www.akqa.com, www.disguise.one, www.pixelartworks.com 087

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11 EXTRA TIME

EXPO

EVENT DIARY

090 AGORA Report

097 Conferences & Exhibitions

PRODUCT FOCUS

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094 Innlights

098 Sam Piccione | Oak View Group

095 Atlas Audio

096 Link

AGORA AMSTERDAM | ISE 2020 ONDO | STADIA presents AGORA returned to Amsterdam for ISE 2020 with a full-day conference focussing on all aspects of sporting venues, from architectural design and state-of-the-art technology that delivers an incredible fan experience, right through to rise of eSports and multipurpose stadiums.

Featuring the likes of FC Barcelona, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ascot Racecourse, Johan Cruijff ArenA, Norway Football Federation, KSS Architects and many more, each expert speaker shared their knowledge and insight into the technology and techniques that are being used in some of the world’s best sporting venues, with a closer look at future stadium and sporting venue projects.

First up was Andy Simons, Founding Director of KSS, with the opening keynote. As an architect continuously involved in the world of sport architecture for the last 30 years, Andy

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gave a designer’s perspective on the exponential growth in technology over this time and how it now shapes venues and fan experiences. With technology being such a key part of our everyday life that our expectations for seamless integration and relentless improvement are insatiable, Andy explained how stadium, sporting venues and arenas are at the forefront of many of these latest innovations, while also looking ahead as to what might be happening next. An important question was raised – one that many within the industry always have to take note of; are further layers of technology enhancing or diminishing the true sporting experience? Andy certainly provided some fascinating insight for the delegates on the day.

Next, the focus was on Johan Cruijff ArenA and its ambition to be one of the most innovative and sustainable stadiums in the world. As it was ISE’s last year in Amsterdam before next year’s move to Barcelona, it was fitting to have the stadium’s

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Marketing Manager, Jeroen van Iersel, present a case study on the home of European giants, AFC Ajax. Jeroen explained how the historic ground has embraced state-of-the-art technology and forward-thinking ideas to become one of Europe’s go-to multipurpose venues. Jeroen also gave the delegates some insight into how they have prepared for the European Championships, which is now due to take place in the summer of 2021.

Following Jeroen was Dan Goldstein, Chief Marketing Officer at AVIXA, who discussed the use of sporting venues for live performances – and why consumer expectations need to drive the decisions regarding the use of technology. Using evidence from AVIXA’s in-depth industry reports, Dan explained how the technological needs of sporting occasions and live performances are coming together.

The first panel of the day focussed on the groundbreaking Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which has set a new standard in terms of sporting venues. Chaired by MONDO | STADIA’s Editor, Sam Hughes, with Ewan Prentice, Business Development Manager at Daktronics; Ryan Penny, Business Development Manager – Large

Venues at Harman; and Kevin Cottam, Director of Sports & Live Events at Ross Video all joining the panel to share their insight on how the audiovisual technology has helped make Tottenham Hotspur’s new home more than just a football ground. With stateof-the-art technology in place, it was clear to see that the venue delivers a multi-layered experience like no other – and the panel gave everyone a closer look at just how they made that happen.

The focus then switched to eSports – a lucrative, growing industry that has taken many by surprise. At AGORA, the second panel of the day, chaired by Trevor Keane, aimed to further understand the value of eSports for clubs and stadiums. Scott Millar, Technical Director of Longer Days Ltd; Mats Theie Bretvik, Head of eFootball & Gaming at the Football Association of Norway; and Russell Jones, Snr Commercial Advisor & Head of Marketing at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC discussed the value of the new revenue stream eSports has offered and how clubs, federations and stadiums plan to expand within it. The chair and panellists shared their successes, anecdotes and predictions, giving delegates the inside track on the growth of eSports within traditional sports and what the future 091

holds.

AGORA’s second keynote came from Didac Lee, Board Member and Head of Digital Area at FC Barcelona. Starting his career over 20 years ago – and founding eight technology companies in the process – there was no-one better placed to detail FC Barcelona’s new content strategy and strategic projects linked to entertainment within the stadium and beyond. Didac explained how the new strategy is aimed at specifically generating engagement that will help the club connect with new audiences on a global scale. As well as that, delegates were given an exclusive look at the Barça Studios project and, of course, Espai Barça, which promises to be the best sporting complex in the world.

The next topic was Ascot Racecourse and its Smart City aspirations, with George Vaughan, Head of Technology at the venue, discussing the overall aim and how key technology upgrades have helped achieve the goals set out. George explained how he has, over the last two years, overseen a venue-wide upgrade to Ascot Racecourse, one of the world’s most prestigious racing venues and the home of Royal Ascot.

There was plenty covered, too, including the new audio upgrade from Bose, a 4K TV upgrade with Samsung, a full overhaul of the POS system with Kappture, as well as NFC ticketing through a unique partnership with Apple, Google, Vivaticket, Skidata and Pronto. In addition, George revealed that he has been working with mobile payments across retail and betting, helped introduce augmented reality pilots with Looking Glass and smart people movement through UtterBerry. Following a fascinating keynote, George welcomed 092

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guest speakers from key technology partners to take part in a Q&A, with Andrew Motley, Commercial Director, Kappture; Andrew Rigler, Manager UK & IRL, Bose Professional; Iain Case, Director, Looking Glass; and Heba Bevan, OBE, Founder & CEO, UtterBerry, all providing extra insight into their role in what is proving to be one of the most exciting projects in the industry.

The final session of the day saw Stew Hume, Editor of TPi Magazine, chair a panel that explored the technical requirements for a truly multipurpose venue. Bob Boster, President of Clear-Com and Julien Laval, Application Manager at L-Acoustics were on the panel to discuss the challenges of using these venues for live music and large scale events.

Although stadiums are so often the homes of sporting excellence, multiple times a year these venues open their doors to international touring artists for larger than life productions to the biggest possible audience. Bob detailed exactly how Clear-Com deliver the communications infrastructure needed for incoming productions, while Julien let the audience know exactly what it is L-Acoustics do within stadiums and sporting venues to achieve the best sound possible for a variety of live events.

Following the programme, delegates, keynote speakers and panellists – made up of representatives from clubs, stadiums and federations, as well as technology experts – enjoyed the networking event to round off another successful AGORA conference.

Visit www.mondostadia-agora.com for more information on upcoming AGORA events.

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INNLIGHTS | INNVISION SCL / SCXL n addition to numerous InnScreen LED series’, Innlights is now offering its own developed solution for the control of LED panels. InnVision is intended for the high-quality and brilliant playback of Full HD and UHD image signals on LED displays. In order to be able to display the qualities of the new controller, all current InnScreen LED panels are already equipped with the new InnVision i9 receiving cards.

The InnVision controllers ensure an exact synchronous splicing and cascading with several controllers with options for brightness/colour adjustment as well as optimised grayscale at low brightness values. These controllers support functions such as picture in picture or scaling, zoom and splitting.

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InnVision SCL is intended for efficient and flexible video processing up to 1,920 x 1,200 pixels at 60 Hz and even displays video sources up to a colour depth of 12 bits. InnVision SCL processes the video data without latency and supports HDCP 1.4. In the SCXL version, the controller is intended for 4k video and UHD HDR image processing and supports HDCP 2.2.

InnVision SCXL handles video signals up to 3,840 x 2,160 pixels at 60 Hz. In width or height, a maximum of 8,192 pixels can be displayed. The controller is also suitable for 3D playback. Both side by side horizontal and top and bottom broadcast standards can be used. www.innlights.de

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ATLASIED | FS SERIES he FS Series all-purpose loudspeakers from AtlasIED breaks the mold of traditional horn loudspeakers by combining a compact size with powerful audio.

Building off the success of its AH Arena Horn Series, AltasIED offers a more compact version, engineered to meet the audio demands of a wide variety of indoor and outdoor environments. While the AH Series was created to deliver powerful, heavy-duty long-throw audio for large outdoor venues, AltasIED’s FS Series offers integrators a solution that’s also well suited for smaller indoor environments where speech intelligibility is also important.

The FS Series introduces a new dimension of audio to horn loudspeakers. The five models in the FS line deliver extended distance range like a traditional horn, plus full-definition frequency response, ideal for live sound and high-energy music playback. By combining heavy-duty long-throw capabilities for paging applications with shorter distance audio playback of music and speech, the FS Series meets the needs of almost any project, including outdoor theme parks, race tracks, parking lots and stadiums, plus indoor gymnasiums, convention centres, museums and more. The FS Series speakers can achieve 96 dB sound pressure level at 140 ft with smooth sounding speech and music reinforcement and up to 550 ft at 84 dB for paging only applications.

The loudspeaker models in the FS Series differ in their audio delivery capabilities but all share the same design, enabling them to be easily mixed and matched on projects. Included are

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the following: Three two-way, high-powered models (FS12T-66, FS12T-94, FS12T-99). Each features a specific waveguide coverage pattern: 60° x 60°, 90° x 90°, and 90° x 40°, but all three utilise a 12-inch low-frequency driver for optimised speech intelligibility within the critical mid-range frequencies and extended low-frequency response for music reinforcement.

A Low-frequency model (FS12T-SUB). This high-output, lowfrequency subwoofer incorporates a high-output 12-inch low-frequency driver (at 800W program or 400W continuous).

A Nearfield model (FS12T-BT60), featuring a two-way, coaxially mounted transducer with a (400W program or 200W continuous) 12-inch low-frequency driver and one-inch dome tweeter providing a conical 90° coverage pattern. It is designed as a short-distance, wide coverage solution.

Each model shares the same housing design to maintain a consistent appearance. The slim, lightweight format also improves sightlines, blends into the environment and minimises wind resistance when mounted on an outdoor pole, wall or top of a building.

The loudspeaker enclosure is constructed using molded linear low-density polyethylene known as LLDPE. IP Rated IP-45, it is fully weather-proof, UV, and chemical-resistant. LLDPE’s low density molecular structure also delivers superior toughness and rigidity, which minimises acoustic resonances from the enclosure walls, achieving better sound performance. www.atlasied.com WWW.MONDOSTADIA.COM

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LINK | EUROCABLE & LK CONNECTORS ink’s revolutionary tactical multicore fiber optic technology is being used to broadcast the world’s most famous single-brand car championship.

With over 1,000 drivers taking part in the competition since its first race in 1993, the Ferrari Challenge is the most-followed single-brand car championship in the world.

A high-tech brand such as Ferrari requires an adequate level of innovation and professionalism in the selection of equipment and materials utilised to broadcast the event all over the world. In this regard the TV broadcast company, NVP, recently renewed the cabling infrastructure with high quality fibre optic connections produced by Link, the Italian manufacturer and owner of the renowned Eurocable and LK Connectors brands.

More specifically, Link provided its innovative multicore fiber optic systems to create the backbone for the connection of several mobile ‘hubs’, which are used to connect and power UHD cameras along the track.

The system utilises Eurocable single-mode 24-channel fibre optic tactical cables that are specially designed to tolerate extreme bending radiuses, while maintaining an intact structure. Featuring a triple jacket, they are reinforced with aramid fibres to ensure maximum tensile strength. These characteristics make them especially suited for extreme environments, such as live racing broadcast. The cables are terminated with very compact MTP connections (about the size of an

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RJ45) enclosed in robust aluminum LK Connectors shells. These special connectors supply a lower signal loss than standard LC connectors, are IP 68 rated, and are also very resistant to shock and vibrations, thus minimising the risk of accidental unlocking. Like all LK Connectors, they also feature an easy and error-free coupling system for fast connections. Link’s multicore fibre optic extensions therefore allow field technicians to connect up to 24 fibre channels in one action, in total safety, and with extreme ease, an operation that is often much more complex with other types of connectors.

In terms of cabling, the whole system is made particularly efficient by means of specific switches that enable the separation of fiber channels to reach more than one hub, if not all 24 channels are employed.

Link’s multicore fiber optic system is immediately operational, without the need of wiring and making patches on site. This is a very important feature as it reduces the chance of error and installation times.

In addition, the hubs are equipped with CCU modules and receive, via Eurocable SMPTE cables, signals from various UHD cameras. This huge amount of data is then transmitted through the tactical fiber cables to the central mobile control room. www.linkitaly.com

EVENT DIARY 2020

International Sports Convention 17th - 18th June, London, England www.internationalsportsconvention.com Major Events Summit 7th July, Virtual Summit www.majoreventsinternational.com Coliseum Europe 2nd - 3rd September, Ascot, England www.coliseum-online.com PLASA Show 6th - 8th September, London, England www.plasashow.com World Stadium Congress 2020 9th - 11th September, Amsterdam, Netherlands www.iqpc.com/events-worldstadiumcongress Sports Production Summit 2020 12th September, Amsterdam, Netherlands www.svgeurope.org

IBC 11th - 15th September, Amsterdam, Netherlands show.ibc.org WFS 2020 23rd - 24th September, Madrid, Spain www.worldfootballsummit.com TheStadiumBusiness Summit 29th - 30th September, Manchester, England www.stadiumbusinesssummit.com ALSD International 12th - 13th October, Liverpool, England www.alsdinternational.com Next Generation Audio Summit October, London, England www.svgeurope.org TheStadiumBusiness Design & Development Summit 30th Nov - 2nd Dec, London, England www.stadiumdesignsummit.com

FutureSPORT 2020 November / December, London, England www.svgeurope.org SVG Summit 14th - 15th December, New York, USA www.thesvgsummit.com

11

FULL TIME SAM PICCIONE | PRESIDENT - OAK VIEW GROUP What does Oak View Group do within stadium and sporting venues?

OVG is the largest developer of sports and entertainment facilities in the world.

We’re here to be a positive disruption to business as usual, and we think about the world differently and innovate in ways the industry has never seen before. We are building the next generation of sports, music and live entertainment venues to permanently redefine the fan experience. Our vision is anchored around pillars that will change communities and the world.

What sporting projects have you worked on recently?

As a company, our executives have a wealth of sporting experience across the globe. We’ve worked with the EPL and MLS, from NBA to NHL, and from Formula E and Formula One, to the Olympics.

Are there any sporting venue projects coming up soon?

We’re currently embarking on projects to build new stateof-the-art venues in New York, Seattle, Austin, Palm Springs, Milan and Manchester. The arenas in Seattle and New York will be home to NHL teams, and Palm Springs will host an AHL team (minor league hockey). Our venue in Austin will be home to men’s and women’s collegiate basketball. In Milan, we’re building an arena that will host ice hockey during the 2026 Winter Olympics, and our Manchester venue has been

designed to host the best international sporting events.

What are your company’s aims over the next few years?

We have committed to spending $4.5B on new arena developments over the next five years and will continue to work on identifying market needs and delivering more worldclass arenas for some of the world’s most iconic cities.

Favourite sporting venue?

Madison Square Garden.

Next big thing in terms of sporting venue technology?

I think there are a few big changes happening at the moment. With payment trends shifting from cash to card, we will soon see venues going completely cashless in order to achieve real operational improvements, while offering a smoother transaction for fans; the current world context has demonstrated just how important hygiene is. It will be vital for all venues to seriously look at improving sanitation efforts in order to keep everyone safe and secure. OVG’s specialist security arm, Prevent Advisors, is already setting up a sanitation division to lead the industry on this important issue.

Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time and there is a growing urgency for multi- purpose venues, gathering thousands of fans year-round, to adopt sustainable practices and technologies. The safety and security of fans should always be the top priority for venue operators. Through Prevent Advisors, we’re continuing to improve and implement cutting-edge security measures to ensure fan safety. Stadiums and arenas are also vulnerable to cyber-attacks. As we increasingly rely on technology to deliver and operate state-ofthe art arenas, cyber-security measures will play a key role in protecting venues and avoiding unwanted disruptions.

T: + 44 (0)20 7608 7900 info@wilkinsoneyre.com www.wilkinsoneyre.com

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@wilkinsoneyre wilkinsoneyre wilkinsoneyre

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