Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center

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TWIN CITIES ORTHOPEDICSPERFORMANCE CENTER

Minnesota, USA

Images: VITEC

fter moving to its new training facility in

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March this year, the Minnesota Vikings NFL team officially opened the complex with a ribbon cutting ceremony in June. The grand opening of Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center (TCO Performance Center) was born after the team has made use of Winter Park - the 15-acre headquarters and practice facility in Eden Prairie - for the past 37 years and it was beginning to feel tired. Vikings General Maager, M Rick Spielman said at the opening: “I’d just like to thank Mark [Wilf] and the rest of our ownership group for providing us with tremendous resources to try to accomplish winning championships

here. Facilities are very important. It’s important to our day-to-day operations, it’s important to how we continue to develop and grow this roster. As Zygi [Wilf, co-owner] stated, Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center gives us a huge competitive advantage by the resources that are provided here - to our players, to our coaches, as we continue to try to strive to get better.” Co-owner, Zygi Wilf commented during the opening that he was honoured to be a ‘steward of such a great franchise’ and reflected back to 2005 when he, his brother, Mark, and their cousin, Lenny, led a group that purchased the franchise. At that time, in addition to establishing the Vikings as a world-class organisation, building a new

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stadium, hosting a Super Bowl and bringing a Lombardi Trophy to Minnesota, the Wilfs aimed to construct a new headquarters - and it seems they met the latter goal. The new facility boasts over 277,000 sq ft of space, which includes administrative offices, five outdoor practice fields, an outdoor training area, an indoor practice facility, a team auditorium, a media centre, locker rooms, and several specialised fitness zones. In addition, the centre is designed to offer an incredible fan experience with a 6,500-seat practice stadium that will be used for training camp and other events. To make the new centre one of the most advanced sports practice facility in the world, the Vikings owners Zygi, Mark and Lenny, agreed that video capabilities had to be at the forefront of every area. And to that end, more than 300 video displays of all different sizes were installed around the complex. The screens are responsible for delivering a wealth of content to the organisation, including providing access to a broad range of TV channels, live camera feeds, as well as digital signage content. The digital signage alone includes workout schedules, nutritional information and human resources content. With such multifaceted technical and operational requirements, the Vikings needed a centralised solution that would allow its administrators to manage, create, and distribute any video feed and enable on-demand access to TV channels within an easy-to-use, affordable system that would deliver the best performance and quality of streams. After reviewing a number of providers, VITEC was specified to equip the facility with its video needs. VITEC’s EZ TV IPTV and Digital Signage Platform provides the Vikings with a professional, broadcast-grade IPTV and digital signage ecosystem that builds upon the ethos of being one of the most advanced sports practice facility in the world. VITEC’s IPTV and Digital Signage Solution for Sports Venues offer a cost-effective, flexible, and open

architecture that is ideal for the ever-changing video, marketing, and sales requirements of today’s sports venues. The VITEC equipment provides full control of each video stream, allowing the Vikings to support its staff and players, as well as enable a new fan experience during its practice games. With centralised creation, distribution, and monitoring of live and on-demand video content and digital signage, each display offers a unique experience that meets the requirements of the user and space. In order to effectively manage satellite/cable TV content, VITEC’s approved AES content protection capability offered through the EZ TV Platform enables the facility to quickly receive approvals from DirecTV for using the Com2000 IP gateway as a source for dozens of DirecTV channels. Streams from the Com2000 are processed in real-time by VITEC’s Ocaster DRM server and streamed fully encrypted from the server room to any desktop and physical end-point connected to a display. EZ TV’s field-proven and service-provider-approved end-to-end encryption architecture provides a major advantage for venues as they discuss IPTV distribution with their content providers. Concluding, Vice President, Corporate & Technology Partnerships at Minnesota Vikings, John Penhollow said: “VITEC’s IPTV and Digital Signage Platform has enabled us to connect every layer of our organisation - from our staff, administrators, coaches, players, and fans - with leadingclass technology that allows every stream of content to be reliably delivered with low latency.”

Above: More than 300 VITEC video displays have been installed across the complex.

BRANDS: VITEC | WEBSITES: www.vitec.com

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