SunTrust Park: Next-Gen Video Boards

As the most complete mixed-used development ever to be built around a sports venue and Major League baseball team, The Battery Atlanta serves as the main plaza that leads fans into the new SunTrust Park Stadium, home of the Atlanta Braves. The hotspot is surrounded by several major restaurant and bar locations, an Omni Hotel, the Comcast regional headquarters building, and is just across the street from the Coca Cola Roxy, a brand new music venue that accommodates nearly 4,000 guests. This means the plaza could see more than 50,000 people parade through on a game day. As a result, the organization wanted a centerpiece that would stand out from every direction, for every visitor, and would make a bold statement in the first work/play/live development in all of professional sports.

Weighing in at just under 5,000 pounds, a 7' x 69' curved NanoLumens Nixel Series™ LED display was installed to wrap 360 degrees around a giant metal baseball and suspended over a water fountain. Broadcasting advertisements, pregame festivities, live Braves games and more, the NanoLumens display serves as a main attraction for visitors and makes a stunning statement for the hotspot. The idea for this iconic digital centerpiece came from Atlanta Braves President of Business Derek Schiller, and was the result of thoughtful design, months of planning and a cutting-edge display solution that only NanoLumens could provide. Competitors would have required a catwalk or infrastructure to access and maintain the installed display, but because the largest serviceable component of a NanoLumens Nixel Series™ display weighs just 4.5 pounds, it can be serviced from the front by one worker on a ladder or cherry picker. That means a leaner overall design and lower impact on infrastructure, both at the point of installation and throughout the serviceable life of the display. Addditionally, the content team created a baseball graphic that completes the sphere, combining the metal and LED elements to form a 22-foot-tall baseball.

Designed with a 9.5mm pixel pitch and the ability to reach an eye-popping 7,000 nits of brightness, the installation is visible from more than 100 yards away in every direction.

The display is comprised of hundreds of NanoLumens Nixels, small, flexible panels of LEDs that the manufacturer can combine to create a completely seamless HD display in any size, shape or curvature. This breakthrough design allows for quick repairs and front access, which is beneficial as the display is constantly exposed to the elements and runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The display weighs just under 5,000 pounds, and that’s only possible because of NanoLumens’ patented technologies that are thinner and lighter than others, and have fewer moving parts. Because it uses less power and produces very little heat, cooling fans aren’t required.

To broadcast live video, the content software splits the 360-degree display into four sections that each display a standard 16:9 ratio video feed. Because the amount of ambient light varies from direct sunlight to the darkness of night, the display includes light sensors and automatically adjusts its brightness output every few seconds to ensure it is always at the optimal viewing level.

Other crucial features include a notification system that sends alerts if temperatures go too high in the display or other issues arise, and a half-mile-long fiber optic cable that connects the display to the control room at SunTrust Park.

Tthe baseball display makes a stunning statement and provides opportunities for advertising, broadcasting live baseball games and creates a central meeting point within The Battery Atlanta neighborhood. Fans are able to say, “Let’s meet under the ball, grab food then go to the game.” The Braves management wanted a memorable and iconic structure that people would be attracted to, and that’s exactly what it has become.

Submitting Organization
griffin360
Photo Credits
NanoLumens
Year
2018
Category Entered
Videoboards / Ribbonboards