{"id":802,"date":"2017-08-21T10:28:38","date_gmt":"2017-08-21T14:28:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kelseypro.com\/blog\/?p=802"},"modified":"2025-01-12T11:13:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T16:13:03","slug":"falcons-debut-halo-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kelseypro.com\/blog\/falcons-debut-halo-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons Debut \u2018Halo Board\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eye-popping 360-degree display highlights New Mercedes Benz Stadium<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Mark R. Smith from TV Technology<\/p>\n

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ATLANTA<\/strong>\u2014After getting an eyeful of the massive main video boards that have been featured in new ballparks and stadia in recent years, sports fans had to wonder what the next step would be by the time Atlanta\u2019s techno-cool Mercedes-Benz Stadium\u2014which is billed as the most technologically advanced stadium in the world\u2014opens this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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The new Halo Board in Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta is a 360-degree, 62,000-square-foot circular
\ntestament to technological fortitude.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The wonder was how much bigger a video display can get before it intrudes on the actual game that\u2019s happening beneath it. But the crew and the contractors at AMB Group, the parent company of the NFL\u2019s Atlanta Falcons, made that sentiment a moot point while going even bigger with a new idea.<\/p>\n

For when the fans look toward the heavens when the Falcons need a dramatic score to win a game, they can send their prayers through Mercedes-Benz Stadium\u2019s (here it comes\u2026) \u201cHalo Board.\u201d<\/p>\n

While video displays have been created in various shapes and sizes in recent years, this ensemble is a 360-degree, 62,000-square-foot circular testament to technological fortitude\u2014under a roof that opens like a camera lens and is modeled after the Roman Pantheon. It will offer Falcon fans some interesting opportunities to share video and information, exercise the imagination and sell advertising.<\/p>\n

NEW SENSATION
\n<\/strong>While the Halo Board in Mercedes-Benz Stadium isn\u2019t the first circular-type screen\u2014the outdoor board at Barclays Center in Brooklyn is similar, albeit much smaller and an irregular shape\u2014it\u2019s certainly something new.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen anything of this magnitude,\u201d said Tyler Jones, senior project manager with Daktronics, of the board that rests within the eight-section mega-circle of the roof that hangs under what\u2019s known as the \u201cOculus.\u201d He added that the company\u2019s install outside of the Barclays Center gave it \u201csomething to draw on for the Atlanta project.\u201d<\/p>\n

That had to help the Brookings, S.D.- based company during the bidding process for the job, which commenced after the design of the stadium came back to the Falcons from HOK, a Kansas City, Mo.-based architectural firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were eventually awarded the job,\u201d said Jones, \u201cand there was a great deal of coordination with all of the people behind the team,\u201d which included HOK Structural, then BuroHappold Engineering and IBM, the technical partner on the stadium that installed a passive optical network comprised of 3,770 miles of groundwork fiber cables.<\/p>\n

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The \u201cMega Column\u201d vertical measures 101 feet tall by 71 feet wide. <\/em>Jones said Daktronics had \u201calmost three dozen\u201d workers on site; for the sake of comparison, that\u2019s about two dozen more than the company needed five years ago to install the flat board in rightfield at Miami\u2019s Marlins Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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As far the construction of the Halo Board is concerned, its shape wasn\u2019t quite the challenge one might think. \u201cWe can make the boards about any shape that is needed,\u201d Jones said, \u201csince 14.4 inches per square is our standard and we build around that. Within the Halo, the squares run 48 high and 896 wide,\u201d totaling more than 43,000 squares.<\/p>\n

Within the Halo, Daktronics also developed a 277V power option specific to the board, in lieu of the normal 120V power supply. \u201cThat allowed the Falcons to forgo using a number of smaller transformers,\u201d said Jones, noting that it is embedded within the display.<\/p>\n

The manufacturing process for the Halo Board began at Brookings headquarters in mid-October and ran until early February, and required the talents of more than 100 people to build; the install began in May, with that type of lead time necessary when Daktronics \u201chad 616 pieces to mount in the stadium roof,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

IN THE CORNER
\n<\/strong>Not lost in the buzz about the Halo Board is the \u201cMega Column,\u201d which rests in the east corner of the stadium, by the massive end zone window that gives fans a panorama of the Atlanta skyline. The vertical display, which measures 101 feet tall by 71 feet wide, wraps around three of the four corners of that column.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe information technology staff told me that the column has more square footage than the main boards in 17 other NFL stadiums,\u201d Jones said, and it is fully visible to passersby outside the venue.<\/p>\n

There is no end zone board on the east or west sides of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which does include Daktronics ProRail ribbon boards on its north and south sides. They act as the railing for the upper deck and are topped with glass and handrails.<\/p>\n

Mike Meglathery, senior project manager for broadcast systems integrator Diversified, described setting up the Halo Board as \u201ctechnically challenging\u201d for various reasons, not the least of which was obviously its size, which he termed \u201cthe equivalent of 12.5 video screens in a circle at 60 feet high, but it\u2019s also a quarter-mile around.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge was driving an image that can go all the way around it with pixel accuracy and synchronously,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had to get all of the boards in sync.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Halo Board also required a \u201cfirst of its kind graphics system\u201d from Ross Video, the Tessera platform, which was developed for the Falcons and designed to offer enhanced IP video routing and connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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The two million square-foot Mercedes Benz Stadium can hold up to 71,000 football fans. Modeled after the Roman Pantheon, it features a roof that opens like a camera lens.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Gus Drosos, technical principal at HOK, Kansas City, also noted the unusual approach that all involved had to take at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. \u201cWe had a tall structure\u201d to address, meaning the 14.5-acre roof \u201cwas 198 feet above the ground. It became apparent that if we used that real estate to integrate a smooth ellipse, we could create a \u2018theatre-in-the-round\u2019 to give the fans a full immersive experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drosos said that, initially, what became the Halo Board \u201cwas segmented, but as we worked with the Falcons, it became apparent that making it round would work.\u201d Thus was the establishmsent of a 70-foot tall board, \u201cwith a 10-foot gap on top until you hit the flat roof would work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw the Halo Board as an opportunity to take the scoreboard out of the line of sight,\u201d he said, and the Falcons \u201cwere excited about the possibilities of the board, because the team\u2019s video operators can drive a car or bounce a ball around it. No one has done this, so there is an evolution of ideas going on. The potential for what they can do with this board is unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE POSSIBILITIES
\n<\/strong>Drosos also mentioned a social media angle for the display. With a new stadium that features 1,800 wireless access points that allow 75,000 fans to stream concurrently, \u201cwouldn\u2019t it be cool if the team [and the NFL, which would have to set up a protocol] let the fans use social media and integrate them into the Halo Board, or offer them specials?\u201d he mused. \u201cWhat does this present for other activities? Can you play video games on it? Could you potentially put something on 3D on it and give fans special glasses, if the technology can allow that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones noted that \u201cthe most important thing I learned from this project was that the communication between the architects and designers, as well as the contractors and those who worked in manufacturing, was especially important. That\u2019s what made this happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pushed us forward,\u201d he added, \u201cbecause there will be more interest in this type of video application. Stadiums are trying to push the envelope and we\u2019re anticipating more interest in this type of design as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meglathery agreed. \u201cIt\u2019s stunning what it does and it will elevate the in-stadium fan experience. This the showpiece video board for America at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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