Tottenham Hotspur’s brand new 62,000-seater stadium will be home to more than 1,800 digital displays when it officially opens in September this year – more than any other Premier League side.
The North London-based Premier League club, who has described the new stadium as ‘the finest anywhere in the world’, is deploying digital signage on mass to help enhance the matchday experience for supporters by communicating information and providing entertainment and marketing.
LG will supply the displays, which feature IPS 4K Nano Cell technologies, and will be placed in the general concourse and premium areas inside the stadium, as well as a wide range of innovative signage products including OLED, UHD and video walls.
Tripleplay, based in London, has been selected to provide the end-to-end video platform and deliver all communication and data services through a site-wide IP network.
“We are delivering the entire IPTV and digital signage platform for the new stadium including EPOS integration for digital menu boards, live match day feeds with low latency encoders,” Tripleplay’s CEO Steve Rickless told AVTE.
Tripleplay’s IPTV, Digital Signage platform and HD Encoder’s have been widely adopted in the sporting arena since entering the sector back in 2010 – five years after its first IPTV and digital signage solution in the enterprise space.
Today, its presence covers three continents and seven different sports (Racing, football, rugby, ice hockey, NFL, tennis).
Headline uses have included/include; Wimbledon (over 2,000 displays), Fifa World Cups 2010 (South Africa), 2018 in Russia (including final venue), European Championships 2014 (Poland) 2016, France, and the 2016 Rugby World Cup (Twickenham, England, 700 displays).
The new deal with Tottenham, takes Tripleplay’s presence at Premier League clubs to above 70 per cent, including; Manchester City (900 displays), Chelsea, Southampton, Brighton and Bournemouth.
“Our system was selected as its proven both within the English premier League with over 70 per cent using Tripleplay,” explained Rickless. “We have other sites where we can easily demonstrate and show we can support over 1,500 endpoints (such as Wimbledon), which was a key requirement for Tottenham.”
He added: “It started off in South Africa for the World Cup in 2010. That was our first involvement in a World Cup.
“That got us into the world of stadiums and sport and on the back of that, we won Brighton’s Amex Stadium. We then got very involved with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge when they were looking to upgrade from coax to IP.
“Really then it all started to snowball into the sports and arenas market. Once it built up and built out in the UK, we started getting a few more enquiries in Europe.
Rickless added Tripleplay’s experience in the sporting arena has seen significant evolution of its technology, both in terms of making it easier to use, reliable and providing added benefits to clubs and ultimately their customers.
“It’s reliable and it works, which is what they want,” he explained. “For a sporting event, they can’t afford to go wrong.
“We have an easy to use interface and can provide 100’s of zones if required. People are looking for something that isn’t Cisco, which is complicated and expensive.
“We have failover built into the system and will shortly be adding support for Opta stats as part of signage as well as social media feeds, providing a true stadium experience. Coupled with the fact we already provide our system into Tottenham’s training ground and offices known as Lilly White House we have been actively involved in supporting the platform and the club.”
Best of the rest
Tottehnam Hotspur has previously announced that Daktronics, Harman and Musco have all be chosen as major technology supplier for the new stadium.
Jumbo screens
Daktronics has been selected to supply four bespoke main LED video displays for the stadium bowl totalling more than 1,000 square metres.
This includes two screens in the iconic, single tier 17,500 South Stand, each measuring 325 square metres making them the largest screens in any stadium in Western Europe and among the biggest in the world.
Two additional screens in the North Stand, will each measure 190.7 square metres, while two LED video displays will feature on the South West and South East façades, fitted on the exterior of the stadium, will each measure 178.9 square metres.
Every main display will feature 13HD pixel layouts to bring excellent image clarity and contrast for everyone that visits the stadium.
The stadium bowl will also include three tiers of digital ribbon – a first for any European stadium.
The upper and middle tier ribbons will run from the East to West Stands through the North Stand measuring 387 metres and 348 metres long, respectively, while the suite-tier ribbon will be split into two runs along the East and West Stands, measuring 122 metres long on the East stand and 105 metres long on the West.
Matthew Collecott, director of operations, Tottenham Hotspur said: “We are pleased to add Daktronics to our roster of world-leading suppliers, as specialists in large LED video displays and digital ribbon boards. We have pushed them to deliver something that will truly set us apart and these installations will play a significant role as part of our commitment to setting a new standard in fan experience in sports and entertainment.”
Daktronics president and CEO Reece Kurtenbach said: “We’re extremely proud to partner with one of the most storied football clubs in England. The video displays and LED technology in this stadium are sure to help enhance the atmosphere for fans and players alike. We’re excited to see the stadium open later this year.”
Audio
The Club has also selected Harman Professional Audio Solutions as its Official Audio Supplier.
The partnership will see Harman supply a range of its leading audio products including amplifiers, subwoofers and JBL Professional loudspeakers that will complement the state of the art facilities at the club’s new stadium, which includes the largest screens in any stadium.
Collecott added: “Harman Professional Solutions is an industry-leading provider of world-class audio solutions, and we are pleased to announce them as the official audio supplier for our new state-of-the-art stadium.”
Chris Smith, VP, EMEA, Harman Professional Solutions, said: “Tottenham Hotspur is one of the most historic and prestigious clubs in football, and Harman Professional Solutions is honoured to provide a cutting-edge audio solution at their incredible new stadium.”
Lighting
Finally, Musco will provide all solutions related to lighting the pitch at the Club’s new stadium.
A total of 324 floodlights will be mounted on the underside of the stadium’s roof in clusters of six. The optically advanced LED system will require only 450kW of power, which is around 50 per cent less energy consumption than a traditional metal halide floodlighting system.
The new stadium will also play host to NFL matches, music concerts and a range of other events, creating a new world-class sports and entertainment venue for London.
The lighting meets all UEFA and NFL requirements as well as having the ability to produce incredible light shows that can be used for a range of major events.
“Musco has specialised in the design and manufacture of stadium lighting solutions for over 40 years,” said Collecott. “Their experience and ability to provide pioneering solutions for arenas and stadiums around the world gives us the utmost confidence in their capabilities to deliver the best solution for the Club’s new stadium.”
Jeff Rogers, VP of sales, Musco Lighting concluded: “We are excited to partner with Tottenham Hotspur and provide an LED lighting system that will meet this iconic Club’s unique needs at its new stadium.
“Our system will offer an enhanced entertainment experience for the fans, with superior light quality and visibility, and it will also help the Club in its efforts to reduce its environmental footprint.”
