LED Brings Back Football
Fans have been cheering all over the world as sporting events have resumed proceeding after lockdown rules were relaxed. As fans are not able to enjoy these games by watching them in the stadium, there are two ways technology have aided in bringing fans into the game.
Such a large part of watching football and supporting your team is the social activity. The experience is often enjoyed more when it is shared. As the mainstream ways of watching a game social have been banned, for now, watching the games at the stadium or in the pub, clubs have been forced to be more creative.
Some football clubs are inviting fans to enjoy the match from outside the stadium. Whilst they may not be allowed inside, they can enjoy watching the game on a big screen in a drive-in cinema style set up, enabling fans to enjoy a ‘stadium experience’ while remaining isolated from other football fans.
Football clubs have also been inviting fans, sit in their ‘virtual stand’ where fans send in a live stream of themselves to the stadium which is then displayed on LED displays in the stands. The screens allow the fans to show their support for their club and even cheer them on with audio being broadcasted inside the stadium.
Danish football club FC Midtjylland have announced their games will be presented on two giant LED screens in its car park, with over 2,000 spaces available for fans to comfortably enjoy some social-distance live football entertainment.
Fans will be able to enjoy the sports on the clear LED screens, whilst also tuning into the commentators inside the arena through their car radios. Not only will cars be able to keep up with coverage of the action, but the carpark will also be broadcast inside the arena, alongside the fans in the virtual stand, so players can still experience their fans’ reactions live.
This install did not come without its challenges there was much debate about where to position the screens. Jens Carstensen, CEO ProShop Europe, who installed the project said, "We talked a lot about the direction of the screens, because if a game is played late in the day then the sun will be in the west, so we cannot point them in that direction, but if we turned them around then you would have the sun shining directly into the cars.” Strategically placing the screens facing north along with choosing LED screens solved this. LED offers stunning brightness, contrast and colour reproduction, displaying vibrant content regardless of ambient light.
LED displays can show content in any light condition. Regardless of when the football match is, whether kick-off is at midday or in the evening, fans in the carpark can clearly see the content on the screen. Compared to LCD or projectors, LED displays are more visible outside, with greater impact they offer high brightness to combat direct sunlight and ever-changing ambient light conditions, adapting the brightness dynamically, as well as higher contrast ratios compared to traditional projection.
Increasingly LED is becoming the go-to solution for sports stadia and public venues because of its versatility. Whether it’s permeant installation or a short-term rental, indoor broadcast backdrop or an outdoor mega screen, even creative digital signage canvases, with curves or column wraps, as well as transparent-in-window, LED can deliver. This technology is not just being taken advantage of by football stadiums, there has been an increase in interest for ‘drive-in cinemas’ as the closure of cinemas nationally has left people unable to watch films on a big screen. LED offers a solution to this; they are large and scalable, making them perfect for every viewing experience.
This technology is not just being taken advantage of by football stadiums, there has been an increase in interest for ‘drive-in cinemas’ as the closure of cinemas nationally has left people unable to watch films on a big screen. LED offers a solution to this; they are large and scalable, making them perfect for every viewing experience.
We are also set to soon see the return of many other sports, with Formula 1 poised to start on July 5 with the Austrian Grand Prix. We have already seen the return of Boxing with matches in Las Vegas returns from lockdown, behind closed doors. England will play their three-Test series against West Indies, as cricket returns in July behind closed doors.
It is likely we will see all of these sports adopt LED as a way for their fans to enjoy watching from a safe distance, among other fans, maintaining the crowd atmosphere.
“LED offers seamless display canvases with extended life expectancy and in the case of modular solutions the ability to fill any space regardless of aspect ratio.”
- Jenny Hicks, Head of Technology at Midwich.
To find out more about our LED offering and how this technology can be used right now, contact your account manager, or contact our sales team on 01379 649200.
