AV Takes Command at FedExField

The Washington Commanders, one of the oldest NFL franchises, have certainly not been strangers to change over the past few seasons. Now, with the help of Anthony James Partners, the Commanders are bringing more transformation, this time ushering in a new era of gameday AV experiences to Commander fans.

FedExField—which is located in Summerfield, MD and plays host to Commanders football, a slew of musical acts and tours, and even Premier League soccer matches—opened its doors in 1997. Then named Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, the stadium changed its name entering the 2000 NFL season to its current moniker. From 2004-2010, FedExField seated 91,000 people—the most in the NFL—until the stadium contracted the seating to the nearly 68,000 capacity it holds today.

While stadium seating, team ownership, and even the team name have been through numerous transformations over the past decade, the facility's AV offerings had not. According to Royce Wall, vice president, construction services at Anthony James Partners and the lead on the LED design, procurement, and construction oversight at FedExField, the Daktronics displays at the stadium needed to be updated. More than a decade old, the previous displays were faded—and with so many different modules replaced over the years, it took on the appearance of a checkerboard more than a fan-friendly display.

Flash and Flare

The LED enhancement began as early as July 2022, when AJP designed the system and began fielding bid offers. By December, the Commanders had selected ANC to provide not only new gameday and ribbon board displays, but an entire graphics package for the first year. The North American representative for Lighthouse, ANC turned to the company's LED screens for the north and south endzones, game-in-play displays, and the LED ribbon displays encircling the bowl.

"There are endless benefits to working with a trusted single-source solution partner,” explained Alison Burke Benesta, senior director, marketing and branding for ANC. “More than simply adding new digital screens is required to improve a venue's experience fully. Beyond the required technical integration expertise, teams want to take the latest display technologies to the next level.

"Venue display systems must deliver a connected experience visually and behind the scenes. To achieve that, there needs to be a strategic network of complimentary technology and venue solutions, including powerful control software, creative content production, multimedia advertising solutions, ongoing maintenance, and reliable partners that build custom solutions that ensure our client’s success for years to come.”

The main end zone Lighthouse displays are 8mm HD displays (tighter than the previous 23mm displays) that measure 95x26 feet. A pair of ribbon displays flank each scoreboard and measure 2.95x674.5 feet with a 10mm pixel pitch. Four 8mm game-in-play displays were installed throughout the stadium measuring at 4.4x31 feet. ANC also provided a one-year unlimited graphics package that includes, well, everything.

Wall said ANC will handle marketing and other graphics for both main displays and ribbon board displays. "In terms of fan engagement, just think about the ability to highlight 30 sponsors throughout the stadium throughout the experience, along with continued game prompts, touchdowns, get loud, scoreboards, things like that," he added. "ANC is creating all content for the whole year for them."

"ANC Studios designers have an extensive understanding of unique aspect ratios, wrapping content, and visibility,” added Burke Benesta. “Additionally, we utilize the primary objective of the location to creatively produce content for the purpose of the different displays. It’s important when starting the process to keep the big picture of the fan experience in mind. Hence, all boards deliver a fun but cohesive look and still play to their strengths.”

We always hear that new LED displays—which made their FedExField debut during a Premier League doubleheader on July 30—bring a better gameday experience. But what exactly does that mean? "The flash and the flare," Wall explained. "When you sit in these stadiums, you can see the action on the field, but you get more out of it when you watch the high-definition boards. FedExField's new 8mm displays are probably the tightest pixel pitch in the industry; most venues are at about 10mm. Before the upgrade, you really didn't even pay attention to [the displays] because they had no impact. Now it's bright, it's clean, it's fresh, and with the enhanced audio, it's just going to be incredible."

All About the Experience

The audio Wall referred to is a work in progress. As with the LED displays in place, the sound system was old and needed to be replaced. Jack Covert, director of audio and AV engineering at AJP, quickly realized he had a monster on his hands. 

“We recognized based on the complexity and the size of the stadium and access, it was going to be broken into two phases," Covert explained. “The stadium doesn't stop; it doesn't shut down. They've got events, they've got soccer, they've got Beyoncé coming in in a couple of weeks. The amount of staging they do takes—let's put it this way, it's not as fast as halftime at the Super Bowl."

Phase one was ready for the Commanders first NFL preseason home game in mid-August, and phase two will begin as soon as the NFL season ends. During the first phase, AJP identified existing components that could be used for another year.

“It's a distributed system around the stadium everywhere, and you can tell that although it was a thoughtful design originally, a lot of delay fill speakers have been added in different places,” Covert explained. “We had to get around and identify all of that, the condition of that, and the reason it was put in. So, phase one: a new front-of-house mix position refit and a completely new loudspeaker system.” 

With the help of Washington Professional Systems (WPS), AJP selected and installed more than 40 Fulcrum Acoustic FH15 Series loudspeakers, which, according to Covert, cover the majority of the stadium. A Powersoft Unica amplifier system was chosen for its power and reliability. A QSC Q-SYS system is being used for processing, Shure digital wireless improves speech intelligibility for the PA announcers and hosts, while a DiGiCo FOH mixing console brings it all together. 

Phase two will literally take the audio to new heights, as the plan is to install Fulcrum Acoustic AHC Series loudspeakers and US221 subwoofers on the lighting towers at season’s end. 

Covert said the challenge is to offer enhanced live sound that is comparable to audio performance from quality headphones or earbuds. “It's twofold. Number one, certainly we want to enhance the experience for the audience, which means the subwoofer, the sub-low content of the sound system, needs to go down to the bottom of the spectrum,” he noted. “At the same time, we need to be able to have efficient coverage from the upper mids to the high frequencies, defining speech intelligibility, as well as providing that kind of sparkling clean sound that everybody's used to from a full range device.”

Elevated Expectations

Whether it is football or fútbol, fans at FedExField are now engulfed in an experience that touches all the senses. “There's absolutely no doubt in our minds that this upgrade is exactly what is needed at FedExField and is going to elevate the client expectations for the NFL games and other performances in the stadium exponentially," said Covert.

"The upgraded video displays and audio systems are the next steps in modernizing our stadium to create an exciting and immersive gameday experience," added Trista Langdon, senior vice president of operations and guest experience for the Washington Commanders. "The upgraded resolution will immediately improve the in-game experience for our fans by providing crisp views of video content and game information, as well as immersive play-by-play engagement."

According to Wall, with the recent change in ownership, if a new stadium is on the horizon in the not-so-distant future, the Commanders are ready to move forward. “The buy-in to replace these displays was that potentially in the next three to five years, if the team ends up with a new home, the intent is to take the displays with them,” he explained.

Not only did this project expand AJP’s audio portfolio into the sports world, but for Wall, there was some personal satisfaction with the successful installation. “I've been a Washington fan my entire life,” Wall said. “Being part of this build and working in the stadium was something that my family and I were excited about. We've watched them since forever. On a personal level, it meant a lot to be at FedExField getting to know all the folks there. They're just incredible people.”

Daktronics Delivers at Lambeau Field

The Green Bay Packers selected Daktronics to manufacture and install two main video displays, two auxiliary video displays, and 60 concourse LED displays at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. The installation of approximately 24,500 square feet of LED displays totaling 79.5 million pixels took place in the spring, and the technology was set to debut at the beginning of football season this fall.

Each main end zone display will feature 6mm pixel spacing and measure more than 10,500 square feet at 48x220 feet. The Packers displays will be one of the few 4K displays in professional football. These displays are also HDR-capable and feature environmental protection to keep them operating as expected in the Green Bay weather.

The east and west auxiliary scoreboard displays will each measure more than 7x74.5 feet and feature 6mm pixel spacing to share all the scoring and statistical information fans expect to see as they follow along with the game.

All 60 displays in the concourses will feature 2.9mm pixel spacing as they connect with fans away from their seats and keep them immersed in the action while moving about the stadium. Varying in size, each display is optimized for its location inside Lambeau Field for maximum impact on audiences, whether showing live game feeds, concessions, pro shop promotions, live data updates, or other special messaging.

“Daktronics is proud to once again have a significant presence inside Lambeau Field,” said Tony Mulder, Daktronics regional manager. “We have been fortunate enough to work with the Packers recently as they have updated their outdoor marquees and some of their club area high-resolution displays, but the in-bowl displays are certainly our core business. We couldn’t be happier partnering with the Packers organization and such a legendary stadium on those centerpieces once again.”