The latest creation from the team behind MEATliquor, BLOODsports carefully combines the elements of sports bar and ‘dive’ bar into a unique nightlife spot in the heart of London’s Covent Garden. The bar broadcasts live sports all day and night, followed by late-night horror movies, with elements of classic horror films woven into the bar décor—even down to the carpet, which visitors might recognize from Stanley Kubrick’s chilling horror movie classic, The Shining. Having worked with founder Scott Collins on AV system design, implementation, and maintenance for the MEATliquor chain, London-based systems integration specialists, Tateside, were on board with the project from the outset.
With BLOODsports wanting to live stream every kind of live sport in the bar, the video requirements were a major focus. A total of 28 screens to cover every possible viewing angle in the venue were built into the system design. The spaces covered include the main bar area, alongside a games room and snug area, and a private room for events or larger parties—all without any walled separation. Even the bathrooms feature screens for non-stop entertainment. Due to the open-plan nature of the space, audio zoning was a crucial consideration, ensuring that multiple sports can be broadcast simultaneously without audio bleeding between areas. Tateside worked closely with the client and Hisense’s U.K. distributor to secure the best possible deal on a variety of screens ranging from 32 up to 75 inches.
The scope for audio was to implement a distributed system where different areas of the venue could listen to different audio feeds. The system is built with a mix of professional-grade audio brands, including Martin Audio CDD loudspeakers and XE212 subs in the main bar, Audac ceiling speakers throughout, and Void Acoustics in the private VIP area. Dante-enabled Powersoft amplifiers were chosen for audio distribution, whilst NETGEAR POE+ switches handle networked AV traffic . The overall system is controlled through Q-SYS, with a touch panel and iPad providing intuitive user control over audio sources, screen content and even karaoke playback from a karaoke system sourced by the Tateside team.
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Given the flexibility of the system and the ease of source selection, the karaoke system’s audio and video output can be distributed across multiple screens and loudspeakers, depending on how busy the bar is or what other fixtures are taking place at the time. Beyond sing-a-longs and sports, other entertainment options include a DJ booth with Pioneer CDJ and mixer.
Despite the project’s complexity and strict timeline, the involvement of Tateside from the design phase contributed to the smooth running of the project. Tateside will provide ongoing support for BLOODsports with a dedicated maintenance service that ensures any technical issues are addressed within four hours.
