Mid-tier LED
Surrey Cricket Club
- The Challenge
Surrey Cricket Club is one of England’s oldest and most prestigious cricket clubs, making it’s home at the iconic Oval ground since establishment in 1845. Cricket has been played at the Oval since the early 18th century and the ground is famous for it’s landmark location, next to the historic Victorian gasholder. The ground has a proud reputation for being one of the UK’s top venues to watch cricket, and ticket sales generated from repeated hosting of domestic and international games have resulted in Surrey Cricket Club’s lucrativeness as a club. To ensure this is maintained, the ground needs to consistently remain at the forefront of innovation, providing spectators with the best possible experience of the game. The club has been ahead of the game, so to speak, since as early as the late nineteenth century, when it famously illuminated evening matches with the first use of artificial lighting at a sports venue.
- Kit List
- Upper-tier LED
- Bespoke 'Hot Swappable' cartridge system
- Specially engineered support system
- Connected to club's IPTV infrastructure
- The Approach
In 2005, the ground’s north stands were replaced by the now famous 1845 stand, a sweeping four-tiered grandstand, offering great vantage points to the club’s 25,300 spectator capacity, as well as world class corporate hospitality. The stand significantly helped Surry Cricket Club elevate its position as a leading sports venue and the ground soon became a popular conference and events destination. Important sponsorship deals, the main one being with Kia motors – hence the naming right, has played a key part in driving revenue for the club and the sweeping design of the 1845 stand lent itself to advertising and brand awareness. In 2019 the club decided to maximise usage of the top tier by installing LED to provide the ultimate platform for showcasing content, advertising and improving fan experience. However the club had had mixed success with permanent LED products in the past, so had been actively looking for a solution that combined reliability, robust pixel longevity and excellent content delivery.
- The Solution
Because of the precarious location of the intended display, mounted on a concrete balustrade above three other levels and twenty metres off the ground, important factors need to be considered with installation. Preventing disruption to the club’s ever growing conferencing and hospitality business was of superior importance, so a short installation period was essential, especially as previous installations were cumbersome and untidy. Speed and efficiency of work was particularly relevant to the summer 2019 period, when the club hosted more cricket and events than ever before, including the ICC cricket World Cup and the final Ashes test.
The club’s previous technical investment needed to be considered when integrating the solution as there were a multitude of screens currently in place throughout the ground, used for displaying various content and all connected to the same IPTV network. The new system therefore needed to be integrated with the existing infrastructure.
As the tier’s balcony had previously been used for static advertising, attention to the inner infrastructure had been unnecessary. However with the weight of LED, considerations needed to be made regarding the reinforced steel rebar which supports the concrete: This included:
- Scanning the framework to locate concrete balustrade’s inner support system to avoid affecting structural integrity
Interfacing Pioneer Group’s own ultra-high bright P10 LED, we:
- Fixed a simple rear support system to support the total 76 cabinets to make the 80 meter banner to cover the upper-tier surface
In order to reduce the time taken to make repairs and avoid the whole display being affected by pixel failure, we designed an innovative system with ongoing maintenance mind, which was approved by the English Cricket Board:
- ‘Hot-swappable’ Individual cartridges with access at the top, making them easy to be lifted out, should a fault arise
This is true, with the power on in the middle of the game.
Work was completed by Pioneer’s engineers over the August bank holiday, ensuring the install was up and running for the final Ashes test match of the series. The innovative display was used for fan engagement, using content from the ECB (English Cricket Board), featuring player’s names and pictures being shown at relevant points in the game, as well as advertising.
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Stadia & Venue Services
LED Ribbons – Mid tier and pitchside
Jumbo screens
Digital Signage
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