The new stadium of Los Diablos Rojos del México creates a comprehensive visual experience for its fans

Eleven giant digital displays, a complete digital signage system and its own TV production company set up, among other systems, the AV solution created and installed by Panasonic and Artcoustix for this new stadium.

The manufacturer Panasonic and the integrator Artcoustix have designed and installed an audiovisual entertainment solution for the newly opened Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, home of the Diablos Rojos del México baseball team, in which eleven giant screens stand out, a digital signage system and its own television production company, among others.

The new house of the Diablos Rojos del México is also a monumental architectural work and a functional sports venue, with the capacity to 20.800 spectators and with all the comforts, in order for players, teams and fans fully enjoy baseball, in a scenario that meets mlb's rigorous specifications (Major League Baseball).

For this project, the Red Devils organization was surrounded by expert companies from various sectors, as in the case of the Mexican subsidiary of Panasonic that, together with the Artcoustix integrator, was in charge of the design and installation of audiovisual solutions of different spaces.

The proposal deployed consists of a spectacular system of giant screens, unique in Mexico (including belts and a translucent screen, with 969 m2 of Led display), a digital signage system with dozens of flat monitors and a vast camera system, switchers and recorders Full HD for the production of video and television content.

The goal of this deployment is to offer a complete family entertainment experience that goes beyond the actions of fire, so that both the fan who visits the stadium and who follows the game from home through the signal generated by Diablos TV.

"This is the stadium that sings, and so people already know it", explains Dr. Othón Díaz Valenzuela, executive chairman of the Diablos Rojos del México. And it is that the public enjoys this enclosure. Opened in the spring of 2019, the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium is the legacy that its owner, Mexican baseball fan alfredo harp helú, has left the team of his loves and fans of this sport.

For ease of design, integration and delivery of the solution it was decided to split the project, so that Panasonic, through its B2B solution group, has been in charge of the integration of the video production solution for Diablos TV, while Artcoustix, with the support of the Japanese company, has focused on the display of images throughout the stadium.

Audiovisual display

The main entrance of the stadium is crowned with a large translucent screen. The solution is composed of eleven giant screens with Panasonic Led technology (ten of them with 10mm of pixel pitch and Full HD resolution, connected via optical fiber and with IP65 standard of weather resistance) which are divided thus:

• A translucent screen type Mesh of23.8x 8,84 Ms (with resolution 512×1.092p and the only one with pixel pitch of 42.5mm) which acts as a large blind.
• Two giant screens for the top of the gardens (21.12x 11,52 M) reporting the game marker, statistics, player profiles and entertainment or advertising dynamics are displayed.
• Two screens for the green wall of the gardens (of 24×1,92 M) that are used as a complement to the contents displayed on the big screens or as a support for entertainment activities.
• Four belts in the division of the two levels of the grandstand, two of 70.4mx0.64 m and two of 62.4mx0.64m, displaying sponsor logos, game information and entertainment content.
• Two screens located on the green wall behind the homeor batting plate (out of 3.84×0,96 M, in which the image of the team's sponsors is displayed. These screens appear in checkered on all shots of the pitcher's pitches during the game's television broadcast..

The image deployment solution is complemented by the following resources:

• Control booth and animation: is the space in which content distribution systems are controlled for all screens, in addition to the local sound to send messages and cheer the audience, the management of statistics and social networks. Artcoustix has been in charge of the integration of the space: from furniture and racks to the installation of the necessary wiring for the connectivity that each equipment requires.
• Digital signage:more than eighty Panasonic monitors have been installed (with LED technology and 65" flat panel) in different areas of the stadium, like the wardrobe, gym and dining room of the local team, visiting team locker room, Both of them dugoutsor benches, the Diablos store, consumption centers, stadium offices and common areas.
• Boxes and terrace:each of the twenty-two boxes have a flat screen monitor of 40 "and Panasonic Led technology so that its occupants can follow the actions. The exception is the main box, which features four 55" monitors, and the terrace, with three 55" monitors.

For the video production of live entertainment content, two multi-format portable camcorders are used, with 4K quality, of panasonic's AG-UX180 model. The stadium also offers free public WiFi and various interactive dynamics through networks to live personalized experiences.

The signal of Diablos TV

For the production of the television signal of the games that the Red Devils play as locals, the organization has the Diablos TV system, that integrates a whole team of producers, filmmakers and other technical staff, who take advantage of all the technological elements of the solution designed in conjunction with Panasonic.

The filmmakers Marco Antonio Ávila Toledo and Ginelin Gallardo López are in charge of the complete operation of Diablos TV. His main challenge has been to launch the project and lay the foundations of the visual language to transmit baseball, both on the tv screen and on social media platforms.

As with the stadium facilities, Diablos TV also had advice and approval from MLB. Currently it carries out all the production and sends the signal for its diffusion in social networks and to the television company Sky, which distributes it to pay-TV systems throughout the country.

Four AK-HC5000 cameras are used for coverage of a Red Devils game, operated by cameramen from key fixed positions (at first and third base, in center field to take the batter and behind the home) carrying the most weight during transmission.

Four robotic cameras AW-HR140 type PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) offer different angles of the game; two of them are located on the fence of the gardens, right on the mark of the foul, and the remaining two are installed on the first level of the grandstands, on the side of both gardens. The image of the warm-up of the reliever launchers is covered with two robotic cameras AW-H130, one for each bullpen.

Two other AW-H2 robotic cameras capture the image of the narrators from the commentators' box, and an AJ-PX800 portable camera is used to capture the audience, batter details and other specific coverages.

The production booth, located in the lower part of the stadium, is equipped with a live production AV-HS6000 switcher, with two banks for effects and an AW-HS50N switcher dedicated to robotic cameras (which are operated remotely with ak-hrp1000 and aw-rp120 controllers).

To this are added the 17" monitors, with video production quality, as well as flat screen Led monitors that help the production team to perform their work with due precision.

All games, stored on P2 HD cards via a pair of AG-HDP24 P2 recorders, they are part of the team's historical archive and are also available online from the Diablos TV YouTube channel.

For Othón Díaz, executive chairman of the Red Devils, this new stadium will be the model to follow for the Mexican Baseball League. "The next stage is its internationalization; we want to keep innovating, this is our commitment. We wanted to achieve a total experience and we offer it to our fans, who knew how to wait years to have a world-class stadium".

Other articles on Artcoustix, Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, The Red Devils of Mexico, Panasonic, Sky