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

Eleven giant digital screens, a complete digital signage system and its own TV production company configure, 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 recently inaugurated Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, headquarters of the Diablos Rojos del México baseball team, which features eleven giant screens, a digital signage system and its own television production company, inter alia.

The new home of the Red Devils of Mexico is also a monumental architectural work and a functional sports venue, with capacity for 20.800 spectators and with all the comforts, so that players, teams and fans fully enjoy baseball, in a setting that meets the MLB's rigorous specifications (Major League Baseball).

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

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

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

“This is the stadium that sings, and that's how people already know it.", explains Dr. Othón Díaz Valenzuela, executive president of the Red Devils of Mexico. And the public enjoys this venue. Opened in the spring of 2019, the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium is the legacy that its owner, Mexican businessman and baseball fan Alfredo Harp Helú, He has left the team of his loves and the fans of this sport.

To facilitate the design, integration and delivery of the solution it was decided to split the project, so Panasonic, through its B2B solutions 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 deployment of images throughout the stadium.

Audiovisual deployment

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

• A translucent screen type mesh de23,8x 8,84 ms (with resolution 512×1.092p and the only one with a 42.5mm pixel pitch) that acts like a big blind.
• Two giant screens for the upper part of the gardens (the 21.12x 11,52 m) in which the game score is reported, statistics, player profiles and entertainment or advertising dynamics are shown.
• Two screens for the green wall of the gardens (of 24×1,92 m) that are used as a complement to the content displayed on large screens or as support for entertainment activities.
• Four ribbons in the division of the two levels of the tribune, two of 70.4mx0.64m and two of 62.4mx0.64m, featuring sponsor logos, game information and entertainment content.
• Two screens located on the green wall behind the homeor batting plate (of 3.84×0,96 m, in which the image of the team's sponsors is displayed. These screens appear in frame in all shots of the pitcher's pitches during the television broadcast of the game.

The image deployment solution is complemented with the following resources:

• Control and animation cabin: It is the space in which the content distribution systems for all screens are controlled, in addition to local sound to send messages and encourage the public, managing statistics and social networks. Artcoustix has been in charge of the integration of the space: from the furniture and racks to the installation of the necessary wiring for the connectivity that each piece of equipment requires..
• Digital signage:More than eighty Panasonic monitors have been installed (with LED technology and 65” flat screen) in different areas of the stadium, like the locker room, gym and dining room of the local team, visiting team locker room, both dugoutsthe stalls, the Diablos store, consumption centers, offices and common areas of the stadium.
• Boxes and terrace:Each of the twenty-two boxes has a 40” flat screen monitor and Panasonic LED technology so that its occupants can follow the actions.. The exception is the main box, which has four 55” inch monitors, and the terrace, with three 55” monitors.

Two multi-format portable video cameras are used for video production of live entertainment content., with 4K quality, Panasonic model AG-UX180. The stadium also offers free public WiFi and various interactive dynamics through networks to live personalized experiences.

Diablos TV signal

For the production of the television signal of the games that the Red Devils play at home, The organization has the Diablos TV system, that integrates an entire team of producers, filmmakers and other technical personnel, 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 television screen and on social media platforms.

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

Four AK-HC5000 cameras are used to cover a Red Devils game, operated by cameramen from key fixed positions (at first and third base, in center field to catch the batter and behind the home) that carry the greatest weight during transmission.

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

Two other AW-H2 robotic cameras capture the image of the narrators from the commentary box, and an AJ-PX800 handheld camera is used to capture the audience, Batsman details and other specific coverage.

The production cabin, located in the lower part of the stadium, is equipped with an AV-HS6000 live production switcher, with two effects banks and an AW-HS50N switcher dedicated to robotic cameras (which are operated remotely with the AK-HRP1000 and AW-RP120 controllers).

Added to this are the 17” monitors, with video production quality, as well as flat screen LED monitors that help the production team carry out 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, CEO 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 continue 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”.