Sky Ribbon: Led insignia of Atlético de Madrid and LG in the new digital era of stadiums

Nearly 2.000 m² 360º flexible LED mesh manufactured by LG, installed on the iconic roof of the stadium Atlético de Madrid, they envelop their fans and visitors in height. The Sky Ribbon has not only been an ambitious and arduous engineering project for both companies, It has become a milestone in large-format LED digital signage technology in a sports venue.. A visual spectacle of image and light unique in the world.

The project Sky Ribbon marks a before and after in innovation in digital signage in football stadiums, that comes true at the headquarters of the Atlético de Madrid –Riyadh Air Metropolitano– enhancing not only the club identity red and white but the interaction with your fans and visitors since they arrive at its surroundings and it impacts them with an excited effect WOW when they enter the playing field.

A pioneering technological and sports connection that materializes, after eight years of close collaboration between both companies, in the launch of a new product category on the part of LG Electronics, in collaboration with Telefónica, and the rojiblanco club to convert the Metropolitano into the first stadium to have and offer fans and visitors a visual spectacle of image and light, unique and differential in the world.

Willpower, tenacity and commitment

The values ​​of the red and white club courage and heart They have teamed up again with those of LG and their philosophy Life’s Good in this innovative project, that marks a milestone in large format LED digital signage technology, unprecedented in a stadium worldwide, for his complexity of installation at height (above the first level of stands, on the venue's iconic oval-shaped roof) and the surround impact for all those who are in the field.

How do you explain Jaime de Jaraiz, president and CEO of LG Spain, “Eight years have passed since we carried out the first project with Atlético de Madrid, with the installation of first 360º Ribbon Board in the stands of a stadium and large format LED screens, which allowed us to show our technology to the world, that continues to work without problems. Now we have gone one step further with our most ambitious project in Led display with the Sky Ribbon, a real technical challenge, with a spectacular result and from which we have learned together”.

Technology and passion have been combined again in this second phase of collaboration between LG and Atlético de Madrid to create “extraordinary experiences for everyone, what has brought us closer to the club - says De Jaraiz -, demonstrating that we share the values ​​that inspire our motto that 'life can be wonderful', the great phrase of Andres Montes, especially when living with intensity and emotion”.

This innovative project arose from “a specific need of the club to Optimize viewing in a particularly complex area of ​​the stadium”, remember René Abril Martín, director of technology and digital development of Club Atlético de Madrid, fruit of direct collaboration between the entity's technicians and LG engineers in coordination with global R&D, which materializes in a technology that did not exist in the Led market.

In technical terms, the Sky Ribbon is a huge 360º flexible vertical LED screen, of 404 meters of perimeter and almost 5 tall, which is integrated into the inner ring of the stadium roof, an element of identity.

A 'second skin' that takes advantage of this unique infrastructure of the venue, which now has 112 large steel frames, custom manufactured by the company Bat Spain, what They support the flexible Led mesh and the 112 opaque membranes, with double white/black background for the LEDs, whose lifting and assembly has also been carried out by this company in collaboration with other suppliers.

Sky is from Ribbon installed between the upper and lower pull ring of the iconic cover, 'bicycle wheel' type, that generates a dynamic movement of complex three dimensional shapes, such as cones and helical structures, that seems to merge with the sky.

A project with all kinds of challenges, worries and trials, “has been a unique job, thorough and differential that has kept us awake many nights. We had many things against us, since it had never been done, con concept and wind tunnel tests to ensure that Each component will be installed in a millimetric and safe manner. at a height of 40 metros, checking your permeability, weight, with proper alignment to offer optimal visibility from different angles, eliminating shadows that may affect the image…”, explains Roberto de Andrés Gómez, Led solution architect en LG Electronics.

All the old slats of the structure 2017 They had to be disassembled to install this Led screen 360 flexible mesh, of almost 2.000 m², in a truncated conical ellipse that has about 13 meters difference between the bottom (of 417 meters in length) and above (of 404 m.).

It is variable dimensions and curvatures have demanded a millimeter calibration, in addition to reduce in 18 tons the weight so that it was a 68% lighter than standard LEDs regarding the initial project and a 50% in wiring.

“It has been hard work engineering, logistics and assembly whose success has been integration of all elements and equipment, that values ​​the quality of visual support, its low maintenance and the creation of a unique experience immersion in the match. A project with many stories and anecdotes that began by drawing it on a napkin from a bar in Holland with René Abril”, points out Oscar Mayo Pardo, general director of business and operations at Atlético de Madrid

This great work of technological engineering, with a luminosity of 7.500 nits, allows adjust the viewing angle for content -high resolution images, advertising, Live match information with player presentation, goals, fouls…- sea visible anywhere on the field.

Comprehensive renovation of the locker room tunnel

This second phase of technological collaboration between LG and Atlético de Madrid follows the same pattern of impacting other spaces in the stadium with LED technology to involve fans and visitors to the maximum, which is also materialized in the comprehensive reform carried out in the locker room tunnel and at the exit of the players to the field.

In one of the areas of this space, where the passage goes tour to see the museum and stadium, with more than 150.000 annual visitors, have been installed 86” screens with interactive content.

One of the novelties is the creation of the so-called Tunnel Club by Riyadh Air, a VIP space 550 m2 in the form of an amphitheater on two levels and capacity for 150 people who have the privilege of seeing, through a semi-transparent glass (which can be made opaque if necessary due to incident issues) the departure to the field of the players of the two teams in contention.

In addition to furniture, high-end sound and lighting and careful catering service, the space has two high resolution screens, one in a curved format that follows the amphitheater-style aesthetics of the room and another in 16:9, “with a direct puncture to the stands, a window to the countryside from the previous one to live and feel everything that happens on the ground”, points out René Abril.

The exit of the tunnel of the players to the field, neuralgic point in the matches, has been visually transformed with LG outdoor screens 3,9 mm that surround this exciting moment, one of the most televised, and until now it was only seen occasionally in some finals.

This outlet has panels High-resolution LEDs that cover the walls and the exit arch to the field which are now permanently there for the enjoyment of tour visitors, that through a app can personalize your tour, to foster the excitement of fans and players.

As René Abril emphasizes, “in addition to football competitions, The stadium has other 'lives', with the celebration of more than two hundred sporting events, about twenty concerts and, again, a final of Champions”.

press room

An LG Led screen has also been installed in the press room, what replaces static canvas, prepared to give the best image quality to television cameras, con 4K resolution vertically and horizontally above, pixel pitch 1,2 mm, con refresh rates 3.840 Hz to avoid any type of flickering in broadcasts, y network and data redundancy for uninterrupted operation.

“The display offers the ability to reproduce a well-lit physical sign, complying with the competition regulations and giving the image response for the broadcast of the press conference to the TV networks”, explains April.

Besides, This press room/auditorium is also used for company events that are held in the stadium, “y this screen is an asset to make them -April assures-, since it allows us to modify the content displayed without problems and in an agile way and personalize it for the occasion, without having to dismantle the old static sign and rent a video wall”.

Visual impact outdoors

The new LG Led display systems now installed outside prepare attendees for their experience, whether at a match or a concert or for those who come to the stadium for the first time.

Four curved cylinders, two of 28,5 meters and three high, and another couple of 16 meters located at the West entrance have High brightness circular Led screens, with IP65 certification, to display even with constant direct light and changing environmental conditions, statistics and history of the last matches with the team that Atlético de Madrid will face that day, commercial content and included guidance information to the different doors, restoration sites etc..

“It is not about offering only the brand, but of services to inform fans of information of interest about the teams that play, to offer a guidance system to those who come for the first time, as can happen in the Champions League, to introduce them to the environment”, emphasizes René Abril.

Another new element is a High brightness outdoor Led display type banner, of 45 m² and with a slight curvature, which follows the architectural structure of the stadium and pixel pitch 3,9 mm, that crowns the VIP access entrance of the Puerta 34 to welcome attendees and whose contents are easily updated with a single click when there are other types of events, like concerts, congresses, etc.

High image quality and stadium experiences

Since in 2017 LG will show the visual transformation carried out with its LED technology in the Metropolitan, the sports environment has become a strategic area for the company, to the point that eight out of ten Spanish stadiums They have their Led and air conditioning solutionsn, according to the data provided.

This digital transformation in sports venues with the installation of screens, video scoreboards and the innovative Ribbon Board 360 y Sky Ribbon not only promotes the fan experience, but it opens new revenue streams for clubs by investing in these technologies, which in the case of the Atlético de Madrid stadium currently reaches the deployment of more than 3.000 m² LED.

In recent years, LG has deployed its technology in Spanish stadiums and pavilions, including the project in the Rafa Nadal Academy (more details in this diary), and the most recent in the venue Roig Arena, in Valencia, as published Digital AV.