LED Brings Back Football

Fans have been cheering all over the world as sporting events proceed after lockdown rules were relaxed.

Premier League matches returned on June 17 with the first match, Aston Villa vs Sheffield United, followed by Manchester City vs Arsenal.

The championship season followed shortly after, returning on June 20th with Fulham vs Brentford.

Watching football, self-isolating at home is fine, however, most fans see the sport as a social activity. The experience is often enjoyed more when it is shared, normally this would be in the stadium or watching at a pub. While sports have returned, unfortunately, there are still restrictions in place that prevent fans from watching in pubs or at the stadium, but that doesn’t mean you can only watch the game in front of your TV at home.

Some football clubs are inviting fans to enjoy the match from outside the stadium. Whilst they may not be allowed inside, they can enjoy watching the game on a big screen in a drive-in cinema style set up, enabling fans to enjoy a ‘stadium experience’ while remaining isolated from other football fans.

Danish football club FC Midtjylland have announced their games will be presented on two giant LED screens in its car park, with over 2,000 spaces available for fans to comfortably enjoy some social-distance live football entertainment.

Fans will be able to enjoy the sports on the clear LED screens, whilst also tuning into the commentators inside the arena through their car radios. Not only will cars be able to keep up with coverage of the action, but the carpark will also be broadcast inside the arena so players can still experience their fans’ reactions live.

This install did not come without its challenges there was much debate about where to position the screens. "We talked a lot about the direction of the screens, because if a game is played late in the day then the sun will be in the west, so we cannot point them in that direction, but if we turned them around then you would have the sun shining directly into the cars.” said Jens Carstensen, CEO ProShop Eurpoe, who installed the project. Strategically placing the screens facing north along with choosing LED screens solved this. LED offers stunning brightness, contrast and colour reproduction, displaying vibrant content regardless of ambient light.

PSCo markets a range of LED product, including direct-lit LED, a technology that originated for the outdoor market. With over 20 years’ experience in the live events industry, we pride ourselves on delivering the best solutions for our customers.

FC Midtjylland in Denmark are looking to extend the viewing experience for those who are not able to leave their house and watch the game on LED at the stadium, by installing screens along the side-lines, allowing people watching from home to appear on the screen as an 'in-stadium' audience so they can be seen on the TV.

Increasingly LED is becoming the go-to solution for sports stadia and public venues because of its versatility. Whether it’s permeant installation or a short-term rental, indoor broadcast backdrop or an outdoor mega screen, even creative digital signage canvases, with curves or column wraps, as well as transparent-in-window, LED can deliver.

This technology is not just being taken advantage of by football stadiums, there has been an increase in interest for ‘drive-in cinemas’ as the closure of cinemas nationally has left people unable to watch films on a big screen. LED offers a solution to this; they are large and scalable, making them perfect for every viewing experience.

We are also set to soon see the return of many other sports, with Formula 1 poised to start on July 5 with the Austrian Grand Prix. We have already seen the return of Boxing with matches in Las Vegas returns from lockdown, behind closed doors. England will play their three-Test series against West Indies, as cricket returns in July behind closed doors.

It is likely we will see all of these sports adopt LED as a way for their fans to enjoy watching from a safe distance, among other fans, maintaining the crowd atmosphere.

“LED offers seamless display canvases with extended life expectancy and in the case of modular solutions the ability to fill any space regardless of aspect ratio.”

- Jenny Hicks, Head of Technology at Midwich.

To find out more about our LED offering and how this technology can be used right now, contact your account manager, or contact our sales team on 01344 592 222