FX Design Group Leads Charge on Levi’s Stadium Broadcast Set

As part of the Levi’s Stadium construction, the San Francisco 49ers selected FX Design Group to design and build the venue’s broadcast set. The state-of-the art, 1,000-sq.-ft. set will serve the needs of both the 49ers and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.

Levi's Stadium's new broadcast set, configured for the San Francisco 49ers...

Levi’s Stadium’s new broadcast set, configured for the San Francisco 49ers…

“They really wanted a very modern, very versatile environment with a lot of technology,” says Stephen Ricker, who served as lead designer on the project. “Pretty much a few clicks of the mouse and a few button presses will completely change the studio. Aside from a few spots that have that kind of distressed-metal texture, just about every surface is video surface or a color-changing lit surface.”

The concept, according to FX Design Group, was to develop a gridiron with the shapes and textures within the set. The desk’s rough metallic texture lends an industrial feel to the otherwise brightly lit, LED-centric environment and is one of the most complicated structures ever built by FX Design Group.

Behind the desk, a 3-ft.-high x 5-ft.-wide tracking video wall comprising 46-in. monitors can be moved into or out of the shot, depending on whether the 49ers or Comcast wishes to play video or show the crowds visible through large windows.

... and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area

… and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area

“They have the ability to have the monitors completely out of their camera shot all together, and it gives a nice image of the street [out of] the right-hand-side windows,” says Greg Leffel, senior project manager, FX Design Group. “The left side, behind the new monitor array, is actually the Hall of Fame area, so they also have that view back there as well as a background shot instead of the monitor array.”

In addition, the floor was built of medium-density LED video panels. Says Ricker, “They can walk on it, change colors, add movement, and broader sweeps of logos as well as the large-tracking video wall on either side to really give them that versatility.”

Built in conjunction with Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, the set will be known as CSN Bay Area Studios at Levi’s Stadium and will host game-day broadcasts and other 49ers-related programming for CSN Bay Area and NBC Bay Area.

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