Nokia Arena in Tampere opened in December 2021 and already hosted a major sports event. Broadcast Solutions was responsible for the multimedia infrastructure – and the arena sets standards as one of the most modern multi-purpose venues in the Nordics.
Designed by world-famous architect Daniel Libeskind and officially opened in December 2021, Nokia Arena has already hosted one of the most prestigious events in the Nordics: the Ice Hockey World Championships in May 2022. Besides being the new home of two ice hockey clubs, Tampereen Ilves and Tappara, the building is a multifunctioning landmark with hotels, restaurants, casinos and event facilities. It is located at the heart of the Finnish city of Tampere.
Nokia Arena is leveraging a highly flexible media infrastructure, giving its owners and users the freedom to produce different events, such as sports or concerts and to distribute content to various displays and outlets with ease. The Arena’s core for multimedia infrastructure is a media system centred around a master control room designed and implemented by Broadcast Solutions that manages, collects, edits, and distributes video and audio signals within the venue and to outside partners.
The multimedia control room feeds the screens, for example the LED cube.
Image: Skyfox, Marko Kallio
With two major Finnish ice hockey teams playing games during the week, plus additional concerts and musicals, the venue attracts quite many live events in one season. Therefore, the requirements Broadcast Solutions and its Nordic branch had to meet were to design and implement a multimedia solution that was flexible enough to drive the fan experience for the different types of shows. From the control room and LED display control to the Arena TV system and on-ice projection system, every live production element needed to be tied together to deliver a truly immersive experience for the hockey fan or concertgoer.
A Multimedia Master Control Room used as Universal Switch Board To fulfil these demands, the multimedia control room serves as a control and distribution centre for all video, audio and commentary signals within the venue. On the video side, it controls and feeds all screens in the venue, such as the LED cube, boards, ice projector, Arena TV and digital signage. Its flexible approach also manages external broadcasts by forwarding signals to the OB van compound to a dedicated fibre link for broadcasters and distribution partners. Furthermore, the installation operates all in- and outgoing audio signals from the ice rink, feeding the Arena PA, stageboxes around the ice rink and the PAVA system.
Matias Palo, AV Technician at Aku Factory Ltd., the company running the Arena’s media infrastructure, comments on working daily with the systems: “One of the best parts of the new system is that it’s very logical to use and graphics functions are perfectly integrated and native in Ross’ XPression. So we can do animations directly to the system and not use multiple tools and convert graphics back and forth. With the control room, transitions from one production to another are effortless. We can move from ice hockey productions to concerts fast and without problems.”
To flexibly manage signals and distribute them to all different outlets, Broadcast Solutions teamed with Ross Video to use several of their multi-purpose media management solutions. For the usual ice hockey match, 32 camera feeds are coming in (broadcast cams from the broadcaster, from the arena operators plus on-site cams plus return on-air feeds from the broadcaster). With added graphics and slomo feeds, all signals are processed using Ross’ end-to-end turnkey solution that combines the traditional production control room with LED display control, allowing unmatched creative flexibility and scalability. Ross’s DashBoard server hardware plus XPression Workflow and Tessera systems are in place for the LED display control.
This solution gives the Arena Live System the ability to provide operators with a limitless canvas on which to create the perfect game-day experience for the Nokia Arena audience to enjoy. For signal management, a router is the backbone of the system, with video/audio routing, multiviewers, audio processing, frame synchronisers, clean/quiet switching, UHD gearboxing and more all unified in one single system.
Supporting 12G throughout, it is UHD compatible and adds multiple IP I/O to the production system. A wow-effect visitors already experience comes from handling real-time data and using it during productions, e.g. showing shooting speed on the ice projector during periods etc. All dasher boards and pillars are LED walls giving the team the freedom to show whatever content they need on these screens.
With Nokia Arena being one of the most modern multi-purpose venues in the Nordics, it was more than just a regular job but an affair of the heart for Broadcast Solutions Nordic to design and build the system.
Antti Laurila, Managing Director at Broadcast Solutions Nordic, stresses the meaning of this prestigious project for the company by adding: “I am from the Tampere region and extremely proud that we are involved with such a great project. The Live Media System we designed and implemented enriches the visitor experience and gives a wow-effect that has not been seen in Finland before. Broadcast Solutions’ experience in broadcast system integration and the company’s continuous learning and innovations in the latest technologies is key to such a successful project implementation. We were involved with system design from the early beginning, so all aspects and innovations were considered in the solution that meets the customer’s expectations.”
In daily operation, the multimedia control room is used to produce real-time live content during any events. As said, it can feed all screens on the ice rink as well as any external systems. The system directly controls all displays on the ice rink (LED cube, ribbons, LED dasher board, LED pillars, ice projector and TV screens) plus sharing signals to external systems in the venue (LG CMS, restaurants, casino) and outside. In addition, it feeds all content to 3rd party distribution partners if needed. By leveraging a highly flexible and future-proof media infrastructure, Nokia Arena owners have all the freedom to produce different events with ease and change workflows as fast as possible. (STADIAWORLD, 03.08.2022)
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