Good thing comes to those who wait, even when you’re talking about a $3 million digital signage upgrade at one of Canada’s most well-known sports arenas.
After looking for almost two years for a company to team up on the project at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) partnered with Cineplex Digital Solutions (formerly known as Digital Display & Communications Inc.) in February 2009 at the Digital Signage Expo, just seven months before the arena’s $48 million overhaul was set to be completed.
Air Canada Centre, the 11th-busiest arena in the world, is a multi-purpose, 665,000-square-foot arena in downtown Toronto.
The facility has hosted more than 2,000 events, including hockey, basketball and lacrosse games, concerts and live events since 1999. It is the home of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, NBA’s Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Rock Lacrosse team and has been host to some of the best entertainers in the world.
PHOTOS: Air Canada Centre’s Unique Digital Signage
“We laid out all of our objectives in advance and they raised the pitfalls we were going to encounter,” says Dwayne Brown, who was director of venue services for MLSE at the time of the project and now serves as director of operations for Cineplex.
“They selected what we needed and helped us avoid all of those problems. They weren’t trying to sell us a particular product. They were trying to match the solution with our needs.”
Inside The Transformation
With the help of digital signage industry expert Lyle Bunn, MLSE set out to provide a best-in-class environment for its sponsors and corporate partners to reach the audience; present visually stunning graphics on intricately configured screens located at high traffic areas; deliver revenue growth opportunities; and present Air Canada Centre as a destination while increasing MLSE brand awareness. MLSE selected Omnivex Moxie software to power the network.
The first phase of the deployment features 52 player PCs driving content to 360 display screens. The screens range in size from 32 to 82 inches, are strategically placed for maximum impact and are configured in unique ways to add to the aesthetic appeal of the facility.
