Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

On the Gridiron: Seattle Seahawks Production, Ops Teams Keep Fans at the Heart of Game Day at CenturyLink Field

22/10/2020

On the Gridiron: Seattle Seahawks Production, Ops Teams Keep Fans at the Heart of Game Day at CenturyLink Field Known for their volume and support, The 12s' are honored throughout the stadium By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor

Wednesday, October 21, 2020 - 2:51 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Many professional sports have opted for a return to play inside a sanitized bubble. Not the NFL. Without skipping a beat, the league is soldiering on with regular-season games in all 30 stadiums across the country. Similar to our At the Ballpark series, On the Gridiron examines the new routines, habits, and production philosophies of in-venue personnel on any given Thursday, Sunday, or Monday.

For any given NFL franchise, fans are always the top priority, but, in the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Seahawks' fanbase is the difference-maker. Known as The 12s, they use their passion and vocal cords to change the tide of a game. As a blanket of silence sits over CenturyLink Field, production and operations have worked together to develop a plan that still heavily involves the team's followers at the venue.

I'm not sure I'll ever get used to [working in] an empty stadium, says Mike Tremel, director, technical operations, Seattle Seahawks. To me, sports are about the fans, and they are our motivation behind what we do. Operations is trying to keep game day as normal as possible and help facilitate the vision of our production team.

MORE ON THE GRIDIRON INTERVIEWS

Silver and Black Productions, Las Vegas Raiders Build New Roots During Allegiant Stadium's Inaugural Season

Philadelphia Eagles Embrace Virtual Workflows for Efficient Regular-Season Strategy

New York Giants Entertain At-Home Fans With Daily Digital, Linear Programming

While SoFi Stadium Remains Empty, Los Angeles Chargers Refine Production Workflows

Atlanta Falcons Acclimate to Evolving Set of COVID-19 Policies at Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Minnesota Vikings Adjust Content Approach at High-Tech U.S. Bank Stadium

How the Kansas City Chiefs Celebrated Super Bowl LIV, Displayed Moment of Unity Before 2020 Season Opener

Carolina Panthers' Mike Bonner Gets Settled in New Role Amid Interesting Circumstances

Indianapolis Colts Facilitate Remote Radio Broadcasts of Away Games from Lucas Oil Stadium

Baltimore Ravens Adjust In-Game Operations To Feed More Content to Digital, Social Platforms

After Busy Offseason, Denver Broncos Welcome Limited Fans Back to Empower Field at Mile High in Week 3

San Francisco 49ers Production Team Shifts Gears To Engage the Players

Jacksonville Jaguars Reflect on In-Stadium Fans During Week 1, Connecting With Duval' Community

Without Raucous Crowds, New Orleans Saints Adapt to a Quiet Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Love to the 12s: Large Mural Lists Names; Microsoft Teams Offers Interactivity When the organization met to discuss possible ways to integrate these loyal supporters into the game-day experience, they wanted to preserve a home-field advantage.

Names of Seahawks season-ticket holders are displayed on this mural in the hallway under the stadium.

We definitely still hear our fans in the community, says Ryan Madayag, director, game entertainment and special events, fan development, Seattle Seahawks. We've shifted our focus from a content standpoint. So a lot of our hype videos are on our digital platforms now, and our game-day priority is to create that home-field advantage.

The 12s may not be at CenturyLink in person, but technology and traditional artistry are making sure that they are there in spirit. For instance, the corridors leading to the locker room have a personal touch that reminds the players whom they're playing for.

Wide receivers D.K. Metcalf and David Moore interact with fans virtually.

When they park their cars and come into the stadium, he explains, we have this huge mural of a giant 12, and every single season-ticket holder's name is inside it. They know that the 12s have their back because it's one of the first things that they see before entering the locker room.

This year, the Seahawks were expected to use their stainless-steel Seahawks head that players typical run out of. In accordance with field-level restrictions and the fact that no fans would see this structure, the team revised this idea for the tunnel and opted for a different approach.

We designed a giant screen at the end of the tunnel for this program, called the Pregame Huddle, says Madayag. We have fans that are on the Microsoft Teams platform that can see the players come out, and the players are actually interacting with these groups. We had our Crucial Catch game that acknowledges early screening to intercept cancer, so we had cancer survivors and healthcare workers in the audience.

Extra Room: A Storage Closet Becomes a Control-Room Offshoot Across professional sports, in-venue crews are following strict health and safety guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19. Some have resorted to dispersing crew members into any available space, including empty areas in the press box and offices. The Seahawks are following that route, using three separate parts of their facility, and Tremel and his staff flipped an old storage closet into one of the three current production locations.

The 12s are prominently featured in CenturyLink Field, including this walkway toward the locker room.

It's now a suite next door to our control room, where seven staffers are responsible for doing replay and editing, he says. There's a lot of work that has gone into this to make sure that we can keep this big production going. From what was originally 32 or so people in our main control room, we've cut that number to 16 in that one space. We've also added KVM capacity, [enabling] the people that handle quality control [to] work fr
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/10/21/on-the-gridiron-seattle-seahawk...
See more stories from svg

More from Sports Video Group

28/03/2024

TNT Sports Gets Its College Game On for March Madness Audio

TNT Sports Gets Its College Game On for March Madness Audio Marching bands, crowds make up for lack of court FX and wired players By Dan Daley, Audio Editor ...

28/03/2024

Cosm/ESPN Deal Will Bring NBA, NHL, Tennis, College Football, and More to Shared Reality' Venues

Cosm/ESPN Deal Will Bring NBA, NHL, Tennis, College Football, and More to Share...

28/03/2024

MLB 2024: The Famous Group, Miami Marlins Team Up for AI-Powered Intro for All 2024 Home Games

MLB 2024: The Famous Group, Miami Marlins Team Up for AI-Powered Intro for All 2...

28/03/2024

MLB 2024: MLB Network Showcase Opts for Secaucus-Based Remote Production

MLB 2024: MLB Network Showcase Opts for Secaucus-Based Remote Production The league's production arm marks 15th-anniversary season with packed schedule By ...

28/03/2024

MLB Opening Day: ESPN Brings Sunday Night Baseball Into Analytic Age With Volumetric Replays, Win Probability' in Scorebug

MLB Opening Day: ESPN Brings Sunday Night Baseball Into Analytic Age With Volume...

28/03/2024

MLB 2024: FOX Sports Steps Up to the Plate With Big Audio Plans

MLB 2024: FOX Sports Steps Up to the Plate With Big Audio Plans More player and field sound will be on tap By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Thursday, March 28, 202...

27/03/2024

Program Productions Partners With Investment Firm Integrum, Eyes Expansion Into New Markets

Program Productions Partners With Investment Firm Integrum, Eyes Expansion Into ...

26/03/2024

Royal Belgian Football Association's Head of Content Daf Van Campenhout on Creating a Content Strategy That Makes a Difference

Royal Belgian Football Association's Head of Content Daf Van Campenhout on C...

26/03/2024

WEBINAR: Content Leadership in Pro Sports With The Gargano Leadership Group

WEBINAR: Content Leadership in Pro Sports With The Gargano Leadership Group Managing content teams with New York Jets Jessica Ciccone, Washington Commanders Rae...

26/03/2024

Prime Video's Eric Orme on What's Next for the Streamer

Prime Video's Eric Orme on What's Next for the Streamer By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital Tuesday, March 26, 2024 - 1:01 pm Print This Story |...

26/03/2024

NFL Streaming Exclusives in 2024: Peacock Lands Week 1 So Paulo Game, Prime Video Adds NFL Wild Card Game

NFL Streaming Exclusives in 2024: Peacock Lands Week 1 S o Paulo Game, Prime Vid...

25/03/2024

The State of Soccer Rights in Europe: Ampere Analysis' Daniel Monaghan Breaks Down the Complexities

The State of Soccer Rights in Europe: Ampere Analysis' Daniel Monaghan Break...

25/03/2024

Rising Star: Checking Out Strategic Sports Goals With TikTok's Global Head of Sports Partnerships Rollo Goldstaub

Rising star: Checking out strategic sports goals with TikTok's global head o...

25/03/2024

TV Skyline Completes Record Winter Sports Season with FIS Ski World Cup in Saalbach

TV Skyline completes record winter sports season with FIS Ski World Cup in Saalb...

25/03/2024

Sports Innovation 2024: New Viewing Experiences and Tracking Systems Provide a Glimpse Into the Future

Sports Innovation 2024: New viewing experiences and tracking systems provide a g...

25/03/2024

Sports Innovation 2024: Wonderment and Warnings in Equal Measure as AI Dominates Dsseldorf Event

Sports Innovation 2024: Wonderment and warnings in equal measure as AI dominates...

25/03/2024

NAB 2024: EVS Sets Out Plans for NAB and Highlights Industry Tech Trends

EVS sets out plans for NAB and highlights industry tech trends By George Bevir Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - 16:34 Print This Story Left to right: Lisa Coll...

25/03/2024

ESPN's Allison Loucks on the Challenge of Integrating Analytics Into the Live Sports Broadcast

ESPN's Allison Loucks on the Challenge of Integrating Analytics Into the Liv...

25/03/2024

NBC Sports Chicago, Chicago Blackhawks Team Up for First-Ever Animated Real-Time Local Sports Broadcast

NBC Sports Chicago, Chicago Blackhawks Team Up for First-Ever Animated Real-Time...

22/03/2024

Put It in the Mixer: European Broadcasters Embrace the Cloud For Soccer Production

Put It in the Mixer: European Broadcasters Embrace the Cloud For Soccer Producti...

22/03/2024

SVG Digital Engagement Forum Tackles Current Industry Topics, Evolving Media Landscape

SVG Digital Engagement Forum Tackles Current Industry Topics, Evolving Media Lan...

22/03/2024

Edgio's Eric Black on Offering Cost-Efficient Solutions for Direct-to-Consumer, OTT Platforms

Edgio's Eric Black on Offering Cost-Efficient Solutions for Direct-to-Consum...

22/03/2024

With Caitlin Clark Effect' at an All-Time High, ESPN Covers NCAA Women's March Madness From All Angles

With Caitlin Clark Effect' at an All-Time High, ESPN Covers NCAA Women'...

21/03/2024

Visual Aids: Telling the Story of Soccer Through Data and Graphics

Visual Aids: Telling the Story of Soccer Through Data and Graphics Tech leaders from FIFA, Sky Sports, and Genius Sports discussed the opportunities at SVG Euro...

21/03/2024

March Madness Gets Real Today; NEP, Game Creek, F&F Trucks Are Front and Center for 20-Camera Productions

March Madness Gets Real Today; NEP, Game Creek, F&F Trucks Are Front and Center ...

21/03/2024

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Comcast Technology Solution's Peter Gibson on Activating Content Via AI Tools

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Comcast Technology Solution's Peter Gibson on Act...

21/03/2024

Inside Monumental Sports Network's New ST 2110 Production Facility: A National-Network Feel at DC's New RSN

Inside Monumental Sports Network's New ST 2110 Production Facility: A Nation...

21/03/2024

SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Travels to Denver on June 26-27

SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Travels to Denver on June 26-27 By SVG Staff Thursday, March 21, 2024 - 1:47 pm Print This Story | Subscribe Story...

20/03/2024

Between the Lines: The European Soccer Rights Revolution and Its Impact on Production

Between the Lines: The European Soccer Rights Revolution and Its Impact on Produ...

20/03/2024

The Reality of Production in a Post-Pandemic World: SVG Yearbook Offers a Glimpse Into the Past and the Future

The Reality of Production in a Post-Pandemic World: SVG Yearbook Offers a Glimps...

20/03/2024

MLB Seoul Series: ESPN Turns to COVID-Era Remote Production for Two-Game Slate in South Korea

MLB Seoul Series: ESPN Turns to COVID-Era Remote Production for Two-Game Slate i...

20/03/2024

Mobile TV Group Launches Latest Flex Series Mobile Unit With 52FLEX

Mobile TV Group Launches Latest Flex Series Mobile Unit With 52FLEX 52FLEX seats over 20 on-site crew members and features a first-of-its-kind Visitor Mobile Un...

20/03/2024

Mike Helling, Longtime FOX Sports and Regional Sports Producer, Dies at 65

Mike Helling, Longtime FOX Sports and Regional Sports Producer, Dies at 65 He led regional broadcasts for both the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals duri...

19/03/2024

Calling the Shots: What European Soccer Directors Really Want

Calling the Shots: What European Soccer Directors Really Want Sky Sports Sarah Cheadle, Telenet Play Sports Serge Bellens spoke at SVG Europes Football Summit l...

19/03/2024

Going Grassroots: Men in Blazers Shoots This Week in Wrexham Digital Series With iPhones

Going Grassroots: Men in Blazers Shoots This Week in Wrexham Digital Series With...

19/03/2024

Grass Valley Maverik X Switcher Takes AMPP-Based Production to Next Level

Grass Valley Maverik X Switcher Takes AMPP-Based Production to Next Level By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Tuesday, March 19, 2024 - 10:40 am Print ...

19/03/2024

Monumental Sports Network Launches State-of-the-Art Production Facility and Broadcast Studios

Monumental Sports Network Launches State-of-the-Art Production Facility and Broa...

19/03/2024

NBA League Pass Escalates Sports Betting Functionality With Sportradar's emBET Integration

NBA League Pass Escalates Sports Betting Functionality With Sportradar's emB...

19/03/2024

ESPN Extends Exclusive Media Rights for Expanded College Football Playoff Through 2031-32 Season

ESPN Extends Exclusive Media Rights for Expanded College Football Playoff Throug...

18/03/2024

Major League Soccer: IMG on Capturing Fan Rituals and Delivering Consistent Coverage

Major League Soccer: IMG on capturing fan rituals and delivering consistent cove...

18/03/2024

Smashing Padel: Inside Aurora's Innovative Production of the Inaugural Hexagon Cup

Smashing padel: Inside Aurora's innovative production of the inaugural Hexag...

18/03/2024

Airspeeder Teams Up With EMG for World's First Live Broadcast of Flying Car Series

Airspeeder teams up with EMG for world's first live broadcast of flying car ...

15/03/2024

Live From THE PLAYERS Championship: New Truck Fleet, Live Drones Get Into the Mix for NBC Sports; Coverage Goes HDR

Live From THE PLAYERS Championship: New Truck Fleet, Live Drones Get Into the Mi...

15/03/2024

SVG Digital Engagement Forum (NYC, March 20): ESPN, CBS Sports, Amagi, TAG Video Systems Dissect the FAST Boom

SVG Digital Engagement Forum (NYC, March 20): ESPN, CBS Sports, Amagi, TAG Video...

15/03/2024

Pete Distad, Former Apple, Hulu Exec, Named CEO of New ESPN, FOX, WBD Streaming JV

Pete Distad, Former Apple, Hulu Exec, Named CEO of New ESPN, FOX, WBD Streaming ...

15/03/2024

Live From Big East Men's Tournament: FOX Sports Brings Back Pair of Live Drones for Second Year in a Row

Live From Big East Men's Tournament: FOX Sports Brings Back Pair of Live Dro...

15/03/2024

After a Record-Breaking 2023, NWSL Enters 2024 Season With More Production Partners, Free DTC Platform

After a Record-Breaking 2023, NWSL Enters 2024 Season With More Production Partn...

14/03/2024

Live From THE PLAYERS Championship: PGA TOUR Lays Out Vision for New Media Facility

Live From THE PLAYERS Championship: PGA TOUR Lays Out Vision for New Media Facil...

14/03/2024

Live From THE PLAYERS Championship: PGA TOUR Fleet of Trucks Transforms Setup, Coverage

Live From THE PLAYERS Championship: PGA TOUR Fleet of Trucks Transforms Setup, C...