Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Fox Sports North Delivers Its 14th Hockey Day Minnesota In Its Own Backyard

23/01/2020

Fox Sports North Delivers Its 14th Hockey Day Minnesota In Its Own Backyard A full day of production in Minneapolis included five games, three of them at an outdoor rink By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 - 2:57 pm

Print This Story

Story Highlights

What if I told you that Fox Sports North's annual outdoor production marvel, Hockey Day Minnesota - in Minneapolis this year, the 14th year as a marquee event on the RSN's calendar - was nearly 50 degrees warmer than it was a year ago, and yet it was still nearly buried in snow with wind gusts pushing temps well below freezing?

Camera operator Michael Novak works a slash position along the glass during the first game of the 14th-annual Hockey Day Minnesota. Photo: IATSE Local 745

That's just part of the charm of broadcasting live outdoor hockey, and, in a place like Minnesota, it's a fact that production and operations crews here actually take a unique pride in.

We look forward to this every year, says Bob Rohde, director, operations, Fox Sports North, which is based in Minneapolis. We work on it bit by bit throughout the year. And, as much as we complain about the weather, we really get fired up by it and rally around it. It's a strange kind of bragging rights.

All in all, Fox Sports North broadcast 16 hours of continuous hockey programming on Saturday, comprising five live games, three of which were held outside at Parade Stadium. (A men's college hockey game was played indoors at St. Cloud State.) The day was capped by a Minnesota Wild-Dallas Stars matchup at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The outdoor live game productions featured a complement of 20 cameras, including a pair of RF cameras - one a standard handheld, the other on a FREEFLY M VI Pro handheld gimbal carried on the playing surface by camera operator Tim Evanson on skates.

MOVI Camera Operator Tim Evanson on his skates for Hockey Day Minnesota at the Sculpture Garden in the @CityMinneapolis @freeflysystems @MNAFLCIO @AFLCIO @IATSE @mnwild @Jacob_Frey @MSHSL @WCHA_WHockey @sportsvideo #HDM #UnionMade pic.twitter.com/wFBKT2KGuu

IATSE Local 745 (@iatse745) January 19, 2020

There was also a live drone, which, fortunately was able to get off the ground despite some wind issues throughout the day. It's a critical tool for a show that relies heavily on unique, stunning visuals.

From that standpoint, this location is awesome, says Rhode. Having the skyline of the city is absolutely perfect.

Inside the main game truck (provided by Mobile TV Group), director Matt Gangl (center) called the shots of the first game of the day with producer John Stroh (left) and technical director Steve Collins.

Operationally, the full day pushed the local production community to the limit. The show was handled by 47 crew members supplied by the IATSE Local 745 union, in addition to many full-time Fox Sports North production and operations personnel and on-air talent.

Fox Sports North had six production trucks from Mobile TV Group in the Twin Cities on Saturday: its two primary units were at the Hockey Day festivities, and extra mobile resources were brought in to work the Wild game in St. Paul and the Timberwolves game (yes, the Timberwolves also played on Saturday) at Target Center in Minneapolis. Rodhe gave credit to MTVG EICs Bill Poore and Dan Murrie for their work in pulling it all off. In addition, local provider ARCTEK Satellite Production supported the efforts with satellite uplink.

In regards to the weather, temperatures did sit at a relatively comfortable 20F or so, with the sun peeking out on occasion. Setup for the Saturday broadcast window was nearly jeopardized by a steady snowfall the afternoon prior, but setup had already occurred.

When given the choice between the extreme cold of Bemidji a year ago (where temperature at puck drop of the first game was -27F) or snow, Rhode would vote for the cold any day.

I'm looking forward to the strike, he laughs, joking that he'll be finding cables at the venue lying around in the spring. A lot of our cables are frozen in. But, to be honest, the setup actually went pretty smoothly. Prior to the snow, we had everything set, and it was really just the faxing that took a long time.

Shoutout to our incredible #HDM2020 crew! pic.twitter.com/ttYgvNUwHD

FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) January 19, 2020

In addition to having its home offices just a few blocks away, one of the biggest advantages to Fox Sports North's having the event in a major city like Minneapolis as opposed to the more remote locations where this event has been held (towns like Baudette Bay on the Canadian border, Hermantown on the eastern edge of the state, or Moorhead on the far western edge) was the ability to execute a solid backup plan.

The operations team had an extra production truck, supplied by Token Creek, parked, powered, heated, and ready to go at the nearby Parade Ice Garden in case the event was forced inside by an extreme dump of snow. Fortunately, the call was made on Friday afternoon that the snow falling would not be difficult for crews of the organizing committee to clear, and the show was able to go on outside. That kind of backup plan was one that Fox Sports North hasn't had before this event.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/01/22/fox-sports-north-delivers-its-1...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

27/05/2026

L3Harris Introduces the XL Converge 300P Portable Public Safety Radio

The XL Converge 300P radio system emerges with a groundbreaking feature set enhancing the mission-critical communications of public safety, federal and critica...

27/05/2026

Modernizing Public Safety Communications

Pairing Two47 MCX software with existing LTE networks means tailored system upgrades that can save time, money and lives....

27/05/2026

L3Harris Strengthens Global Solid Rocket Motor Supply Chain With New PAC-3 Propulsion Supplier

PAC-3 MSE offers improved range, speed, and maneuverability, making it an effect...

27/05/2026

Brightcove Adds New Features to Its AI Suite for Video Advertising

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/05/2026

Star Trek VFX: Recreating John Knoll's Iconic Warp Stars without a Slitscan Camera

Star Trek VFX: Recreating John Knoll's Iconic Warp Stars without a Slitscan ...

27/05/2026

Adventure World Uses Blackmagic Replay for Marine Live

Adventure World Uses Blackmagic Replay for Marine Live Brie Clayton May 27, 2026 0 Comments Large screen displays and slow motion replays dynamically ...

27/05/2026

Berklee Alumna and Assistant Professor Olivia Prez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona

Berklee Alumna and Assistant Professor Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Origi...

27/05/2026

Gravity Media Expands Into Creative Services With New Agency

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/05/2026

Tegna Names Patrick Paolini as CEO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/05/2026

Telestream Taps Company Vet Benjamin Desbois as CEO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/05/2026

HDR10+ Technologies to Launch Eclipsa Video Certification Program

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/05/2026

ATSC to Gather in Washington Next Week for Annual Meeting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/05/2026

Telestream Appoints Benjamin Desbois as Chief Executive O...

Co-founder Dan Castles to transition to Executive Chair; internal promotion reinforces continuity and long-term growth Telestream, a global leader in media wor...

27/05/2026

Big Blue Marble Announces First End-to-End 5G Broadcast S...

Big Blue Marble today announced that its Nakolos platform is the first end-to-end 5G Broadcast solution worldwide to implement the complete feature set introduc...

27/05/2026

Lightware Continues Its ESG Commitment Through Girls Day...

Lightware recently hosted the Girls' Day event in April at its headquarters in Budapest, welcoming students for an interactive introduction to engineering a...

26/05/2026

Matrox Video Marks 50 Year Milestone

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/05/2026

Roku Expands Premium Subscriptions With Fox One

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/05/2026

Brian Gross Joins ASG's Audio Team as Account Manager

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/05/2026

MPA Urges FCC Not to Reclassify vMVPDs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/05/2026

Cobalt Digital to Showcase End-to-End IPMX Ecosystem at I...

Cobalt Digital to Showcase End-to-End IPMX Ecosystem at InfoComm 2026, Making ST 2110 Easy for Pro AV blueCORE standalone processors headline solutions designe...

26/05/2026

Matrox Video Celebrates 50 Years of Innovation and Looks...

Matrox Video today celebrates its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of innovation, engineering excellence, and customer-focused evolution from its headquar...

26/05/2026

Cuez Helps ITV Studios Run Three Live Shows as One includ...

ITV Studios, the production arm of the UKs largest commercial broadcaster, has deployed the Cuez live production platform to unify the management of three back-...

26/05/2026

CETA Software releases Morpheus, an AI tool for real-time post-production project oversight

CETA Software releases Morpheus, an AI tool for real-time post-production projec...

26/05/2026

Ikegami Accelerates Motorsport Broadcast Innovation with...

In a move set to redefine motorsports coverage across the Asia Pacific region, Ikegami Electronics announces that Two Wheels Motor Racing Sdn Bhd (TWMR), a lead...

26/05/2026

Netflix Releases Official Trailer and Poster for 'The Root Of The Game,' A Documentary Series Premiering June 20

Back to All News Netflix Releases Official Trailer and Poster for The Root Of T...

26/05/2026

'MED,' Production Begins on Netflix's First Medical Drama From Brazil, Starring Clara Moneke

Back to All News MED, Production Begins on Netflixs First Medical Drama From Br...

26/05/2026

Netflix Announces Five New Brazilian Productions and Expands Its Presence at Rio2C 2026

Back to All News Netflix Announces Five New Brazilian Productions and Expands I...

26/05/2026

Netflix Celebrates the Release of the New Animated Series 'Due Spicci' With a Major Event at Circo Massimo in Rome

Back to All News Netflix Celebrates the Release of the New Animated Series Due ...

26/05/2026

Made In New Mexico: Building The Boroughs' From the Ground Up

Back to All News Made In New Mexico: Building The Boroughs' From the Ground Up A photo from The Boroughs.' (Courtesy of Netflix 2026) Entertainme...

26/05/2026

Broadcast Pix Introduces ONix Pro Control Panel

Smart Production Control. Total Confidence. Tyngsborough, MA, May 27, 2026 - Broadcast Pix today announced the ONix Pro Control Panel, its most advanced hard...

26/05/2026

NVIDIA Vera CPU Is Packing a Heavy-Hitting Punch' Against Competition

The shift to agentic AI creates a new CPU requirement for the AI factory: fast cores, massive memory bandwidth and the ability to sustain high performance when ...

25/05/2026

SVG All-Stars: LJ Helbig, Senior Manager, Broadcast Engineering, FloSports

The former University of Wyoming wrestler is essential in helping the rapidly growing streamer delivers more than 50,000 live events per year The sports-produc...

25/05/2026

Enabling Persistent Arctic Surveillance

Image courtesy of GA-ASI...

25/05/2026

Conform.Tools Brings Order to Post-Production Delivery

Conform.Tools Brings Order to Post-Production Delivery Brie Clayton May 25, 2026 0 Comments New platform helps colorists, editors, and conform artists...

25/05/2026

Chyron Announces Powerful Scorebug Solutions

Chyron Announces Powerful Scorebug Solutions Brie Clayton May 25, 2026 0 Comments PRIME Scorebug Offers On Prem or Virtual Solution for Superior Score...

25/05/2026

Introducing OWC Stack AI - The World's First Thunderbolt 5 AI Accelerator and Storage Hub That Lets Users Own Their AI

Introducing OWC Stack AI - The World's First Thunderbolt 5 AI Accelerator an...

25/05/2026

Wooden Camera Releases New Accessories for Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive

Wooden Camera Releases New Accessories for Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive Brie Clayton May 25, 2026 0 Comments Wooden Camera today announced the relea...

25/05/2026

Netflix Drops Trailer of 'Norway: The Dark Horse'

Back to All News Netflix Drops Trailer of Norway: The Dark Horse Entertainment 25 May 2026 GlobalDenmarkFinlandNorwaySweden Link copied to clipboard DOWNL...

24/05/2026

Documentary Meets Fashion with Matching 12K Sensors

Documentary Meets Fashion with Matching 12K Sensors Brie Clayton May 24, 2026 0 Comments DP Troy Edige matches sensors across documentary and fashion ...

24/05/2026

Netflix reveals the trailer for the film 'The Marked Woman'

Back to All News Netflix Reveals the Trailer for the Film The Marked Woman Entertainment 24 May 2026 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Watch the traile...

23/05/2026

FOX Sports, IMS Productions Scale Up Indy 500 Production With New In-Car Cameras, AR Graphics, Cinematic Sets

In its second year as rightsholder, FOX Sports goes bigger across the board for ...

23/05/2026

Inside Apple TVs MLS iPhone Production with Royce Dickerson, Apple Live Sports, Executive Producer

Tonight's MLS matchup between the LA Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo FC will m...

23/05/2026

Building a better future: Nielsen celebrates Global Volunteer Month and Earth Day 2026 with record participation

Nielsen Global Leadership Network graduates celebrate Earth Day 2026 Nielsen vo...

23/05/2026

Gray Media Names New Station General Managers

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/05/2026

New CIMM Paper Urges Industry to Rethink How Media Is Evaluated

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/05/2026

Lawo to Showcase Edge One, Efficient IP Workflows at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/05/2026

Spectrum Launches Ultra-Low Latency Internet

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Germanys Magenta TV Selects DMC to Provide FIFA World Cup Technical Support for Studios in Munich, New York City

Germany's Magenta TV, which will have 44 exclusive FIFA World Cup match broa...

22/05/2026

DAZN Grabs IFAF Flag Football Global Rights

DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, has acquired global broadcast rights to the International Federation of American Football's ( I...

22/05/2026

ATHLOS 2026 Season Set for October Debut in London; Aurora Media Worldwide Named Host Broadcast Partner

ATHLOS, the all-women's professional track and field league, has announced i...