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

28/05/2026

Matt Gangl and Pete Macheska on FOX MLB's Huge Night and Unforgettable Postseason Run

FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...

28/05/2026

FOX's Mike Davies and Team on Win as Outstanding Technical Team for 2025 World Series

One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...

28/05/2026

NBC Sports' Rob Hyland Reflects on an Unforgettable Sunday Night Football Season

NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...

28/05/2026

Prime Video's John Ward and Mike Francis on Groundbreaking NBA on Prime Video Studio

The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...

28/05/2026

18th-Annual SVG College Sports Media Awards Crown Years Best Work in Atlanta

Hosted by ESPN Senior Writer Ryan McGee, the ceremony honored winners from athletic departments, conference offices, professional networks, production companies...

28/05/2026

Networks Unveil 2026 College Football Broadcast Schedules

Major rights-holders rolled out their 2026 college football slates today, offering a first look at marquee windows, kickoff partners, and conference distributio...

28/05/2026

NHL's Steve Mayer on the Behind-the-Scenes Access of 4 Nations Face-Off: Unveiled

The 4 Nations Face-Off, an international competition that launched in February 2...

28/05/2026

ESPN's Manny de la Fe on the Gratifying Conclusion to Inaugural Season in Spanish

Soccer is a truly global sport, and, to match the U.S. viewing audience's in...

28/05/2026

CBS Sports' Graphics Team on the Vision of The NFL Today's Virtual Time Machine

The NFL Today, CBS Sports' top-of-the-line NFL studio show, has a storied hi...

28/05/2026

Prime Video's Mike Muriano on the Immediate Success of Fan Optionality Feature

Prime Video is no stranger to innovation, and, within the realm of live streamin...

28/05/2026

FOX Sports' Jamie McCombs on Showcasing MLB Atmosphere With Immersive Audio

The crack of the bat, the pop of the glove, and the cheer of the crowd: those are three prime examples of the glorious sounds fans hear on televised baseball ga...

28/05/2026

CBS Sports' Harold Bryant on Capturing the Essence of March Madness in the Studio

Every year, March Madness captivates the entire sports world. Nonstop action, un...

28/05/2026

NBC Sports' Chad Hudson on Developing Graphics for the Return of NBA on NBC

NBA on NBC was an integral part to live sports production in the 1990s, and, when the league made these media rights available, NBC Sports saw an opportunity to...

28/05/2026

MLB's Ryan Zander on the Tech Innovation Behind the League's UmpCam AR System

UmpCam is a technological wrinkle that has given fans unprecedented views of wha...

28/05/2026

T-Mobile Brings America's Best Network to the USGA

T-Mobile and the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced a multi-year partnership, making T-Mobile the Official 5G Network Partner of the U.S. Women'...

28/05/2026

Time and Water Is a Moving Portrait of Family History and a Warming Iceland

By Gina McIntyre (L-R) Sara Dosa and Andri Sn r Magnason attend the Time and Water premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theatre ...

28/05/2026

Amazon MGM Studios, AWS Launch GenAI Creators' Fund

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

AudioShake Launches Copyright Compliance System

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Big Blue Marble Advances 5G Broadcast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Will Must-Carry Make It to NextGen TV?

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Swiss Broadcaster Canal Alpha Streamlines Playout to Deli...

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonics award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to ...

28/05/2026

Calrec Scales ImPulseV to Expand Choice in Virtualized Audio Workflows

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Berliner Ensemble Upgrades Backstage Infrastructure With...

Riedel Communications today announced that Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expanded its backstage communications and te...

28/05/2026

Digital Alert Systems Ed Czarnecki to Speak on Advanced E...

Company's VP Government and International to Address How Broadcasters Can Operationalize Advanced Emergency Information for NextGen TV Digital Alert Syst...

28/05/2026

Radio BGM Upgrades and Futureproofs with DHD SX2 Audio Mi...

Radio BGM (https://radiobgm.org.uk/), Llanellis multiple-award-winning community and hospital radio station, has invested in a DHD SX2 audio mixing console and ...

28/05/2026

Calrec Scales ImPulseV to Empower Broadcasters with Great...

Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters as they enter a new broadcast age, Calrec announces an expansion to its ImPulseV...

28/05/2026

NAB, MPA and NCTA Defend Current TV Ratings System

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Amazon MGM Studios, AWS Launch the GenAI Creators' Fund

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

AudioShake Launches New Copyright Compliance System

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

ITV Studios Deploys Cuez Live Production Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

ACT Entertainment Introduces Green Hippo Estuary Series a...

Green Hippo, an ACT Entertainment brand, will pull back the curtain on the Estuary Series, a next-generation media control platform engineered for the scale, sp...

28/05/2026

ZEISS Introduces Panoptes 65 Cinema Lenses at Cine Gear E...

First Hands-On Opportunity at Universal Studios Lot, June 5-6 Oberkochen, Germany, May 27, 2026 ZEISS is launching their new Panoptes 65 primes at Cine Gear ...

28/05/2026

Wooden Camera Releases New Accessories for Blackmagic URS...

Irvine, CA May 20, 2026 Wooden Camera today announced the release of new accessories for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive. The new lineup includes a redes...

28/05/2026

Cool Concentric Text for Cavalry

Cool Concentric Text for Cavalry Simon Ubsdell May 27, 2026 0 Comments In this tutorial I'll show you how to make this popular text effect that is...

28/05/2026

The Fourth and Final Season of 'Death Inc.' Releases on August 7

Back to All News The Fourth and Final Season of Death Inc. Releases on August 7 Entertainment 28 May 2026 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Download th...

28/05/2026

The Name's Gaming Cloud Gaming: 007 First Light' Launches on GeForce NOW

License to stream, shaken and stirred. GeForce NOW is dialing up the espionage with the launch of 007 First Light, letting members slip into James Bond's r...

28/05/2026

NVIDIA Research Advances Robotics From Simulation to the Real World

Robotics is entering a new phase: moving from controlled demos and scripted automation toward generalizable, reliable embodied autonomy in the real world. At ...

28/05/2026

May 21, 2026

Scripps Research's Skaggs Graduate School awards doctoral degrees to 34th graduating class May 21, 2026 Scripps Research's Skaggs Graduate School of ...

28/05/2026

May 27, 2026

Scripps Research chemist Jin-Quan Yu is named a Fellow of the Royal Society Yu is honored by the U.K.'s national academy of sciences for his work in synthet...

27/05/2026

Telestream Appoints Benjamin Desbois as CEO, Effective July 1

Telestream has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Benjamin Desbois as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Desbois, currently Teles...

27/05/2026

FOX MLB Leads Live-Event Categories; ESPN Is Tops Overall at 47th Annual Sports Emmy Awards

ESPN garnered 10 awards; NBC's Sunday Night Football received the Outstandin...

27/05/2026

Matrox Video Marks 50th Anniversary, Announces New Product Launch for June

Matrox Video is celebrating its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of operations from its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1976, the company has...

27/05/2026

MLB Announces Fan Engagement Initiatives for Americas 250th Anniversary

Major League Baseball has announced a series of initiatives tied to America's Semiquincentennial, including a national marketing campaign, Fourth of July br...

27/05/2026

Advanced Systems Group Hires Brian Gross as Account Manager for Audio Team

Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced that Brian Gross has joined the company as an Account Manager on its Audio team, based in the Burbank office. He will...

27/05/2026

Nielsen Research: Hispanic Fans, Asian Markets Drive Global Soccer Audience Ahead of World Cup 2026

Nielsen has released new research on soccer fandom ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2...

27/05/2026

ESL FACEIT Group Debuts First Ever Esports Vertical Stream Co-Developed With TikTok

ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has unveiled a new partnership with TikTok to bring broad...

27/05/2026

Two Weeks Away: FIFA Outlines Production Plans for Highly Anticipated North American-Based World Cup

FIFA's Oscar Sanchez gives a deeper look to how this tournament will be cove...

27/05/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Maggie Lynn, Virginia Tech

The soon-to-be senior from Charlottesville is building her skills in replay, TD, and even creative content for HokieVision and its ACC Network productions In t...

27/05/2026

A Global Festival of Football: FOX Sports Illustrates Strategy to Bring Every FIFA Mens World Cup Match to the U.S. Audience

FOX Sports' Mike Davies breaks down the vision for this summer's showcas...