SVG Venue Summit: How Game-Presentation Departments Entertain Fans in New York City Madison Square Garden, Red Bulls, Devils, Mets, Giants highlight their game-day content strategy By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
It's not so easy being a sports team playing in the New York City metropolitan area. Competing with many other forms of entertainment, the franchises and venues have to attract the attention of fans on a nightly basis. At the 2023 SVG Venue Summit at UBS Arena on March 13-14, representatives of five local professional organizations - Madison Square Garden VP, Event Presentation, Matt Coy; New York Red Bulls Director, Event Production, Brooke Eveler; New Jersey Devils Senior Director, Live Experience and Production, Joe Kuchie; New York Mets Executive Director, In-Game Operations, Brendan McKeon; and New York Giants VP/Executive Producer Don Sperling - discussed how they combat the issue of performing in a saturated market and how they represent their respective fanbase in in-venue content, along with providing insights into what makes their productions tick.
From left: MSG's Matt Coy, New York Red Bulls' Brooke Eveler, New Jersey Devils Joe Kuchie, New York Mets' Brendan McKeon, and New York Giants' Don Sperling highlight what it's like to produce game-day entertainment in New York City.
How does a team stand out in New York City?
Coy: It's a different animal to compete in New York, but everyone tries to capture that piece of the city by incorporating all of these elements in their show. Whether it be for the Rangers or Knicks, it could be a Broadway singer performing the National Anthem to bring that wow factor. We're creating viral moments with Ryan Reynolds and Henrik Lundqvist in the crowd or Fat Joe singing along to karaoke that's being done on the videoboard to establish that communal feeling that's attracting people to our games. We're also competing with the broadcast networks, so our graphics have to be good, if not better. From doors open until [the fans] leave, we're playing a variety of music in hopes that we play someone's favorite song. We want to show elements that you won't see at a Broadway show, like Vixi Live from The Famous Group, allowing fans to take over the big screen.
Brooke Eveler: It's about finding that balance between the traditional values of the soccer experience that's played in places like Europe and Americanizing it for the New York audience.
Eveler: It's very convenient that we have the only soccer-specific stadium in the area. For us specifically, the league has been around for 25 years, but it's still a new sport in the American landscape. Our show is completely different from when I started five years ago. It was very much the idea of letting the game be the experience, but that doesn't quite work in New York because sports fans in this city are used to the entertainment value from other teams' games. Now we have an in-arena host, Ally Melendez, a live DJ, and crowd prompts. You can imagine crowd prompts to make noise in a game like soccer, but it's what our fanbase is used to seeing, and we have to deliver [those elements] to keep them coming back.
We have a very ardent supportive section who are very traditional and don't like when we do those features, but I've met with them to say, I understand that you might not like it, but there's another three-quarters of the arena that I'm trying to entertain. This might be their first game, and we want them to have a good time. It's about finding that balance between the traditional values of the soccer experience that's played in places like Europe and Americanizing it for the New York audience.
Joe Kuchie: We want to challenge each other and go to other venues to see what other teams are doing.
How are you tapping into local themes as the only New Jersey team?
Kuchie: We take our Made in Jersey mantra seriously. We're going to recognize people that are from New Jersey and have been here their entire life, but there are also storylines where you can come from somewhere else and make yourself in New Jersey. Nico Hischier is from overseas, and Travis Zajac is from Canada, but, when Nico was named captain and Travis played his 1,000th game, we did a huge campaign about how these guys were born somewhere else but their careers were made in New Jersey. We don't try to shove this second part down your throat, but we try to integrate New Jersey into our overall brand, look, and feel. If you look at our videoboard show, you'll see a neon-diner-sign feel to our graphics package, and the background is a subtle map of the state. We don't necessarily have as many celebrities as the Garden, but we work with local celebs from New Jersey that want to be involved. Patrick Warburton, who played Puddy [in Seinfeld], offered to do our open video narration at no cost. We're working with a lot of New Jersey music right now, specifically down the shore. We had our NHL Draft party at the Stone Pony. Working in those New Jersey vibes without necessarily making it overbearing has been important to us. We've gotten into a really good groove over the last couple years.
Don Sperling: When you win, everybody's in a good mood, but, when you lose, nobody's happy. Winning and losing really predicts how you do your rundown for game day.
How does winning and losing affect your game day and fanbase?
Sperling: After a long drought, we had a pretty successful season. When you win, everybody's in a good mood, but, when you lose, nobody's happy. Winning and losing predicts how you do your rundown for game day. Since we have fans who have been coming for years and newer fan
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
SVG Venue Summit: How Game-Presentation Departments Entertain Fans in New York City Madison Square Garden, Red Bulls, Devils, Mets, Giants highlight their game-day content strategy By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
