At the Rink: Los Angeles Kings' Wanton Davis Adjusts to His First NHL Season During the COVID-19 Pandemic His goal is to celebrate the community when fans return on April 20 By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Friday, April 16, 2021 - 9:52 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The National Hockey League was the last of the four major U.S. sports leagues to host a non-bubble regular season. As fans gradually make their return to the seats, how is that affecting in-venue productions and digital content? Similar to At the Ballpark, On the Gridiron, and On the Hardwood, At the Rink looks at the operations of NHL organizations to see how they are coping with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and adapting to a sense of normalcy.
Los Angeles Kings Executive Producer, live events, Wanton Davis had dipped his toe in the sports water before, having spent time with NBC Sports, but, after being named to the L.A. Kings position at the beginning of the season, he began his first foray into in-venue production. For a first-timer working amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the job can be a bit daunting, but, as a professional working in his hometown, he dove in with enthusiasm and zeal.
Starting a new job during the pandemic has been a bit weird, he says. The most challenging part is not having that face-to-face interaction that you would normally have.
MORE AT THE RINK INTERVIEWS:
Tampa Bay Lightning's Stanley Cup Banner Ceremony Serves as Reminder of Normalcy During Unusual Year
Toronto Maple Leafs Follow Production Blueprint From 2020 NHL Bubble at Scotiabank Arena
Top-Ranked Colorado Avalanche Revel in the Return of Fans
Philadelphia Flyers Flex Potential of 4K Kinetic Centerhung as Fans Return to Wells Fargo Center
Nearly 20 Years in Manitoba, Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Balharry Reflects on Productions at Bell MTS Place
In NHL's North Division, Calgary Flames Keep Battle of Alberta Alive in Empty Scotiabank Saddledome
Detroit Red Wings Cover Motor City Storylines With Three Digital Shows, Hockeytown Home Ice
During First Two Months on the Road, San Jose Sharks Develop Engaging Content in Different Ways
Carolina Hurricanes Sidestep Water Leak To Welcome Fans Back to PNC Arena
Vegas Golden Knights Offer Fortress At Home, Debut Studio for 2020-21 NHL Season
Nashville Predators Harness the Passion of Smashville' at Bridgestone Arena
First-Year Experience: Zoom Calls Replace In-Person Introductions Los Angeles Kings' Wanton Davis is nearing completion of his first regular season in the National Hockey League.
In what has become commonplace for new employees at any company since March 2020, In-person introductions have been replaced with virtual happy hours and meet-and-greets through a computer screen. At the start of the season, conversations with his new colleagues about the execution of a videoboard show came a bit naturally: with his expertise in production and entertainment, the topics were east to grasp and understand. But developing the camaraderie that is relied on daily was a little more difficult.
A lot of those water cooler' conversations don't really occur now, so you have to schedule time to speak to people, says Davis. On the flip side, starting during a pandemic in a space that I'm still figuring out has been fun and rewarding.
If the pandemic had any sort of silver lining, it's the gift of time and experimentation. In-venue production is still new to Davis, which allows him to bring a fresh set of eyes to a concept and a different mentality to a practice that has been standard since the invention of the LED display. Sometimes, his lack of experience has been his greatest asset.
I've been able to see things that work and others that don't necessarily work, he notes. It has been exciting to play around with various elements of the show.
Historic Building: In-Venue Show To Match the Legacy of Staples Center The crew is still using lights and music to greet the players on the ice.
Opened in 1998, Staples Center has been home to 11 championship-winning teams: six NBA titles for the Los Angeles Lakers, three WNBA titles for the Los Angeles Sparks, and two Stanley Cups for the Kings. In a building filled with history, Davis is working in one of Tinseltown's most famous sports venues. All season long, he has revamped the game-day experience to reflect the city's history and honor its legacy.
I've tried to focus on and implement an L.A.-centric show, he says. I believe that we're just starting to get our feet wet.
In a major market like Los Angeles, there are many activities and sights to see. With eight other professional organizations based in the area, including two in the same arena, it's an arduous exercise to create a setting that stands out. Drawing on a career that has also included positions in the music industry, Davis is curating a program that brings out the flair of the city.
Our audience is exposed to a lot of different forms of entertainment, he points out. I want to bring all of that together and reward them for being Kings fans. Every time you step foot into the Staples Center, you're not going to forget where you are because we're looking to make it into an L.A. party.
Life of the Party: Honoring the Community at Fans' Return on April 20 Wanton Davis oversees the in-venue production from high above the ice at the legendary Staples Center.
Staples Center will open its doors to a limited crowd for the Kings' final eight home games, starting on April 20 vs. the Anaheim Ducks. After nearly a full regular season, Davis will finally get a taste of what it's like to fire up an NHL fanbase. With a little under a week left until this special game, Davis and his crew are hard at work to finalize their production plan.
After the extended period away f
North America Stories
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
04/12/2025
Lightware, a global specialist in AV connectivity, is looking back on a year defined by new advancements, strong collaboration and continued growth. Across the ...
04/12/2025
Riedel Communications today announced a new partnership with Haivision, a leading global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and visual col...
04/12/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann Engineering today announced a major milestone in their strategic collaboration, celebrating 20 successful broadband deployme...
04/12/2025
Creative software developer Foundry today announced Mari 7.5, the latest iteration of its artist-friendly paint toolset that can handle large, detailed assets w...
04/12/2025
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leading provider of wireless audio solutions and RF management, was on site at Dreamforce 2025 in San Francisco providing...
04/12/2025
LTN's purpose-built IP video network brings all-movie diginet to over 100 stations and streaming platforms in just three months while eliminating satellite ...
04/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-powered data a...
04/12/2025
The HELM, a global expert in cinematic live broadcast and high-end production workflows, has signed a partnership agreement with Keslow Camera, one of North Ame...
04/12/2025
At ISE 2026, LiveU will showcase its expanded IP-video EcoSystem, enabling broadcasters, sports, production companies and pro-AV professionals to share their st...
04/12/2025
Since the beginning of commercial television, advertising has been a key part of broadcasting. Over the years, the technology for inserting ads into programs ha...
04/12/2025
MUNICH and MILAN Warner Bros. Discovery said HBO Max is expanding into Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein on Jan. 13, 2026, and ...
04/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO AudioShake has launched its first streaming-capable software development kits (SDKs) designed specifically for real-time music detection and copyr...
04/12/2025
NASHVILLE The mobile and REMI production company TNDV has announced that it headed south into Mexico to live-produce the three-day 2025 Zane Grey Championship P...
At the Rink: Los Angeles Kings' Wanton Davis Adjusts to His First NHL Season During the COVID-19 Pandemic His goal is to celebrate the community when fans return on April 20 By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
