On the Pitch: Atlanta United Embraces Crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as First MLS Club To Return to Full Capacity
09/06/2021
Wednesday, June 9, 2021 - 10:31 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The past 10 months have been a whirlwind for Major League Soccer. After last summer's MLS Is Back Tournament in the Orlando bubble and the eventual return to empty home stadiums, the attendance of some clubs in the league are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Much like At the Ballpark, On the Gridiron, On the Hardwood, and At the Rink, SVG's On the Pitch takes you into the control room with in-venue crews to understand what their job is like before, during, and after the official's whistle is blown.
Years from now, when we look back at the return of sports from the COVID-19 pandemic, we'll look at two specific games on the 2021 calendar: the first packed house in the history of Globe Life Field for Texas Rangers Opening Day on April 5 and Atlanta United's 1-0 victory in the 94th minute in front of a full-capacity crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium May 15. The latter game had an electricity that had been missing from sports, and the production staff of AMB Sports + Entertainment was prepared to capture it all.
From the moment I parked and entered the stadium, I could feel the passion and excitement in the air, says Julia Chongarlides, director and executive producer, game presentation/stadium productions, AMB Sports + Entertainment. Last year, we were a limited-capacity crew, so this was the first time our full-time game-day staff were able to get back together again in the same room.
MORE ON THE PITCH INTERVIEWS:
Real Salt Lake Shares Rio Tinto Stadium With Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Sporting KC Focuses on Firing Up Limited-Capacity Crowd at Children's Mercy Park
Vancouver Whitecaps Call Rio Tinto Stadium Home With Assist From Real Salt Lake In-Game Crew
Party at Full Strength: Game-Day Traditions Are Renewed Atlanta United became the first MLS club with a full-capacity crowd. (Photo: Mitchell Martin/Atlanta United)
Welcoming fans back meant the resumption of some of the club's traditions that go back to its founding in 2014. Supporters greeted the players as they arrived at the venue, and the production staff recorded the diehards' pregame march as they headed to the stadium en masse.
We covered our supporter march with the chanting and the playing of drums, says Chongarlides. Seeing all of our rituals come together was a great moment because we haven't had those in over a year.
Official attendance of this match vs. CF Montreal was slightly over 40,000 - the largest for an MLS match since the 69,301 at the club's contest against FC Cincinnati on March 7, 2020. Those who made the trek to witness this historic moment were not disappointed. After both squads exhausted all 90 minutes of regular time, the game entered the final four minutes of stoppage time. With a quick service into the box, midfielder Marcelino Moreno levitated and smashed the game-winning goal home with a handful of seconds to spare. As the ball tickled the twine, the freight train's horn sounded, and a sea of supporters erupted in utter chaos and jubilation.
Everyone's adrenaline was pumping throughout the entire match, says Chongarlides, but, when he scored that goal, we could hear everyone celebrating in our headsets. It was a storybook ending to a day we've been waiting for.
Short- and Long-Term Changes: How Shows Have Improved, Increased Capability The team welcomed supporters back with videoboard prompts. (Photo: Mitchell Martin/Atlanta United)
Prior to May 15, the in-venue atmosphere was drastically different for the first two home matches against Chicago Fire FC on April 24 and Philadelphia Union on April 27. As with other games played before a limited crowd, the show was scaled down a bit and didn't feature many of the usual elements.
We stripped out a lot of content during our show, notes Chongarlides. We didn't have sponsorship elements, fan interviews, or chances for people to win seat upgrades. We were forced to think outside the box, so our creative team re-imagined the striking of the Golden Spike. We thought of a way of pre-recording it with a video of the fans in the background on a big LED screen.
With increased attendance permitted, Chongarlides also welcomed back her full team, whom she hadn't seen since the 2020 regular season. In response to the boost in support, the crew enhanced the in-venue show with a slate of new visuals and content that are impressing fans in the seats.
We have a new black kit this year, she explains, so the overall design of our graphics has changed. We had to start from scratch and redo all of our programming to build out our content for the giant Halo Board.
In addition to Atlanta United's show, Chongarlides helms in-venue production for Atlanta Falcons games. Back in October, the NFL side dealt with its own set of challenges as details of the pandemic shifted frequently. Without fans in the stands, a lot of remote technologies were used to incorporate family members and friends into the game presentation and to capture content for videoboard prompts. TVU Networks played a large role in the content gathering, so the team decided to deploy that technology for the MLS season as well.
More than 40,000 fans attended the match vs. CF Montreal on May 15. (Photo: AJ Reynolds/Atlanta United)
Since we don't have to put antennas up to get our camera feeds back, she explains, a lot of our associates go out [to shoot video] with their phones. It has also been used by our social-media team to live-stream our team arrival.
One of the biggest lessons learned over the past yea
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/06/09/on-the-pitch-atlanta-united-emb... |
See more stories from svg |
More from Sports Video Group
07/05/2024
SVG Sit-Down: AWS's Julie Souza on the Cloud and AI in Broadcast-Content Creation, Distribution
SVG Sit-Down: AWS's Julie Souza on the Cloud and AI in Broadcast-Content Cre...
07/05/2024
Deloitte Analysts Peter Giorgio and Michael Vovk: Sports Properties Need To Rethink Fan Engagement
Deloitte Analysts Peter Giorgio and Michael Vovk: Sports Properties Need To Reth...
07/05/2024
University of Texas' Jeff Hanel to Keynote 16th-Annual SVG College Summit
University of Texas' Jeff Hanel to Keynote 16th-Annual SVG College Summit Industry vet to discuss uniting live and creative in athletic department media arm...
07/05/2024
Premier League Trials RefCam During Crystal Palace v Manchester United Fixture
Premier League trials RefCam during Crystal Palace v Manchester United fixture By George Bevir Tuesday, May 7, 2024 - 09:34 Print This Story In a Premier ...
07/05/2024
CBS Sports Previews PGA Championship Plans; 125+ Cameras Include FlyCams, Bunker Cams, Live Drones, and Shallow-depth-of-field
CBS Sports Previews PGA Championship Plans; 125+ Cameras Include FlyCams, Bunker...
06/05/2024
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Extend Historic Partnership, Kentucky Derby to Be Presented on NBC and Peacock Through 2032
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Extend Historic Partnership, Kentucky Derby to Be...
06/05/2024
Beverly Hills Aerials, LIV Golf Make Australian-Broadcast History by Flying Live Drones Over People in Adelaide
Beverly Hills Aerials, LIV Golf Make Australian-Broadcast History by Flying Live...
03/05/2024
Double First: 2024 Para Swimming European Open Championships and ISB Go For a Full Remote Production for the First Time
Double first: 2024 Para Swimming European Open Championships and ISB go for a fu...
03/05/2024
Remote Challenges: ISB Talks Latency, Comms, Transmission and the Changing Face of Engineering for Remote Productions
Remote challenges: ISB talks latency, comms, transmission and the changing face ...
03/05/2024
Live From the Crucible: IMG at the World Snooker Championship 2024
Live from the Crucible: IMG at the World Snooker Championship 2024 By George Bevir Friday, May 3, 2024 - 10:12 Print This Story World Snooker Championship...
03/05/2024
Live From the Crucible: Moov Provides GFX for World Snooker Championship 2024
Live from the Crucible: Moov provides GFX for World Snooker Championship 2024 By George Bevir Friday, May 3, 2024 - 09:49 Print This Story World Snooker C...
03/05/2024
Behind the Mic: Matt Ryan in, Simms and Boomer Out at CBS's NFL Today; Barkley Up for Grabs if WBD Loses NBA
Behind the Mic: Matt Ryan in, Simms and Boomer Out at CBS's NFL Today; Barkl...
03/05/2024
150th Kentucky Derby: NBC Rolls Out Skycam and New Set at Churchill Downs' Lavish New Paddock
150th Kentucky Derby: NBC Rolls Out Skycam and New Set at Churchill Downs' L...
02/05/2024
EMG / Gravity Media Taps Jamie Hindhaugh To Head Up UK, US, Australia, and Middle East; Names Charlie Cubbon as COO
EMG / Gravity Media appoints Charlie Cubbon COO and Jamie Hindhaugh regional CEO...
02/05/2024
Watch SVG NEXT Conversations, Ep. 2: How XR and Other Emerging Technologies Are Transforming the Landscape of M&E'
Watch SVG NEXT Conversations, Ep. 2: How XR and Other Emerging Technologies Are...
02/05/2024
SVG Sit-Down: Program Productions' Bob Carzoli, Integrum's Kathy Reiland on the Strategy Behind the New Alliance
SVG Sit-Down: Program Productions' Bob Carzoli, Integrum's Kathy Reiland...
02/05/2024
YES Network App Logs Record Usership With New Expanded Pick-N-Play Live Interactivity, YES Rewards
YES Network App Logs Record Usership With New Expanded Pick-N-Play Live Interact...
01/05/2024
SVG Digital Engagement Forum: Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY
SVG Digital Engagement Forum: Sessions Now Available To Watch on SVG PLAY Catch up on the latest in streaming, interactivity, engagement and more from this inau...
30/04/2024
SVG India Summit Draws 120 Industry Professionals to Star Sports in Mumbai
SVG India Summit Draws 120 Industry Professionals To Star Sports in Mumbai By SVG Staff Tuesday, April 30, 2024 - 11:09 pm Print This Story | Subscribe ...
30/04/2024
SES Acquiring Intelsat to Create New Satellite Giant; Will Offer Improved Reach and Redundancy for Media Customers
SES Acquiring Intelsat To Create New Satellite Giant; Will Offer Improved Reach ...
29/04/2024
Rebrand and Refresh: SailGP Talks Bringing its Graphics Operations Inhouse for a Bright New Look to Keep Viewers Illuminated
Rebrand and refresh: SailGP talks bringing its graphics operations inhouse for a...
29/04/2024
Reflecting on a Storied Career: Sean McManus Looks Back While Keeping an Eye on the Future
Reflecting on a Storied Career: Sean McManus Looks Back While Keeping an Eye on ...
29/04/2024
Drones Take Flight Inside MSG: How Sky Candy Studios is Upping the Excitement for Knicks, Rangers Playoff Series
Drones Take Flight Inside MSG: How Sky Candy Studios Is Upping the Excitement fo...
26/04/2024
NBA Playoffs 2024: ESPN Rolls Out Huge Production Operation for Busy First Round
NBA Playoffs 2024: ESPN Rolls Out Huge Production Operation for Busy First Round Tech deployments include miked on-field personnel, shot-distance tracking, AR g...
26/04/2024
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: ESPN Ops Team Navigates Both Sides of the Border With Canadian Teams' Strong Showing
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: ESPN Ops Team Navigates Both Sides of the Border With ...
26/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Behind the Scenes in Downtown Detroit (Photo Gallery)
Behind the Scenes at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit (Photo Gallery) After just the first round, the 2024 NFL Draft has already made quite an impression in Detroi...
26/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Van Wagner Powers Onsite Entertainment Experience for Record Crowds in Detroit
NFL Draft 2024: Van Wagner Powers Onsite Entertainment Experience for Record Cro...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Network Embraces Motown Groove With Massive Production That Goes Beyond Detroit
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Network Embraces Motown Groove With Massive Production That ...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand Mobile cells will help accommodate first responders, social media, sports betti...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Production of Post-First-Round Draft Show on NFL+
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Pro...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presentations
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presenta...
24/04/2024
Howie Schwab - Beloved ESPN Researcher, Producer, and Trivia Star - Dies at 63
Howie Schwab - Beloved ESPN Researcher, Producer, and Trivia Star - Dies at 63 By SVG Staff Wednesday, April 24, 2024 - 6:46 am Print This Story | Subscri...
24/04/2024
Miss the SVG Venue Summit at Allegiant Stadium? All Panel Recordings Now Available on SVG PLAY
Miss the SVG Venue Summit at Allegiant Stadium? All Panel Recordings Now Availab...
23/04/2024
Soccer's Appeal to Younger Audiences: Inside the Gamification of European Football Coverage
Soccer's Appeal to Younger Audiences: Inside the Gamification of European Fo...
23/04/2024
With NBA and NHL Playoffs in Full Swing, Never a Dull Moment for TNT Sports Production and Ops Teams
With NBA and NHL Playoffs in Full Swing, Never a Dull Moment for TNT Sports Prod...
23/04/2024
NAB 2024: AT&T Business's Scott Beckett Details Transmission Firepower With Robo Dog, Mini Copter
NAB 2024: AT&T Business's Scott Beckett Details Transmission Firepower With ...
23/04/2024
NAB 2024: Manufacturers Focus on Cinematic Look for Live Productions
NAB 2024: Manufacturers focus on cinematic look for live productions By George Bevir Tuesday, April 23, 2024 - 10:40 Print This Story With live sports pro...
23/04/2024
Save the Date: SVG Sports Content Management Forum Returns to NYC on July 24
Save the Date: SVG Sports Content Management Forum Returns to NYC on July 24 By SVG Staff Tuesday, April 23, 2024 - 4:05 pm Print This Story | Subscribe ...
22/04/2024
NEP Battles Weather to Keep the Going Good for Grand National Coverage
NEP battles weather to keep the going good for Grand National coverage By Adrian Pennington Monday, April 15, 2024 - 11:48 Print This Story The 2024 Grand...
22/04/2024
ITV Racing Under Starters Orders Live at the Grand National Festival
ITV Racing under starters orders live at the Grand National Festival By Adrian Pennington Friday, April 12, 2024 - 09:10 Print This Story The Grand Nation...
22/04/2024
Inside the Deal: EFL Fans to View Enhanced Broadcasts For the Next Five Seasons as IMG Becomes Official Production Partner
Inside the deal: EFL fans to view enhanced broadcasts for the next five seasons ...
22/04/2024
To 4G, or Not To 4G: EMG on Bringing the Iconic 2024 London Marathon to Viewers Globally
To 4G, or not to 4G: EMG on bringing the iconic 2024 London Marathon to viewers ...
22/04/2024
NAB Show 2024: Our Full Collection of Video Interviews From the Show Floor
NAB Show 2024: Our Full Collection of Video Interviews From the Show Floor Industry insights from key leaders on the NAB Show exhibit floor By SVG Staff Mond...
22/04/2024
PENN Entertainment Adds ESPN/Disney Exec Aaron LeBerge as CTO
PENN Entertainment Adds ESPN/Disney Exec Aaron LeBerge as CTO By SVG Staff Monday, April 22, 2024 - 3:18 pm Print This Story | Subscribe Story Highlight...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Switch, TATA Communications, Telstra, TVU Networks, Verizon, and More
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Swi...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the First Time
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the ...
18/04/2024
Ping Pong for the Masses: Bringing an Old Sport to a Brand New Audience With World Table Tennis
Ping pong for the masses: Bringing an old sport to a brand new audience with Wor...
18/04/2024
Fanatical Fans: IMG on Bringing the World of Table Tennis to a New Global Audience for WTT
Fanatical fans: IMG on bringing the world of table tennis to a new global audien...