On the Hardwood: Philadelphia 76ers Continue Treasured Traditions at Wells Fargo Center A blend of new and old elements maintains the energy inside of the venue By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Monday, February 22, 2021 - 3:35 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The doldrums of 2020 may be in the past, but 2021 is still presenting challenges to in-venue production teams. Now out of the Orlando bubble, NBA organizations are hosting games in their home arenas and navigating the continuing difficulties of the pandemic. Like SVG's At the Ballpark and On the Gridiron series, On the Hardwood will take a look at the hardships, creative ideas, and teamwork of NBA franchises.
The Philadelphia 76ers, currently the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, are playing their best basketball inside of the Wells Fargo Center. The team's stellar play is a result of a talented and stacked roster, but also the in-venue production team's role of maintaining a familiar environment without fans.
The biggest thing we're trying to do is keep that home-court atmosphere for the players, says Derrick Hayes, director, game presentation, Philadelphia 76ers. We're keeping the traditions that our fans and our organization love.
MORE ON THE HARDWOOD INTERVIEWS:
After Assisting Fox Sports Sun, Miami Heat Retrofit Control Room for Games in AmericanAirlines Arena
Milwaukee Bucks Leverage NBA Bubble Experience for 2020-21 Slate at Fiserv Forum
Sacramento Kings Improve In-Venue, At-Home Experience With Intel True View at Golden 1 Center
Atlanta Hawks Honor Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in First of Season-Long Unity Nights'
Houston Rockets Work With League, RSNs To Produce Away Radio Broadcasts in Toyota Center
Golden State Warriors Connect Team, Chase Center to Fans at Home Through Dub Hub Experience
Despite Limited Fans, Cleveland Cavaliers Keep the Energy Up at Renovated Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Charlotte Hornets Redesign Mobile App To Bring Spectrum Center Content to the Home
Portland Trail Blazers Manage LED Displays at Moda Center To Educate, Entertain Fans on League Pass
Minnesota Timberwolves Feature On-Court Media Day With Drone Flyover at Target Center
Chicago Bulls Use Year-Old Videoboard, Mobile Predictive Gaming To Draw Up Production Plan
Denver Nuggets Repurpose RSN Broadcast With Some In-Venue Flavor
With Empty AT&T Center and Reduced Game-Day Staff, Spurs Add Digital Arena' to Mobile App
Longtime Staples: Ringing the Bell, Frosty Freeze-Out Remain at Wells Fargo Center Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons ring the bell prior to tip-off.
In a city that owns a steep, historical lineage that goes back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia knows a lot about honoring the past. Despite the team playing in front of seats that are mostly empty, the production crew is staying true to what gives character and flavor to games at the Wells Fargo Center. One element harkens back to the city's foundation and one of its most famous icons, the ceremonial ringing of the Liberty Bell.
We worked with President [of Business Operations] Chris Heck and Head Coach Doc Rivers to get this done, says Hayes. We ended up creating a rotation where the players ring the bell.
Sponsorship integrations has been one of the harder boxes to check off this season. Normally, fans would digest a litany of in-game content that is attached with a participating sponsor. For example, Frosty Freeze-Out, a time where fans make a lot of noise to distract an opposing player shooting two free throws, is one of the more notable activation. This is still occurring during a game, but with the help of security, team staffers, and others that are allowed into the building.
We hand out props to our executive team and staff, so they're holding up thunder sticks, rally towels, and signs, he continues. On Media Day, we shot footage of Dwight Howard with a Frosty Freeze-Out sign and he was so amped up that he actually broke it, so the players are into it. It's funny because you'll sometimes see [the players] pump up the crowd from the bench.
Staffers hold up signs for the Frosty Freeze-Out.
In addition to these activations, pyrotechnics are still being infused during player introductions like they have been for 15 years. Along with these classics, new additions are being put into the rotation. Drip Cam is leveraging the fashion of the players prior to getting onto the court and even the select few sitting in the stands.
We're taking photos of them when they enter the arena, and when they're in the huddle, they'll peek up at the video to see if their outfits made it up there, adds Hayes. We're also highlighting staff and media, so one game, we highlighted GM Elton Brand and he showed off his blazer and sweater.
The Philly Faithful: Fake Crowd Noise Replicates Passion of the Fans Known for their deep-rooted passion, sports fans in the metropolitan area are invested in everything related to the Sixers. Over the years, these fans have become the heartbeat and soundtrack of games in South Philadelphia. While they're away, the production staff is poised with generating that same sound through fake crowd noise.
My DJs and my crew are operating the equipment because it's important to know the energy of our fans, says Hayes. When the officials make a questionable call, we know that our fans would be vocal, so we make sure that the crowd noise is loud.
In-game entertainment is still heavily involved at Wells Fargo Center.
Noise and chants used during a game are mostly generated from NBA 2K, but to add additional authenticity, the Sixers are re-using sounds from other seasons where the seats were packed. For instance against the Boston Celtics, Hayes and company are tapping into the archive to rile up their Eastern
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
08/10/2026
Calrec will be located at Booth 444.
Freedom to choose
The media landscape is evolving quickly, and the broadcasters best placed for what comes next will be...
08/10/2026
LiveU has announced that CRD Audiovisuel relied on LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit, with built-in native LiveU IQ (LIQ ) connectivity, to deliver live...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Marshall Electronics, a globally recognized provider of high-performance video solutions for broadcast, streaming, AV and professional production, will exhibit ...
08/10/2026
14-hour package also includes A Remarkable Place to Die season 2 as well as libr...
On the Hardwood: Philadelphia 76ers Continue Treasured Traditions at Wells Fargo Center A blend of new and old elements maintains the energy inside of the venue By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
