
New York Islanders Are Finally Home in $1 Billion UBS Arena at Belmont Park Complex The new venue features 45 HDR-capable displays installed by Daktronics By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor
Monday, November 22, 2021 - 2:05 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Given the gradual deterioration of the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, the New York Islanders and their devout fanbase have yearned for a place to call home. On Friday, Nov. 19, the $1 billion UBS Arena was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony before the NHL team's first two home games of the season vs. Calgary on Nov. 20 and Toronto on Nov. 21.
UBS Arena hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Nov. 19 before the New York Islanders home opener.
This is as fine a venue that there is in the world, said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at the ceremony. No detail was overlooked. This franchise has never been in better shape, and their future has never been brighter than it is right now.
The behemoth was built next to the grounds of Belmont Park, and the racetrack's history and character greatly influenced its aesthetics. Adorning UBS Arena, 1920s-style artwork features August Belmont Jr. (builder of the racetrack) and Edward Brown (the first African-American to win the Belmont Stakes); faux wooden structures in the main atrium echo the track's buildings. The arena's concourse resembles an old-fashioned subway station with the intricate tilework and archways. On the building's exterior, a 20th-century look mixes with the seafaring culture of Long Island, and oxidized copper harks back to buildings like the Statue of Liberty or the Asbury Park Convention Hall.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the crowd at the ribbon-cutting event.
The arena's interior features an impressive effort by Daktronics. A total of 45 HDR-capable displays light up the lower bowl, accounting for more than 34 million pixels and more than 15,000 sq. ft. of LED real estate. The venue's centerpiece, the LED centerhung is raised and lowered via a 90,000-lb. hoist.
The videoboard comprises 12 LED displays at 5.9 mm: each main display at nearly 26 ft. high by 34.5 ft. wide and four corner displays measuring 26 ft. high by 3 ft. wide. The four underbelly displays, 8 ft. high by 23 ft. wide, are also at 5.9 mm. In the locker room, the team has its own 360-degree display at 3.9 mm that can feature different elements. The in-venue production team controls and drives these displays via Daktronics' Show Control system, including Live Clips and Live Server.
Subway tiling and archways accent the venue's concourse.
The LED features accentuate the in-venue experience, but to get everything installed, Daktronics relied on a relationship with the Islanders that dates to 1999. Back then, the company helped the NHL organization install displays at Nassau Coliseum and later add new ones when the franchise renovated the Nassau Coliseum in 2015. For UBS Arena, Daktronics got started in May 2020.
We began immediately to work on the overall design for all of the LED displays, hoist systems, and control systems along with scoring and timing, explains Aaron Shephard, senior project manager, live events, Daktronics. The entire design process was completed in late 2020, with manufacturing and product shipment in April 2021. The onsite installation took place over several months as each new section of the arena became available.
The Daktronics-installed main centerhung videoboard has 12 LED displays and measures 4,730 sq. ft.
To get to opening night, Daktronics had to sidestep issues related to COVID-19. Since the project was started two months after the beginning of the pandemic, a lot of precautions were taken for those working onsite. Despite the obstacles, Shephard, Installation Supervisor Arron Ludwig, and Technical Service Engineer Zach Kress worked alongside subcontractors Northshore Neon, Banna Electric, and LEB Electric to finish the job.
Daktronics also installed two LED ribbon boards in the UBS Arena.
A project of this size and complexity naturally has several challenges, says Shephard, but one that was difficult for any team to anticipate was moving the project forward through the height of the COVID pandemic. This threw a lot of delays into the mix and forced the completion date into late December, but additional hours and resources brought the project back to the opening date of Nov. 20.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was highlighted by remarks from folks who made it possible, including Bettman, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke.
We had the great privilege of building seven of these arenas around the world, including the opening of Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle a few weeks ago, said Leiweke. We found a way to get through the greatest health crisis in the history of construction, and we'll finally be able to give the Islanders a home that they've been striving towards for the last 30 years.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke during the ceremony in the main atrium.
Overall, UBS Arena required passion, patience, and dedication for everyone involved. It is one of the league's newest crown jewels and becomes an addition to the professional sports scene in the New York metropolitan area.
We're extremely proud of our entire team consisting of design engineers, installation technicians, sign installers, and electricians, says Shephard. It was truly an all-hands-on-deck effort to achieve what we now have today. We're also honored to continue our relationship with the Islanders through the construction of UBS Arena.
Stay tuned in the coming months for a more detailed look at the technology of UBS Arena.
More from Sports Video Group
02/07/2025
Progressive realism: Aurora on taking up the broadcast reins for World RX alongs...
02/07/2025
Great speed: New host broadcaster Aurora on getting the World RX 2025 season pro...
02/07/2025
Seat of its pants: Aurora boxes clever and looks ahead for the FIA as new host b...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: EBU, BBC Sport and Sunset Vine talk coverage plans, ...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Women's Super League launches new content series...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Ignite puts fans and players front and centre with t...
02/07/2025
Storytelling in the Live Game Broadcast: ESPN Director Jimmy Platt Breaks Down t...
02/07/2025
CONCACAF's Miguel Angel Garcia on the Gold Cup's Enhanced 2025 Productio...
01/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Exp...
01/07/2025
The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus...
01/07/2025
Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 w...
01/07/2025
NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, ...
01/07/2025
TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge Production approach emphasizes creative freedom, bold storytelling, casual-fan-friendly tone B...
27/06/2025
How smarter compression is creating a sustainable future By Michael Burns
Monday, June 23, 2025 - 14:13
Print This Story
Live sport is especially vulnerab...
27/06/2025
Behind the Mic: FOX Sports Ratchets Up UEFA Women's EURO 2025 With Top-Class...
27/06/2025
RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland By George Bevir, Editorial Director, SVG Europe
Friday, June 27, 2025 - 8:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
27/06/2025
Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology Leaders from Bitmovin, Comcast Technology Solutions, Harmonic, IMAX, and Phenix brea...
27/06/2025
Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending...
27/06/2025
NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandem...
26/06/2025
10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for th...
26/06/2025
The Big Cloud Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Tech leaders from CineSys, Diversified, and Net Insight breaks down all flavors of cloud By Jason Dachman, ...
26/06/2025
Program Productions' Jess Kowatch on Training the Next and Current Gener...
25/06/2025
SVG College Summit 2025: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY Tackling the latest in college sports video: NIL, live production, virtual productio...
25/06/2025
ESPN Is Set To Bring AR Graphics to Wimbledon, Revamps Bunker and Studio 18 VO B...
24/06/2025
2025 NBA Draft: ABC/ESPN Prepares for Two-Day Draft at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By M...
24/06/2025
Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: Google Cloud's Jane Day on the Impact of AI on ...
24/06/2025
Cloud Broadcast Tech Update: AWS's Dana LaGattuta on Data-Driven Innovation ...
24/06/2025
Lions live: Dublin opener sees Sky Sports take remote route By Fergal Ringrose ...
24/06/2025
Pumas maul Lions as S4C and TG4 deliver first-ever joint host in Dublin By Ferg...
24/06/2025
ABC/ESPN Prepares for 2025 NBA Draft, the First at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By Mark ...
23/06/2025
Adventures in Live Cloud Production: Stories From the Trenches with MLB, NHL, NB...
23/06/2025
Finding the edge: How Badger & Combes produces live-streamed coverage of county ...
23/06/2025
Masters of Madness: New football format shakes up the rules of sportainment By Adrian Pennington
Monday, June 16, 2025 - 11:38
Print This Story
The ball i...
23/06/2025
New State-of-the-Art Mountain Media Center Launches in Former Starz Encore Build...
23/06/2025
ESPN Says Goodbye to Seaport Studios, Hello to New State-of-the-Art Production F...
20/06/2025
Feeling Unlimited, Part 1: Athletes Unlimited Softball League Deploys Remote Pro...
20/06/2025
A True Test? Cricket's Growth on the Global Stage and the Role Broadcast Can...
20/06/2025
Sky Sports goes large for the British & Irish Lions Tour with AR graphics, UHD a...
20/06/2025
ESPN's Men's College World Series Finals Coverage Combines Innovation, L...
19/06/2025
SVG Rewind: PGA Tour Introduces Drone AR Smart Tracing, Reflects on Winning Geor...
18/06/2025
Technology focus: Fan expectations drive advances in the in-stadium experience By Jo Ruddock
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 - 08:36
Print This Story
For years, att...
18/06/2025
Making connections: How stadiums are meeting the ever-growing demand for data an...
18/06/2025
SVG Venues & Teams Summit Keynote: RWS Global Powers the Stadium Environment at ...
18/06/2025
SVG Rewind: Behind the Scenes of Producing Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League...
17/06/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mercury Intermedia's Tom Richardson, Mike Ligon o...
17/06/2025
Total Sports Performance from Relo Metrics, VideoAmp, Offers Next-Level Media, B...
17/06/2025
From Stage to Stream: Producing Live Esports Events in 2025 Leaders from ESL FACEIT Group, Riot Games, and more break down the latest trends By Jason Dachman, ...
17/06/2025
Inside FIFA 2025 Club World Cup Operations With FIFA's Oscar Sanchez, HBS...
17/06/2025
Production ambitions: Over Exposed on making the National League Promotion Final...