Live From NFL Draft 2025: Van Wagner Turns Titletown Into Center of Fan Entertainment Outside Lambeau Field Event comprises more than 100 onsite staffers, Game Creek Video Prime One, Ross Video gear By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 2:44 pm
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Once again on the go, the NFL Draft descends this week on one of the most iconic sites in sports: Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. Taking place outside the famous stadium, the league's tentpole event will draw hundreds of thousands of fans from around the nation. To entertain them, inform the crowds on who's being picked, and create a fun and engaging environment, Van Wagner is deploying a large LED footprint and tapping into knowledge gained over a decade of onsite productions.
We've gotten to a really solid point with the consistency of our crew and everyone knowing all of the elements happening in these different spaces, says Nate McCoart, director, technical operations, Van Wagner. From a technical perspective, it's nice to know that your team's on top of everything.
Packing the Packers' Home: Show Features Multiple LEDs, Robust RF Connectivity With Lambeau Field's exterior as the setting, the NFL's game-presentation department set out to construct an appealing and attractive stage to welcome in the league's next wave of superstars. Van Wagner worked with NFL Senior Director, Global Event Presentation and Entertainment, Tim Tubito and his staff, to determine the lay of the land for the temporary structure.
The main stage of the NFL Draft is located outside historic Lambeau Field.
The setting is adorned with thousands of LED pixels and 18 video displays, including two long screens flanking a center screen behind the podium on the main stage. Technically, the nuts and bolts of the LEDs remain relatively the same from year to year, but, to match the host city and inject hometown flavor into the production, Van Wagner was tasked with developing a new graphic design to suit the location.
Every year has its nuances, but it's always a big canvas to play with, says McCoart. This show has gone back and forth with its scenic-design changes. In Kansas City, we leaned less into LED and more into the facade of Union Station as the marquee piece. This year, we'll have a lot of LEDs on the stage that will be managed through a partnership with Ross Video.
The show wouldn't be complete without the integration of the fans. Rather than hard-camera positions, the crew will rely on camera operators roaming throughout the crowd and the entire NFL Draft campus. This will be done with four RF handhelds, two RF Steadicams, and multiple robotic cameras from NEP Specialty Capture (formerly Fletcher).
One of the most important factors is reliable RF connectivity. With a sea of fans expected to pack the area, NEP Specialty Capture (formerly BSI) will be onsite to reinforce that this aspect of the show runs smoothly. Behind the scenes, THUMBWAR is supporting Van Wagner's postproduction with editing systems and export workflows.
In addition to the main NFL Draft stage, Van Wagner will drive all available video displays, including the main videoboard and ribbon displays inside Lambeau Field (which will be used for the Red Carpet Show prior to Thursday night's main event and will simulcast the action on the stage), a handful of screens in the Green Room, and the area encompassing the NFL Experience.
With all these spaces, the production of the actual show is extremely difficult because the team has to develop an entertaining run of show in addition to managing loads of content. Van Wagner President, Productions, Bob Becker will team up with Tubito to focus on the main-stage activation, and Executive Producer Lindsay Anson will manage the show's talent-driven segments. VP, Productions, Brian Scott will make sure the show is kept on track with the live broadcast on ESPN.
On Days 1 and 2, we're focused more on the prospects, McCoart points out. When we get into Day 3, we start having some fun by bringing in local acts and sharing the Green Bay community with the audience.
From Offsite to the Compound: Game Creek Video Prime One Digests Remote Video Feeds Five years ago, Van Wagner was a critical part of the first-ever virtual NFL Draft during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this year's edition in Green Bay, remote workflows still play a significant role. The Draft Rooms of the NFL clubs will be rocking and rolling, which means that 32 video feeds of team executives and personnel will be stitched into the show. Also, 25 highly touted prospects at home will be featured in the show via at-home camera and distribution setups sent out by NFL Network. In addition, team-hosted watch parties will be spotlighted on the LEDs when their pick is selected. Not only will all these feeds be coming in from offsite, but Van Wagner will be providing and receiving feeds from other domestic broadcasters in Green Bay.
Says McCoart, There will be almost 90 feeds between us and NFL Network's Supershooter CBS [mobile unit] and another 30 feeds with ESPN's EN1 [mobile unit], and we'll be sharing a bunch of our sources back with the collective networks. We'll be the distribution hub for a lot of folks, so we'll have discrete control over a lot of these feeds.
Game Creek Video Prime One will house Van Wagner's onsite crew.
Parked in the broadcast compound, Game Creek Video Prime One mobile unit will be the center for both production and technical efforts. Outfitted with high-quality technology and the ability to handle a heavy influx of content, the production truck is well-suited for a massive show like the NFL Draft.
We love having the Game Creek Video team with us, says McCoart. We're taking advantage of so
