CFP National Championship 2022: ESPN, Game Creek Video Overcomes Cold Weather, Tight Timelines To Erect Mega-Compound Trucks needed extra spacing at Lucas Oil Stadium, fiber-only connectivity in case of snow By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, January 10, 2022 - 2:33 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship Game marks the first cold weather final in the CFP era.
In the eight-year history of the tournament, the champion has been crowned in such locales as New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa, and Arizona. This year, in Indianapolis, with temperatures in the teens at night this week, there's a different feel in the air.
Now, does any of this matter to the game? Of course not. The players will be warm and toasty inside covered Lucas Oil Stadium, but don't tell that to the folks working in the production-truck compound just outside.
The television-production compound at the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship houses 11 units outside the stadium. Engineering crews had to overcome a multitude of cold-weather challenges. (Photo: ESPN)
Frigid temperatures, the threat of snow, staffing travel delays, and a tight timeline are just a few of the major challenges that have faced the team at ESPN and its primary mobile-production-facilities provider, Game Creek Video at the 2022 edition of college football's biggest event.
The compound in Indianapolis is 11 units deep, counting production, support, and office trailers. All mobile units anchoring video production, whether for the live game coverage on ESPN or for surrounding studio coverage on the ESPN family of networks - including SEC Network - are Game Creek vehicles.
The cold has been perhaps the most pressing issue since crews began arriving at Lucas Oil. Given the parking plan for CFP and the fact that there was an Indianapolis Colts home game on Jan. 2, the compound was unable to use any indoor space beneath the stadium and needed to be completely outside.
Parking was unable to begin until the morning of Jan. 3, and the compound was not able to get power until Jan. 4 as the power generators' fuel lines needed to be winterized. It then took engineers and drivers approximately five hours to get the trucks warm enough to begin powering up any of the video equipment inside.
From left: ESPN operations manager Tommy Mitchell, Director, Remote Production Operations John LaChance, and Remote Operations Specialist Brian Ristine from inside one of the production vehicles at the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Photo: ESPN)
Between the initial delays with power and the closed practices and rehearsals, we had less than four days to pull together a show that is close in size to the Super Bowl, says Game Creek Video Engineering Manager Brian Nupnau, who built out this project. This is a testament to the talented and hardworking engineers and technicians that pulled this off in such a short time. They are the best at what they do, and it shows.
Although it hasn't snowed, the threat of snow has shaped the CFP production compound. To ensure a clear path for snow removal, trucks needed to be spaced out a bit more than usual, and the vast majority of interconnects had to be done with fiber only. According to Nupnau, that included the vast amount of networking, which comprised trunking together all truck intercoms, tying together all truck networks and the Calrec Hydra network, and tying together the signal-distribution grid that allows any truck to get any signal.
All the mobile units supporting live game production are supplied by Game Creek Video. (Photo: Brian Nupnau, Game Creek Video)
All in all, Game Creek has some of its top facilities onsite to support the event. Game Creek 79 A/B, Peacock A/B, and Edit 1, 3, and 4 are all supporting the main game telecast, as well as operations for various forms of ESPN's MegaCast offerings. GC Maverick is home to College GameDay onsite studio coverage, which was broadcasting hits throughout the weekend, including its own show on Saturday morning and during Sunday NFL Countdown on Sunday morning. Game Creek Webby is anchoring studio coverage exclusive to the SEC Network.
The Game Creek Video crew outside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship. (Photo: Brian Nupnau, Game Creek Video)
We have an excellent technical offering this year, and I think that's hats off to this tech crew here, says John LaChance, director, remote production operations, ESPN. This is a marquee event that has the shortest setup window. With any type of travel or weather impact, you need to get a great plan and a great crew that's going to put it together and offer an awesome lineup of gear, too.
The compound came together quickly from major events from across the country. 79 A/B, Maverick, and Edit 4 all came straight to Indy from one of the CFP semifinals: the Orange Bowl in Miami on New Year's Eve. Edit 3 was on semifinal duty at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year's Eve. Peacock A/B was at the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona on New Year's Day.
The compound supports about 115 cameras deployed in and around the stadium for game, studio, and reporter coverage for tonight's big game. Game Creek has also brought additional resources: 24 EVS servers, a pair of Calrec Apollo consoles, three Calrec Artemis consoles, and a Calrec Brio console.
In all, Game Creek's presence in Indy is 22 engineers strong along with 14 drivers.
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
14/10/2025
SVG Europe Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYNetworking event that preceded IBC2025 shone a light on elite live sports innovation acro...
14/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Author Rich Podolsky on Writing Madden & Summerall: How They Revo...
14/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Michael Reiners, Coordinating Producer, FloRacingThe Illinois State grad steers a vast schedule of motorsports events at tracks across the countr...
14/10/2025
Content protection: Getting the right management for your DRM By Neal Romanek
Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:11
Print This Story
Eluvio power the EPCR'...
14/10/2025
As League Takes Over Ops, NBA TV and NBA App Add 60 Games, Weekday Studio Show, ...
14/10/2025
Time and effort: World's largest student-led broadcast prepares to go On Air...
14/10/2025
(L-R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Ro...
14/10/2025
Lossless ist jetzt mit Spotify Premium verf gbar.
Verlustfreies Audio war eine...
14/10/2025
La qualit Lossless est disponible sur Spotify Premium.
Le format sans perte de...
14/10/2025
For the seventh edition of Spotify and FC Barcelona's artist jersey series, ...
14/10/2025
Spotify is committed to bringing the best listening experience to all our users, and that includes parents and families. That's why we're expanding mana...
14/10/2025
Since its debut, the Spotify Original podcast Caso 63 has been more than just a story; it's been a cultural sensation. The science fiction thriller captivat...
CFP National Championship 2022: ESPN, Game Creek Video Overcomes Cold Weather, Tight Timelines To Erect Mega-Compound Trucks needed extra spacing at Lucas Oil Stadium, fiber-only connectivity in case of snow By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
