Van Wagner Strengthens Levi's Stadium's Revamped Control Room To Match Production Needs of Super Bowl LX

The annual in-venue show is a partnership between the NFL and the host venue

NFL fans will call the Bay Area home for Super Bowl LX, and, for those attending the matchup between the best teams in the league, Levi's Stadium will be jumping from pregame to postgame. Van Wagner will once again be at the controls for the in-venue production of the NFL's season finale, but, this time, it will be within a familiar venue that played host to the Super Bowl a decade ago.

We were here 10 years ago when [Levi's Stadium] was a new building, says Bob Becker, president, Van Wagner Productions, but our show was done with a different infrastructure and produced in a different way. We have to reinvent what we do at the Super Bowl every year, so while there are still some familiar faces, everything - technology, creativity, and logistics - has changed.

The new control room, which debuted in August 2025, is at the core of the in-venue production.Production Crew Works With 49ers To Establish a Plan

Nearly a year before game day, both the production and operations teams at Van Wagner and their counterparts at the San Francisco 49ers, who play their home games at the stadium, began discussing how Super Bowl LX would be put together. Many of the initial steps for a Super Bowl naturally take place a few days after the confetti falls on the previous edition, but this game in particular required a lot of time for preparation.

Recruiting a local crew of 175 staffers to accommodate the growing size of the show, Van Wagner Productions VP Lindsay Anson - who leads detailed production planning on the company's NFL productions, including Super Bowl, Draft, Combine, and the growing number of international games - kept a close eye on what was going on at Levi's Stadium throughout the year.

We were watching in the wings as [the 49ers] were going through a complete rebuild of their control room and videoboards and worked alongside them during this process, she says. We saw how the 49ers used these videoboards, then thought about what we could learn from them but also what we wanted to try to do differently.

The 49ers' focus was on three needs: produce high-quality shows for their slate of home games in the 2025 regular season, fine-tune workflows in their less-than-a-year-old control room, and devote adequate time to get ready for the NFL's biggest game on the calendar. For further guidance on the technological front, San Francisco 49ers Senior Director, Game Presentation and Live Events, Laura Johnson reached out to Van Wagner Director, Technical Operations, Nate McCoart following Super Bowl LVII in 2023.

The first of two Ross Video Acuity production switchers drives a primary Ross Acuity production switcher that handles all live game action. We knew we were hosting a Super Bowl [in three years], says Johnson, but we also had Super Bowl production aspirations for our own game presentation. We wanted to build a room that was capable of what Van Wagner were going to bring and what they wanted to do but also capable for what we're trying to do at Levi's Stadium for world-class events.

Super Bowl Show Taps Every Ounce of Control-Room Firepower

The control room, which debuted last August, has become the standard for SMPTE ST 2110 builds around the industry. Not only is it the first glass-to-glass 4K production ecosystem, but the aggressive levels of technology required to pull off a show like the Super Bowl are a bit easier in this future-proofed room. Johnson looks back with satisfaction at its first full NFL season in use.

It was challenging because we're blazing trails with these technologies, she adds. August to February is a short runway for hosting a world-class event like Super Bowl, so we needed to get some of those kinks out while producing top-notch 49ers home games. But, as we stand today, with how Van Wagner is using the system and the elements that are going into this production, I feel so much pride for what we put into the control room. I can't wait to see it shine on Sunday.

The second of two Ross Video Acuity production switchers handles fan entertainment and content during commercials and quarter breaks.On the tech side, this championship-level show will deploy the control room's typical bells and whistles but will have additional workflows from Ross Video and additional video sources from NBC Sports. In total, the space will bring in more than 50 video feeds, pushing the limits of the two production switchers at use for game-day production. Although the Super Bowl LX show will be the control room's toughest test to date, Johnson credits her colleagues' willingness to do everything they could to make this project a success.

From the day we decommissioned [the old control room] on Dec. 31, 2024, Feb. 8 was a date we had circled on our calendar, she adds. It takes a lot of people to make all of this happen. Everyone from our systems integrators and vendors to the role that [San Francisco 49ers Chief Broadcast/AV Engineer] Ted [Slominski] and our entire team played to get everything ready for this game.

Evertz DreamCatchers are being used for replays of the game.In-Venue Show Aims To Elevate Production Quality for Fans in the Stands

As for the creative that will drive the storytelling for the contest between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, Van Wagner Creative Director Aaron Fletcher is taking many aspects into account. This includes the overall direction implemented by NFL Senior Director, Global Event Presentation and Entertainment, Tim Tubito, the culture and pulse of the Bay Area and the cornerstones and traditions of both team's respective shows.

Bringing the story of the Super Bowl to life every year is an incredible experience and opportunity, Fletche says. We have an incredible team that we get t

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/02/08/van-wagner-strengthens-levis-st...
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