After Three MLS Seasons, FC Cincinnati Gets Permanent Home in New TQL Stadium The club tapped Alpha Video to do systems integration By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, April 22, 2021 - 9:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
A year after its 25th anniversary, Major League Soccer is embarking on a golden age of venue design with three new builds across the nation. The first of the trio, FC Cincinnati's TQL Stadium, will open in 3 weeks when Inter Miami comes to visit on Sunday, May 16. The club's first fully dedicated stadium will include the league's largest videoboard in a soccer-specific venue, 1080p HDR workflows, and control-room technology installed by Alpha Video.
Homage to Allianz: Minnesota Venue Provides Structural, Logistical Roadmap After three seasons at Nippert Stadium, TQL Stadium will be FC Cincinnati's first official home. (Photo: Tom Gelehrter/@Tommy_G on Twitter
In its first two MLS seasons, FC Cincinnati hosted home matches in the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium, a little more than 2 miles north of TQL Stadium. The collegiate-football venue provided ample space for supporters to cheer on their squad, but, as with other franchises playing matches in shared buildings - Nashville SC in the Tennessee Titans' Nissan Stadium, NYFC in Yankee Stadium - there was something missing. To establish its own foothold in the city, the club moved forward with the construction of a stadium that would reflect their unique identity.
FC Cincinnati had an amazing atmosphere with an extremely passionate fan base, but it's going to be amazing when they enter this facility for the first time, says Jeff Volk, VP, Alpha Video. It has been super fun and rewarding to work with a team and build a stadium and environment of their own.
For the new structure, the FC Cincinnati ownership group wanted to emulate the closed-canopy roof and exterior look of Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena in Germany. A U.S. stadium with a similar name, Allianz Field in St. Paul, MN, served as inspiration on the technological side. Minnesota-based Alpha Video supplied system integration for Minnesota United FC in 2019. For this project, Gameday Technologies powered by Atomic Data, a company that represents FC Cincinnati's venue endeavors, chose Alpha Video to implement similar workflows.
The control-room technology is very similar to what we did at Allianz Field, notes Volk. When Allianz Field opened, it set the bar from a game-presentation perspective, and, since there was a strong familiarity with Atomic Data, the goal was to replicate many of those same elements.
On the physical side of the project, Alpha Video were able to work under clearer conditions after completing projects, such as the Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium and Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, during the early stages of the pandemic. With obstacles posed by COVID-19 out of the way, the final product was developed through constant collaboration between the club's control-room staff and the workers doing the job onsite.
We certainly [saw] less of an impact than with projects that were done last summer, says Volk. Back in May, June, and July, everyone was figuring things out on the fly. We mobilized onsite in Cincinnati in November and December. By that point, everyone involved hit their stride in terms of COVID-19 preparedness and understanding what we needed to do logistically to work within safety regulations.
All in the Tech: Control Room Has 1080p HDR Capabilities, Large Ross Video Presence The control room in the 26,000-seat stadium will have 1080p HDR capabilities. (Photo: Tom Gelehrter/@Tommy_G on Twitter)
In the new control room, the club's in-venue staff will work with high-level equipment and workflows. Ross Video will play a large role in each production, providing a 2M/E Carbonite Ultra switcher with TouchDrive on the front bench, an Ultrix router, and XPression graphics with Inception social-media management. Other notable technologies include Evertz DreamCatcher as the in-stadium replay anchor and Riedel's Artist and Bolero handling wired and wireless communications, respectively.
In other parts of the control room, the tech will feature test and measurement devices supplied by Leader; video monitors from Sony, Ikegami, and Marshall Electronics; recording captured by AJA Ki-Pro Ultra Plus and Ki-Pro GO; and KVM by Adder Technology.
In the stadium's lower bowl, the production team will have a handful of cameras at their disposal, including four Sony HXC-FB80 hard cameras and a wireless Sony HXC-FB80 with RF coverage from Wave Central. The cameras will be outfitted with five types of Canon lenses: three at 80X, one at 24X, and one at 14X.
Around the Pitch: Videoboard in The Bailey, IPTV System To Heighten Game-Day Experience Night matches in Cincinnati will be a lot brighter with TQL Stadium's LED real estate. The 26,000-seat venue has two major LED installations on both the building's interior and exterior. From the outside, passers-by will be able to tell who's playing, thanks to a stunning LED system that can be coordinated with music on the stadium's fa ade. It's a fixture that is seen in Las Vegas and Minnesota as well:
Inside the venue, the north side will be home to the league's largest LED display for a soccer-specific stadium. With its wide structure, it will serve as a backdrop for The Bailey, the stands that will house the raucous supporters' section. Installed by Daktronics, the videoboard will offer images and video in HDR:
The @WestEndStadium is ready to rock. #TheBailey #MLS #FCCincy pic.twitter.com/D8Fn3jOpg0
- Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) March 19, 2021
As fans make their anticipated return to the stands, they'll be able to stay up-to-date with the
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
After Three MLS Seasons, FC Cincinnati Gets Permanent Home in New TQL Stadium The club tapped Alpha Video to do systems integration By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
