To enhance the fan experience for Minnesota Wild followers, Toshiba America Business Solutions implements its Ellumina™ digital signage line throughout the team’s 18,000-seat Xcel Energy Center home.
The wide-scale installation – including 538 high-definition (HD) displays – encompasses the arena’s concourse, entrances, luxury suites and wherever food and drinks are served.
By integrating Toshiba’s Ellumina line, Xcel Energy Center patrons now enjoy live game action as well as spectacular highlights of the Wild and other National Hockey League games in dazzling color while enjoying a meal or beverage at any of the venue’s five restaurants and lounges or while relaxing with friends and family on the concourse.
Hungry Wild fans appreciate the more than 100 menu boards interspersed at the concession areas as well as bars and restaurants, which display the arena’s latest food and drink options in HD. For Wild and team sponsors, the 40 video walls and hundreds of other HD displays – spanning as high as 65 inches – provide an ideal medium to display customized content.
“Enhancing the digital video experience to better engage those who we believe are the most loyal and passionate followers in the NHL was a clear priority that we wanted to attain before the post-season,” said Jim Ibister, vice president of facility administration for the Minnesota Wild and general manager, Saint Paul RiverCentre.
“Toshiba’s vast experience and success implementing impactful digital signage for professional sports franchises was a primary factor why we first engaged with their team and we learned very quickly their reputation is well deserved. From our initial visit through adoption, they intuitively understood the steps to take to create a world-class digital video environment to accomplish our objective.” Ibister added, “Considering the tight timeframe they had to work within while creating such a top-notch digital signage implementation made it all the more impressive.”
To engage fans of Minnesota’s annual North Star College Cup hockey tournament – occurring during the third week of January at Xcel Energy Center – Toshiba incorporates a 55-inch video wall within the arena’s North Star Cup wall. Aside from displaying sprawling saves, slap-shot goals and bruising body checks, the nearly five-foot display updates college hockey enthusiasts on tournament scores and schedules.
“Upon learning about the fervent nature of Wild fans, we understood the importance of creating a digital video environment in which to augment their experience,” said Bill Melo, Toshiba America Business Solutions chief marketing executive. “After gaining an understanding of what Jim and his team envisioned, we coupled HD technology with the relevant content Wild fans desire to keep them in tune with the action on the ice at Xcel Energy Center – and rinks throughout the NHL – we believe we have fulfilled this objective.”
