A complete rebuild of the main stand at Stuttgart’s MHP Arena now provides a great fan experience alongside new flexible event spaces and top tier VIP treatment. Paul Milligan speaks to the consultant involved.
The MHP Arena has been home to Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart since 1933. Unlike traditional buildings, which are often left to grow old gracefully, football stadiums must always look forward, and are constantly updated to meet financial, legal and sporting requirements.
With Euro 2024 approaching and the MHP Arena set to be one of the host venues, VfB Stuttgart embarked on an ambitious project to extend the main stand. The lower tier of the main stand, dating back to 1974, has been completely rebuilt and the main stand expanded all the way up to the roof supports.
This entailed the construction of improved hospitality areas, a new media centre, upgraded team locker rooms and the Porsche Tunnel Club VIP lounge. Its 8,000 sq m of media-equipped event space now makes the MHP Arena one of the largest event venues in Stuttgart.
Tasked with designing all the AV inside the new stand was AV consultant macom – part of Drees and Sommer. The system integrator for the project was ICT. Initially contacted to create some early conceptual ideas, macom was then brought on board for full AV consultancy.
As Oliver Mack, managing director, macom explains: “We gathered all requirements from the various stakeholders, as well as from the marketing and brand team, the real estate department, the construction team, and the sports team, and consolidated this feedback to develop a feasibility study and a conceptual design.”
“The client was very happy with the result because it helped them get a clear view on the project, the alternatives they had available, but also how far they could go with an innovative approach. It told them what it would cost but also highlighted the impact it would have on operations and usage.”
What was the initial brief to macom in those early meetings? “The client started thinking about this project because of the upcoming Euro 2024, UEFA has a set of regulations that all stadiums must fulfil to be part of an official championship, and complying with this was one objective.”
“Two additional objectives came from the client. The football club wanted to increase the fan experience because with a strong brand comes sponsorships, a merchandise business, and other revenue streams. The third objective was to develop a multifunctional event location.”
“When games are not taking place, you have off time where the real estate is not utilised. The stadium’s prime location prompted the decision to develop it into a multifunctional events facility capable of hosting up to five parallel events, spanning business, sport, and more.”
The goal was to create a modern, intuitive, and versatile digital infrastructure suitable for Bundesliga match days as well as meetings, conferences, or gala events. This was a long-running project for macom. Planning began in 2020, and the stadium opened on April 23, 2024. This left a couple of months to bed in before its first Euro 2024 game on June 16. There was no doubt the main stand upgrade was needed says Oliver Gaubatz, project manager, macom. “The stadium had 12-15-year-old TV screens with coaxial cable, and you had to walk around with a remote to turn them on.”
It was time for a change in many ways he adds, “another requirement was to make operating all the technology much easier. Now, a touchpanel and iPad interface allow them to control the entire system and power all the screens on simultaneously.”
The scope of macom’s work involved all the AV systems, ranging from small displays in the conference areas up to a huge LED installation, all the signal management, all the control systems, full digital signage integration and IPTV.
The AV has a key function in the main stand says Mack: “The club wanted to switch the complete branding of the whole environment very easily. For Stuttgart home games, the stadium carries club branding. The next day it may need completely different branding. For a corporate rental, and international or Champions League fixtures require further changes. Digitalising the system was the only way to manage this quickly, flexibly, and cost-effectively."
The AV begins before you even get in the MHP Arena, with 3.9mm Unilumin outdoor LED tiles at the turnstiles and entrance area providing information. Additionally, 1.9mm Unilumin LED tiles have been installed to show the food/drinks menu. Kiosks serve as a wayfinding system, ensuring consistent orientation throughout the stadium. Once inside the ground, fans are met by an interactive circular foyer surrounded by 14 pivoting LED wall panels (Unilumin 2.5mm tiles) and with a curved LED screen in the centre. They can all be individually programmed according to the event, greeting the Porsche Tunnel Club guests with relevant imagery. All digital signage is handled via the Grassfish platform, and all LED content is handled via Novastar Taurus processors.
There is no doubt the standout of the new main stand is the Porsche Tunnel Club, a VIP lounge situated between the players tunnels illuminated by two 80m-long and 2m-high Unilumin 1.9mm LED walls. The wall surrounding the lounge is a one-way mirror, reflective from the outside but giving the guests inside 360-degree, close-up views of the players as they file out onto the pitch. The Tunnel Club is a very special area says Mack. “The players pass just behind the glass on their way to the pitch, a gladiator moment. Seeing messages on the walls, like ‘We Can Be Heroes’ motivates the players, while fans get a dramatic, up-close experience."
Content for the giant wall is handled via three Pixera media servers from AV Stumpfl, which have Unreal Engine software embedded within them, so the possibility to create a whole world of visuals is now there says Gaubatz. “There’s lots of ideas to come still,” he adds.
High-class dining and immersive AV technology are brought together in this 360 sq m space, with large screens, a central Samsung display cube, and Bose DesignMax loudspeaker systems providing an immersive experience of the live game. It’s ideal for matchdays but also suitable for after-work events and live cooking evenings. The newly digitalised media centre is another highlight and features a 12m-wide 8K 1.5mm Unilumin LED wall.
Video processing for the LED is via an Analog Way Midra 4K presentation switcher. Featuring SDI and HDMI connectivity, as well as Genlock, it’s a perfect bridge between broadcast, live presentation, and digital signage. High intelligibility for reporters is achieved with Fohhn beam steering front speakers and directional ceiling speakers as support/delay to ensure the right conditions for press conferences and presentations.
The flash interview zone is equipped with adaptable interview lighting, a huge advantage for camera teams, who no longer need to bring their own lighting equipment. The stadium has its own TV channel, broadcasting matchday action direct from the sports studio. Because there are so many different camera teams there on matchdays, macom had to come up with a way of de-cluttering that area at busy times. The answer came from above as Gaubatz explains. “We’ve installed all the lighting on top, something we had to discuss with the architects, so we could integrate rails from the ceiling, and also electrify them. The camera teams can now move them and adjust the brightness. This eliminates the need for have 50 different stands.
The project also involved the installation of 300 Bose ceiling loudspeakers, in a mix of pendant and ceiling-mounted models. The speakers are passive explains Gaubatz. "We have huge Q-SYS CX-Q 8K8 amplifiers, and we have them in groups, typically of four speakers. They’re in low impedance mode, so the ceiling speakers don’t lose power or quality to 100-volt transformers.”
Visitors to the new main stand pass 215 newly installed displays - mostly Samsung, with one 105-in LG - ranging in size from 43-in to 98-in. The project also added 42 JBL soundbars in private lounges/VIP boxes. Samsung screens with soundbars show the action to those inside, and guests can turn around in their match seats to view replays on screens behind them if they missed anything. Given its scale, it’s no surprise that the 80m wall, built from Unilumin 1.9mm tiles, was macom’s biggest challenge. “We have more LED screen than square metres on the floor,” says Mack.
“It generated a huge amount of heat. Beyond the financial budget, we were working to a heat budget, requiring creative solutions to manage heat from so much active LED. After months of iterations, we chose a continuous LED band around the space. Heat limits set the maximum height, but the sports department wanted it larger. We produced several versions based on the highest buildable option.
Working around concrete beams, what’s installed now is the largest practical size. The sports department accepted the heat simulations we carried out since the players only pass through briefly.
Macom worked closely with the HVAC engineers IG Hetzel, who did the simulations and were responsible for dissipating the heat. Behind the videowall is an intricately built active cooling substructure. The Unilumin tiles were chosen after a product shootout because the technology fitted the install perfectly says Gaubatz. “It’s flip chip SMD which is quite heat efficient. While some CoB technologies can be more energy efficient, their coating doesn’t really work for steep viewing angles, and the players are very close to the screen here. That’s why SMD was the perfect choice.”
Because fans in the Tunnel Club want to take pictures of the players in the tunnel, with the LED in the background, macom also had to ensure the LED had the right refresh rate to look good in digital photography.
Most of the kit was tested on-site says Gaubatz, except for some broadcast technology. “We pre-tested the handover of the broadcast signals with different frame rates and then transcoding them into our signage and IPTV systems. “We did camera tests on that, but the rest of the implementation was done on-site.” All the AV inside the new main stand sits on its own server. It is managed day-to-day by two teams, one that focuses on the match days, and another focused on other live events. Second level support is provided by the integrator ICT.
The digital signage content is handled via EVISCO, an external creative agency. “The client can send content to EVISCO for correct formatting, and EVISCO also provides video production and animation support.” Creating content from the client’s ideas, the model works because the club has a partner network behind it, whether it’s content production, event support, or even catering,” explains Mack.
Macom credits the project’s success, in part, to eight pre-construction workshops involving stakeholders from architecture, IT, operations, and the B2B events team. “We have learned from comparable projects,” admits Mack, “that it’s always valuable to spend a little bit more time in the early stages to gather all the requirements from the different stakeholders.”
“And then compile this into concepts which cover all the requirements. It’s always a compromise, but once you establish common ground you can move into the next design stages. After the design process begins, the train has left the station and it’s very hard to take anything off it. If you involve all these people and listen to them, you get more acceptance later.”
KIT LIST
Audio
Bose DM8C ceiling speakers, Bose DM8C-SUB subwoofers
DPA d:fine 6066 headset mics
Fohhn DLI-130-DAN and DLI-230-DAN line arrays, IG-100 ceiling speakers, AT-05 and AT-09 speakers, AS-22 subwoofers, DI-4.1000 and MA-4.600 amplifiers
Lautsprecher PA 8100, FZ 180 CD ceiling speakers, PA 8400 amplifiers
Palmer PPB 20 press box
RF Venue 4-Zone antenna multiplexers
Shure ULXD1 and ULXD2 transmitters, ULXD4D, UA8 and ULXD4Q receivers, MX418 D/C paging stations
Yamaha MRX7-D DSP, Rio 1608-D2 Dante interfaces
Q-SYS unD6IO-BT Dante networked wall plates and CX-Q 8K8 amplifiers
Video
Analog Way Midra / Pulse 4K presentation switchers
Avocor F6550 interactive display
AV Stumpfl Pixera media servers
Barco Clickshare
Crestron DM-NVX-E30 AVoIP transmitters, DM-NVX-D30 AVoIP receivers
Distec POS-4K-156-00-PRO display
Grassfish signage players
Kathrein UFO844 IP streamer
NovaStar Taurus LED processors
Megapixel VR Helios LED processors
Mostron 55-in totem display
Panasonic PT-R120, PT-RZ770, PT-RZ670 projectors
Peerless AV XHB552-EUK outdoor display
Samsung QM43R, QM49R, QM55R, QM65R, QM75R, QM85N, OH85F, QM98N displays
Unilumin UPanel II 1.9, UPanel II 1.5, Uslim II 2.5, USlim O 3.9, Upad IV 2.6, UHF 1.9 LED tiles