Home Park to boast ‘six-figure sum’ screen



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Plymouth Argyle new LED screen Image: Bendac

The League One team Plymouth Argyle F.C. (UK) is spending “a sizable six-figure sum” on a 45 meters square digital screen which will be installed later this Summer.

The ‘PlymouthLive’ stated that the Bendac infiLED screen will be at the back of Block 17 in the Lyndhurst Road Stand and Barn Park End corner of the League One club’s digs – Home Park.

The Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the City of Plymouth, Devon, England (UK). As of the 2021-2022 seasons, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, known as the ‘Theatre of Greens’, since 1901.

The 16,388-capacity Home Park is a football stadium in Plymouth, England (UK). The ground has been the home of Football League One club Plymouth Argyle since 1901. After undergoing considerable development in the 1920s and 1930s, the ground suffered heavy damage during World War II.

The ‘PlymouthLive’ further stated that it is set to be installed in mid-July, subject to overseas shipping, ahead of the start of the 2022-2023 League One campaign on July 30th.

The Block 17 location ensures that no season ticket holders are displaced, seating loss is kept to a minimum and just under 99 percent of a capacity crowd will have a clear view of the screen from their seats.

The supplier, Bendac, was chosen as a result of their expertise in this field, with high-profile locations of current infiLED screens including the Premier League team Chelsea F.C.’s residence – the 41,837-capacity Stamford Bridge in London (UK).

The screen will add an extra layer of excitement to matchdays and other stadium events at Home Park, possessing the ability to sync up with pitch-side entertainment, pre-match Argyle TV programing and live match action, including replays.

Exulted Argyle’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Parkinson, “We are absolutely thrilled to be able to move forward with the big screen over the close season. We know from discussions with supporters and expressions of interest at fans’ forums that Home Park has been lacking in a digital scoreboard, but we also felt that we needed to take time to assess all options available to us and make the best long-term decision for Argyle. I am confident that we have done that, and the Green Army will be pleased with the result.”

Added Parkinson, “A lot of effort has been placed in enhancing the matchday experience, encouraging supporters to get to the stadium earlier, and making Argyle a day out for the whole family. The big screen is another important step forward in that project.”

A club statement read, “The screen represents a sizable, six-figure outlay for the club, but the plan is that, through enhancing existing commercial partnerships, unlocking new avenues of digital advertisement and elevating the entire stadium experience at Argyle, the screen will have made a return in a few short seasons, generating steady profits thereafter. As part of the research, the club considered a number of potential locations for the big screen, and appointed an LED consultant to support us through the procurement process.”

The statement added, “As part of that process, hanging screens from the Devonport End and Barn Park End were eliminated from consideration as the horseshoe roof is unsuitable, while the currently unfurnished corner between the Devonport End and the Mayflower Grandstand was also ruled out due to a combination of installation cost and poor visibility – as 25 per cent of a capacity crowd would have had either an obscured or extremely poor viewing angle of the screen. Locations in the Devonport End and Barn Park End were also considered, but opted against due to the combination of seat loss in those areas, and line of sight issues for supporters.”

The statement further read, “Weather conditions have also been considered. For a 3pm kick-off in the Winter months, Block 17 receives direct sunlight in the early afternoon, which is why the Board of Directors also signed-off the additional cost of raising the brightness level of the screen to 8,000 nits, which will ensure that the screen can be viewed extremely clearly in any season. For reference, the average smartphone registers around 500 nits, a high-definition television 2,000 nits and large digital advertising boards, like the iconic lights at Piccadilly Circus (a road junction and public space of London’s West End in the City of Westminster), are rated in the region of 5,000.”

Observed Argyle’s Head of Venue, Christian Kent, “The big screen is a vital development in our work to make Home Park as attractive a venue as possible – for Argyle fans, events use, and other visitors. It is a really exciting time with so much work going on behind the scenes to realize the potential of the stadium, and we cannot wait to see how it all comes together next season.”

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