Iowa State is a nationally ranked football team with a recent win at the 2020 Fiesta Bowl. In a strategy to recruit and retain top student athletes, they recently unveiled a game-changing transformation. The Stark Performance Center demonstrates Iowa State’s commitment to excellence in Cyclone athletics and academics with a beautifully outfitted facility next to the Jack Trice Stadium complex. Competition to recruit student-athletes is intense among the Big 12 schools, so Iowa State set out to create a top-notch student athletic center complete with technology that have athletes saying, “I Will”.
The Challenge and Solutions:
For a college known for excellence in science and technology, discovery, and innovation, Iowa State needed to revamp its athletic recruitment strategy. What better way than to create an athletic complex for players and staff to focus on mental and physical wellness in a state-of-the-art facility? The recent $90 million revitalization of the SPC aimed to attract and retain student athletes into their program. Nanolumens scored a touchdown with multiple dvLED displays throughout the new complex. Areas of concentration with Nanolumens hallmark LED displays included the Locker Room, Commons Area, Press/Media room, and Lobby Stairs. Nanolumens is no stranger when it comes to working with Sporting venues, and our brilliant displays lend themselves well to create a one-of-a-kind collegiate experience.
“In working with the ISU staff, they indicated several locations where they really wanted some high-impact video displays in their new Athletics Sports Performance Center, including the two entry lobbies, post-game conference room and the crown jewel of the building, the football locker room,” said Senior Systems Designer, Wil Taft of NV5. “While three of the walls were straightforward, the design in the locker room called for four concaved dvLED displays in the shape of a football that formed the boundaries of a large lounge/gathering area for the student-athletes to watch game film, tv, study or play video games. These displays could also form the canvas used for large multi-display video packages to pump-up the team before a game as well as provide some serious eye-candy for prospective recruits.
The Results:
Nanolumens was initially engaged by the project Consultant, Nv5, and then once the project was awarded to local integrator, Mechdyne, Nanolumens coordinated the necessary trades to complete this stunning installation. The 110,000 sq.ft. Center was outfitted with Nanolumens displays to engage athletes and drive the college’s message home. The most notable area is the Locker Room which has four large, curved displays. These displays form a parabolic or football shape. Nixel SeriesTM 2.5mm tiles were used because of the narrow viewing distance to create crisp and brilliant images showcasing content like the team’s motto and school mascot, Cy the Cardinal. Nanolumens was ultimately chosen for two reasons. First, because of its’ patented True CurveTM technology which is not faceted like most LEDs and allows for seamless viewing from all angles. Secondly because of their engineering prowess.
“I reached out to Dan Rossborough with Nanolumens’ Strategic Projects Group (SPG) to work out some concepts. Dan and his team traveled up to Ames with some demo product to showcase to the client and in the end, the client went with four 48:9 aspect ratio 1.8mm displays for the locker room, allowing for up to twelve independent images that perfectly matched the curved walls,” said Senior Systems Designer, Wil Taft of NV5. “When I was able to walk into the space for the first time, it really had an amazing, immersive feel with four walls almost wrapping around you. Paired with an extensive speaker system including multiple subwoofers, it really is a great space to get ready for a game.”
Nanolumens’ products are designed and engineered to suit their environment and come complete with a mounting solution that easily contours to meet any shape desired. In this case each display was 8’ tall by 18’ wide.
Nanolumens designed the impressive 2-story stairway display near the Locker Room. At 20’ tall and 8’ wide this incredible display offers athletes and visitors a real “wow” moment when they enter the lobby. This display also utilized the versatile Nixel tiles, but a slightly lower pixel pitch of 3.8mm was used as the display is viewed from afar.
Nixels were also used in the 2nd floor Commons area which utilized Nanolumens’ 3.8mm tiles and measured 40’ wide by 4’ tall. This display is used to display art and pictures of the college in an area meant for relaxing in the Center. Another area of concentration is the Press/Media room which was outfitted with a mobile dvLED unit that can be moved as needed for press opportunities or can be used as a backdrop. This mobile matrix is 8’ wide by 6’ tall and used Nanolumens’ Engage series 1.87 mm tiles to provide up-close-and-personal viewing at its absolute finest.