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Alabama installs over 450 sqm of LED screens at Lyon’s LDLC Arena

A 17-tonne LED cube designed, manufactured and installed by French event production expert Alabama Média (from Groupe Novelty) forms the centrepiece of France’s second-largest indoor arena, the new LDLC Arena in Lyon.

According to François Aubert, LDLC Arena’s technical manager, the idea for the mammoth LED set-up originally came from retired NBA legend and the majority owner of the LDLC Asvel basketball team, Tony Parker, who “envisioned an American-style venue, which influenced our decision to incorporate iconic features such as the large LED cube and balcony seating”, says Aubert.

In addition to serving as the home arena of LDLC Asvel for EuroLeague games, the 12,000-seat LDLC Arena (16,000 for concerts) is also set to become a venue for a wealth of events. Alabama set about designing an LED configuration that would be flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of event types. “Modularity was key; the ability to move the LED cube to the roof or stage really adds versatility to our events”, says Aubert.

After being drafted to create and integrate the arena’s entire video set-up, including the LED cube that would serve as its focal point, Alabama, in partnership with Cobalt, proposed a number of ideas regarding its design that diverged from the cube’s initial concept, focusing on its load-bearing capacity, demountable nature and aesthetic appeal.

Extensive discussions with Vinci, the arena’s structural engineer, followed, and the three partners worked closely throughout the duration of the project on the design of both the cube and the production control room, with the help of local metalwork specialist Fer et Défaire to design the structure and decoration of the cube.

Weighing in at 17 metric tonnes, the 144 sqm LED cube is equipped with four 3.9 mm Absen LED panels, each measuring 8 m x 4.5 m. It’s also fully motorised and retractable, due to eight GIS D8+ electric chain hoists boasting a 2.5 tons load capacity each, which raise and lower the cube to accommodate different configurations for the venue.

A secondary independent LED ring (consisting of four 6 m x 1 m Absen PL3.9 V10 LED panels) at its base completes the structure. The cube can additionally be lowered to the ground and partially dismantled to lighten the load for larger productions and allow for the rigging of other equipment, which also enables the LED panels to be used elsewhere in various configurations for events and concerts.

Alabama also installed 200 linear metres of Absen 4 mm LED fascia between the lower and upper sections of the stands and two Absen 3.9 mm LED scoring screens (measuring 6 m x 3.5 m) to relay real-time information to spectators, as well as supplying 37 metres of FIBA-certified Absen 4 mm LED perimeter banner screens to be used at the edge of the court during games.

In addition to the LED, Alabama supplied and integrated all video equipment for the broadcast control room, including servers, production and live video broadcast tools. The front-of-house set-up, which is configured for capturing and broadcasting live events, includes a Tricaster 2 Elite video mixer with 2-Stripe control surface, a 3Play 3P1 from Vizrt, and a Lightware MX2-8x8-DH-8DPio-A 4K matrix switcher. With DisplayPort 1.2 input and output ports, the MX2 Series matrix secures the desired AV signal switching and supports high picture quality, delivering uncompressed 4K UHD @ 60 Hz RGB 4:4:4 video with no latency.

Finally, Alabama supplied electrical panels and cabling, as well as the racks in the control room. Both Alabama and sister company Novelty Aura are regularly called in to provide technical service including lighting equipment for events in both the main arena and “Cube”, the venue’s 2,000 sqm VIP room.

The Alabama team also included project manager Christopher Dubost and production manager Morgan Micolier.

(Photos: Alabama Média/Julien Rambaud)

www.alabama-media.com

www.novelty-group.com