Production Resource Group (PRG) built the FOX Sports’ Super Bowl Broadcast Center on Super Bowl Boulevard in New York. The three-story structure was certified by the Times Square Alliance as the largest non-permanent structure ever erected in Times Square. The 65′ tall, 40′ by 40′ building was a fully functional broadcast facility, completely climate-controlled, that served as the New York City broadcast base for FOX Sports’ and other FOX Networks’ Super Bowl coverage.
The facility had 8,100 square feet of usable space and boasted a high-definition broadcast studio with south and north facing 10′ by 20′ windows for iconic views of the Boulevard. It also featured a mini-football field on the roof complete with stadium-style lighting and Astroturf. On the outside of the building were two 12′ x 22′ PRG Nocturne LED video screens and the west wall was covered with a 30′ by 20′ PRG Nocturne LED screen located right next to Cleatus, FOX Sports animated robot that stood 16′ tall and weighed 1,500 lbs.
PRG’s scope of work included all of the coordination of the onsite construction and project management, providing engineering services, onsite systems integration, scenic fabrication, lighting, video and audio infrastructure and integration packages.
Upon receiving the rendering of this incredible facility, PRG began collaboration with designer Jeff Hall, and his production design team from the JHD Group, to engineer the components needed to realize this project.
PRG had trucks scheduled and positioned so that construction could begin in Times Square at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 17. Working in shifts, PRG had 15 site supervisors and five project managers working to oversee the 60-man team that built the broadcast facility. Construction continued during the snowstorm that dropped 12″ of snow on the city. After 27 semi-truck deliveries and seven days of construction, the broadcast studio was turned over to FOX Sports – two days ahead of schedule.
The entire structure was test-built in the PRG New Windsor, NY facility to ensure the smooth onsite construction and that all contingencies were accounted for ahead of time. Anticipating extreme conditions, PRG developed strategic methods for construction. For instance, to make it easier for crews working in heavy clothing and gloves, PRG designed the structure to be easily inter-lockable without the need for many of the smaller tools used in construction.
To keep the project green, PRG used heat pumps to provide heating for the facility. By using four, five-ton, heat pumps with an electric back up, the studio was heated for the Fox broadcast team to work in sub-zero temperatures during Super Bowl week.
