Mt. SAC Stadium Complex Scores Big with Extron

Extron’s hardware and software products provide the flexibility, reliability, and power we require for our stadium complex, and their support is the best in the industry.

Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) in Southern California is the largest community college on the west coast. When it was time to renovate their Hilmer Lodge Stadium for their Mounties athletics programs, they built an entirely new 60,000‑square-foot sports complex adjoining the historic stadium.

CHALLENGES

The stadium complex and its AV system had to meet structural and technology requirements to support the college’s football, track and field, and cross country athletics programs. The stadium hosts the internationally respected Mt. SAC Relays, the world's largest collegiate track and field competition. It fields more than 13,500 athletes and events, with broadcasts by NBC Sports and Fox Sports West, among others.

The renovation needed to bring the stadium up to today’s standards for sports training and competitive excellence, as well as provide top-quality broadcasting capabilities. Although the project involved modernization, it could not impact the integrity of this historic stadium or the legendary Mt. SAC cross country course that begins and ends within the stadium.

In addition to stadium refinements and more learning spaces, the project called for technology enhancements throughout the expanded facility. Spaces included the new box office and larger concession area, new broadcast, press, and VIP rooms, weight training and fitness centers, a kinesiology instructional room, active learning spaces, offices, meeting rooms, and a complex-wide digital signage system. Requirements included interconnected rooms and support for a myriad of display devices and an 85' x 37' LED display that acts as a scoreboard and presentation videowall. Extron XTP Systems^® were selected to provide the AV distribution backbone for the expansive complex.

DESIGN SOLUTION

The expanded Mt. SAC Hilmer Lodge Stadium complex provides a state-of-the-art venue for track and field and cross country competitions and football games. It includes a nine-lane, 400‑meter track with Olympic turn radius, a 300‑meter warm‑up track, multiple field event facilities, a natural grass football field, and an artificial-turf practice field. It seats 10,739 and can accommodate up to 20,000 for special events.

The complex is a unified installation, with the athletics and broadcast departments sharing the top‑level spaces where appropriate. Event announcers can also be part of a broadcast. Feeds are available to pull into each space and for distribution to the nationally televised and streaming services. The solution provides tie‑ins for multiple video trucks. Learning and meeting rooms include flexible, high-performance AV switching systems with local and remote system operation. The installation also enables presentation from a laptop connected in a classroom or meeting space for display on the stadium’s 85' scoreboard videowall, including filling the entire canvas with a single image.

Although the design team normally prefers to draft the AV specifications before construction begins, in this case the AV system designs were developed as the building was nearing completion. The system designer still took the time necessary to discover the needs of the various stakeholders, including the coaching staff, the project manager, the facilities manager, the administration, and the broadcast department.

For the core installation, the system designer selected Extron XTP Systems with singlemode fiber for the cable infrastructure. Control systems consist of Extron IP Link^® Pro processors and TouchLink^® Pro touchpanels. The integration team used XTP Systems Configuration Software and Global Configurator^® Professional to configure the multiple AV and control products. The support staff uses GlobalViewer^® Enterprise Server-Based AV Resource Management Software to remotely monitor, maintain, and periodically operate the stadium installation from any point on campus.

As soon as a room or space was complete, the staff began using it, which was prior to the grand opening. The early users were delighted with the stadium complex and its AV switching, display, and control systems. However, this made them realize that they wanted even more AV functionality. The system designer regularly adjusted the plans for the duration of the project phases to address additional capability requests. Despite these challenges and the logistical issues caused by the pandemic, careful planning and intrinsic system flexibility allowed the design to be locked down and the products procured, arriving in stages with a majority delivered during the trim phase of construction.

The myriad of display devices includes projection systems, displays, videowalls, and the 85' x 37' LED videowall that acts as the stadium’s scoreboard and the event presentation display. It is the largest LED screen on any community college campus in the state. High-powered speakers flank the left and right sides of the videowall. Digital signage is concentrated primarily around the box office and within public spaces such as the concession area, the open-air exhibit space, and the hallways.

AV integration and commissioning was scheduled in seven phases, with the breakdown by space classification and level. Adjustments to the design continued up until the full complex installation was commissioned and the grand opening was held. Four Extron XTP II CrossPoint 3200 modular 32x32 matrix switchers populated with a variety of hot‑swappable I/O boards tie together the entire facility over singlemode fiber. All AV control systems run over a fully converged network, providing control and automation on the college's LAN.

Our Hilmer Lodge Stadium is one of a kind, taking full advantage of today’s superlative technologies such as our 85‑foot LED scoreboard and the XTP system that supports it and the rest of the complex. This is an amazing facility and it’s going to continue to be for many years to come.

XTP is Mt. SAC’s AV Solution on Many Levels

Each of the XTP II CrossPoint^® modular matrix switchers is populated with combinations of XTP CP input and output boards that facilitate local and remote AV signal extension for HDMI, 12G‑SDI, audio, and RS‑232 control insertion. For local devices, the HDMI I/O boards support 4K/60 HDMI signals and stereo audio while the 12G‑SDI boards facilitate SDI transmissions. This input board also provides SDI and HDMI input loop-through for local monitoring.

The surrounding complex adjoins the stadium at each of its four levels, providing learning, meeting, and specialized-use rooms for the coaching staff and the student athletes. The top level includes the tech booth, a 3,000‑square-foot press box with seating for 60, and a temperature-controlled broadcast booth used by NBC Sports and Fox Sports West, among others. Each of these spaces provides multiple displays and system control. Also on this level is a VIP room, with a wall-mounted display that enables the occupants to watch up to four feeds originating within the complex simultaneously using an Extron multi-graphic processor.

The XTP II CrossPoint matrix switcher rack-mounted in the tech booth supports the stadium videowall system, the rooms and digital signage on this level, and the displays within the AV‑enabled indoor and outdoor event spaces on the third level. Two inputs tied to the videowall processor route content to the stadium’s massive 85' x 37' scoreboard LED videowall. An input module on each of the digital signage displays enables presentation of unique localized content. Two pairs of XTP^® fiber optic transmitters and scaling receivers function as auxiliary inputs and outputs. To select from among the myriad of camera feeds and other sources, an operator at any of the tech booth’s six workstations uses an Extron TouchLink Pro touchpanel.

Three outputs on the matrix switcher in the tech booth feed the XTP II CrossPoint frames on the first and second levels. The second level houses offices for the coaching staff, two classrooms for sports-related instruction, and a variety of meeting spaces, such as the track and field conference room and the football conference room. This level also features a welcome lobby with a 4x2 videowall. The center 2x2 section of this videowall is set to display a single image, and the pairs of displays on the outside edges of the videowall portray individual images. For example, during sports events, a feed such as the scoreboard or a field camera is sent to the central portion. Standings and athlete statistics are shown on the side displays. The lobby opens to a 110,000‑square-foot expo and fan area plus the Heritage Hall Museum and meeting facility. The matrix switcher feeds the displays throughout these spaces.

The first level has a variety of room types, including home-team locker rooms by sport and gender, visitor locker rooms, a 7,000‑square-foot fitness center, and a 16,000‑square-foot teaching space that includes space for kinesiology training classes and a 2,300‑square-foot medical sports therapy facility. This level also provides additional coaching offices and classrooms, each with one or more displays. Specific rooms have the capability to display the scoreboard or another feed that originates on another level.

The two XTP II matrix switchers on this level provide signal routing for the rooms with displays and send targeted content to the concession area displays and menu boards, and the digital signage throughout the ground floor.

Linking the four XTP II CrossPoint matrix switchers enabled content originating from anywhere within the stadium or the connected rooms to be shared with any other space in the complex. This includes broadcast feeds carried in SDI formats.

The integration team used XTP System Configuration Software to set up and configure the four matrix switchers into a single, cohesive AV switching and distribution system. The support team used this software for a variety of processes, such as setting and managing input and output ties, establishing presets, implementing EDID, and verifying audio formats for the signal path. The software also allowed straightforward configuration of the remote transmitters and receivers on each level from the tech booth on the top level.

Extron Pro Series Products Facilitate Multi-Point Control

Each floor and the AV system in certain rooms has its own control system, with some spaces sharing a control processor. The design team thought carefully about the number and placement of the control processors to best facilitate AV system operation, support, and maintenance. Another consideration was troubleshooting, which included issues caused by power outages that are frequent in the area. They decided to group systems to streamline operation.

Each classroom and conference room has its own control processor. For example, each of the AV systems for the box office, the tech/control room, the press box control room, and the broadcast booth has its own Extron IP Link Pro series control processor while the digital signage installation shares a processor. For sharing, grouping logic was applied to the control systems throughout the complex. Each processor works in concert with a variety of Extron TouchLink Pro tabletop and wall-mount touchpanels and NBP Network Button Panels, models and quantities depending on the room. The control systems are managed using Global Configurator Professional.

Extron Software Streamlines Complex-wide AV System Setup, Configuration, and Management

The integration team used Extron’s Global Configurator Professional software to configure the Extron IP Link Pro and IPCP Pro xi Series control processors. The software enables any IT team member to support and make changes to the system going forward, regardless of experience level. The support staff uses the software to update button actions and functions, set system schedules, and more. Also, their familiarity with Global Configurator Professional enables them to quickly and easily locate and then update an element; no programmer required.

This powerful configuration software for AV control systems allows the creation and storage of unique configuration files, which can be recalled whenever changes are required. Conditional logic allows advanced functionality by making if/else statements available. With the help of conditional logic, it was and still is easy for them to set up operations that are dependent upon occurrence and non‑occurrence of certain events. Conditional logic with local variables also allows examination of conditions within the configured commands before performing a task. This helped streamline project creation by minimizing the need for monitors and schedules. This allows a relatively small support staff to manage all AV functions and activities within the stadium complex. With the system up and running, the support team members with Extron Control Professional Certification use Global Configurator Professional to manage the complete installation.

The stadium complex is tied into the rest of the campus by GlobalViewer Enterprise software. It is used to monitor the AV equipment in the complex from any point on campus and take control of an AV system in a pinch. The college views this software as an added layer of support and protection. After a recent storm caused a major power outage, the support team found GlobalViewer Enterprise especially beneficial for system‑wide recovery.

I decided to go with the advanced configuration options of Global Configurator Professional to handle all of the intricacies of the linked AV systems in our stadium complex. After all, it's not about what I know; it’s all about my people knowing how to manage it and making its operation effortless for the coaches and their staff.

RESULTS

In this venue where 21 world track records and hundreds of U.S. track and field records were set, Mt. SAC’s stadium has a long history of firsts. The expanded stadium complex continues this tradition. The renovated Hilmer Lodge Stadium Complex provides a world-class venue for athletes, coaches, and spectators, alike. The excitement over the remodeled facility, with its interconnected and enhanced AV systems, was so great that the coaches and university staff could not wait for the grand opening. They began using the track and the various rooms as soon as each was commissioned and made available. The students are just as enthralled with their new stadium complex.

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