ANC Sports Teams up with Penn State University

After Penn State’s wrestling team won the 2011 National Championship at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, the University wanted to take advantage of the new high-definition screens ANC Sports recently installed and welcome the team back to campus in style.   

 

While the team was on the return trip, the University quickly put together a congratulatory event at Rec Hall in Happy Valley. Looking to enhance the festive experience, Penn State, who was operating on a very tight deadline, asked ANC Sports to create new, dynamic animations to display on the venue’s new high-definition video screens.

 

“We appreciate that our fans and team were able to enjoy the new Rec Hall boards as a result of your work and cooperation,” Greg Myford Associate AD - Business Relations and Communications. “No doubt we will have those boards lit up when we hang THE banner in the rafters early next season. You are valued partners.”

 

The partnership which Myford is referring to began in 2008, when ANC installed state-of-the-art Light Emitting Diode (LED) ribbon signage at both Beaver Stadium and Bryce Jordan Center. Following the success of those projects, Penn State turned to ANC again in 2010 to renovate the historic Rec Hall, home of University’s volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling teams, as well as the 2011 NCAA Volleyball Championship.

 

In between semesters during the 2010-11 school year, ANC installed two 10mm Diamond Vision™ end-zone displays each measuring 25 feet, 6 inches wide by 10 feet high and featuring 250,000 pixels at Rec Hall. Built in the 1929, the three week installation tested ANC’s project managers combined 50 years of experience and expertise with logistics rarely encountered in video system renovations. AJ Faxel, the lead project manager had to overcome minimal working space, the absence of a service entrance and no elevators.

 

Since no service entrance was available, ANC’s small cabinets proved to be instrumental as the staff was able to maneuver them through the small entry ways, piecing them together once inside Rec Hall. Additionally, ANC wanted to respect the delicacy of the historic building so the company did not use heavy machines. Faxel decided to create three different hoists that lifted and carried the signage. Utilizing a beam in the ceiling rafters, ANC created a complex pulley system which hoisted the signage into place. 

 

Once the signage was in place at either end of Rec Hall and as the semester break came to a close, ANC’s technology operations staff arrived on-site to install hardware in the telecom closet and set up the company’s patent-pending VisionSOFT™. After third-party stat feeds and the building’s sound system were integrated into VisionSOFT, Faxel began ANC’s intense series of screen testing and calibration. The testing process ranges from simple powering on and off procedures to extreme endurance testing. Also, Faxel ran through full motion animations, stat templates and still graphics tests.

 

While Faxel tested the signage at the venue, ANC’s dedicated account executive Jenn Paonessa began the graphics and stats development process for the HD system. The relationship built between Paonessa and Penn State during the initial graphics process was one of the factors that led to the University feeling confident ANC could quickly deliver new graphical content for the wrestling team’s congratulatory event a few months later.

 

The partnership between ANC and Penn State sports started during the summer months of 2008. Beaver Stadium, Penn State’s famous football stadium, was the first to undergo changes when ANC installed 700 linear feet of full motion ribbon signage. Additionally, ANC installed two

new play clocks in the stadium, all of which are operated through VisionSOFT™. ANC’s senior project manager, Eric Gruner spearheaded the project, assisted by Faxel.  

 

The Beaver Stadium project began during the intense heat of June with the removal of the two existing fixed digit scoreboards. The hot summer weather did not make the installation easy. ANC’s staff actually worked throughout evenings several times in order to reduce the amount of hours working under the 100 degree sun. However, the biggest challenge ANC encountered was the different endzone structures.   

 

“The end-zones where built during different years by different engineers, therefore one side was concrete and the other was steel, which made it impossible to attach anything directly,” Gruner explained. “We had to engineer a secondary structure, elevating 100ft above the ground with difficult access.” 

 

Once again, ANC’s small cabinet sizes proved invaluable during the project. The fascia signage was being installed to follow a large radius instead of a straight line and the small cabinets were the only solution which would create a seamless image.   

 

While Faxel was completing the Beaver Stadium installation, Gruner began the removal of the existing Bryce Jordan Center signage, which included 960 linear feet of 20mm LED signage. The project also included new shot clocks, game clocks and fixed digit scoreboards on the arena’s center-hung display. 

 

As was the case with Rec Hall, ANC had to navigate carefully within the Byrce Jordan Center, undertaking the project without the use of a crane. Using ladders and scaffolding, ANC installed the new signage system which would lead the way for a renergized arena.   

 

Every morning at 7:00 am at the Bryce Jordan Center, ANC project managers would walk through a job box discussion which included a rundown of that day's plans. Safety issues and questions were addressed each day during these discussions. This procedure is standard for all of ANC’s projects, but especially important when dealing with large scaffolding structures.

 

ANC's effective planning and organization allowed the company to complete all three projects on schedule. The University and ANC still enjoy a partnership today as the company continues to provide graphics and operational staff for all live events at the three venues.