How to Engage Your Fans Like an NFL Stadium

Creating an unforgettable fan experience is paramount in modern sports. Stadiums have evolved into immersive entertainment arenas, where every visual and auditory element contributes to the atmosphere and experience.  

We’ve been helping stadiums — such as the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park implement cutting-edge venue media systems to enhance the game day experience.  

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“With the technology we have, there are things that other stadiums just can’t do.” 
— Jason Cothern, VP Broadcast Operations, SoFi Stadium 

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Here, we will break open their playbook to teach you how these stadiums use technology to take the fan experience to the next level. 

1. Keep Content Fresh with Real-Time Storytelling 

Top stadium production teams produce new graphics and video content weekly to bring in popular storylines, team achievements, and individual player performances. They weave the season’s story into every game, keeping fans and players entertained regardless of the score on the field.  

How They Do It:  

Unlike traditional systems, modern sports graphics solutions like XPression and PIERO offer real-time integration with any data feed, allowing for on-the-fly updates and dynamic graphic content that can instantly respond to in-game developments.  

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“Being able to show how fast a player is running or the separation between players — within a minute — and have it field accurate was incredible and opened up an entirely new lane of graphics we could use.” 
— Connor Clark, Production Assistant, Minnesota Vikings 

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When a player scores a touchdown or makes a crucial play, the stadium’s screens can instantly display corresponding graphics across any screen in the venue, providing fans with real-time statistics alongside celebratory animations — without added burden on operators and the creative team.

See how Ross Video brings US Bank Stadium to life in this video:

The Atlanta Falcons and The Denver Broncos’ media systems are other great examples of this, powering their new supersized screens with software and solutions from Ross. 

2. Create Immersive Gameday Experiences  

Immersive experiences build anticipation and excitement among fans. NFL teams invest in high-quality immersive audio-visual experiences that capture the essence of the team and build the hype before and during games.  

XPression Tessera powers SoFi Stadium’s impressive infinity screen, allowing them to create real-time, interactive graphic elements using live data and stats. Using DashBoard, they can broadcast content in sync across any or all of the stadium’s LED displays, lighting, and speakers at the touch of a button. These elements are triggered during important moments and announcements — and even for fireworks displays — amplifying fan energy at critical points. 

How They Do It 

The unification of production and display control systems has revolutionized stadium presentations. Unified Venue Control Systems enable a single operator to trigger events across the entire venue’s video, sound, and lighting systems with the click of a button.  

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“It’s very uncommon to see social media show up on ribbon boards in real-time…the XPression Tessera system…has given us a lot of flexibility that both teams can use to improve their show.” 
— Drew Shealy, Designer and Programmer, SoFi Stadium 

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For example, when a touchdown is scored, the video board and LED displays can instantly play vibrant animations while simultaneously triggering the lighting system and celebration music. The result is a more engaging and coordinated game-day experience for both fans and production engineers.

Watch this video to see why Ross is essential to the SoFi stadium experience:

3. Introduce Interactive Elements & Social Media Integration 

Integrating real-time interactive elements, such as in-game trivia, polls, and contests, is becoming critical to keep fans engaged throughout a game. These elements keep fans involved and help create the feeling they are part of the story on the field. 

Displaying fan social media feeds on the infinity screen and ribbons or playing fan reaction cams back into the stadium also allows fans to be part of the conversation and share their experience with a broader audience. 

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“Fans are noticing a more immersive experience with moments of exclusivity and some of the activations we can show on the videoboards and within the concourse.” 
— Matt Arvin, Manager, Gameday Production, Green Bay Packers 

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How They Do It 

XPression’s seamless integration with social media aggregators allows gameday producers to incorporate fan-generated content, adding an interactive layer to the gameday experience.  

Despite its historic status, even Lambeau Field — home of the Green Bay Packers — could do this thanks to XPression Tessera bringing their next-gen displays to life.  

Embracing the Football Stadium Experience of the Future 

NFL and college football stadiums have made serious technological investments over the last several years to enable them to implement fan engagement strategies without burdening their production teams. 

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“It is incredibly important for us to have a creative engine that allows us to activate the hardware on gameday…When we were in the design phase, it became very clear that…if we wanted to create an unforgettable experience for our fans on gameday, we had to talk to Ross.”
— Skarphedinn Hedinsson, CTO, (SoFi Stadium)

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By embracing technology, creating tailored content, developing immersive pre-game shows, introducing interactive elements, and integrating with social media, you can enhance the overall experience for your audience, making it memorable and engaging, just like an NFL football stadium. 

To learn more about how Ross Video helps create unforgettable game-day experiences for sports fans and drives efficiency in-venue production teams, explore our Sports Venue Solutions page.