The Atlanta Braves have big plans for 2025. Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, got a technological facelift ahead of the new season, which will include the highly anticipated MLB All-Star Game this month.
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Truist Park opened in April 2017, then under the name SunTrust Park. One could argue it set a new standard in the MLB ballpark experience, with a technologically advanced stadium and The Battery Atlanta—a destination spot surrounding the park with restaurants, shops, and an outdoor viewing area for even more fans to engage with the team. So, it may be surprising that just a few years later, the Braves are already upgrading the stadium.
As Scott Waid, SVP of technology services, Atlanta Braves, pointed out, the Braves have always prided themselves on creating the best guest experience through innovation and technology. "I don't think we're ever done on that journey," Waid said. "Particularly to the LED boards. We've both increased the number of LED displays in Truist Park but also replaced and refreshed some that were put in back in 2017. Now, we were looking to expand the number of boards."
Going Yard with SNA Displays
Waid explained the process started by talking with industry experts WJHW, which has outfitted SoFi Stadium, FedexForm, Allianz Field, and other sports venues with Pro AV overhauls. It was WJHW that introduced Waid and his team to SNA Displays, which wound up being awarded the display installation, going with its signature EMPIRE Exterior line of LED display technology.
"Getting the right partner is critical to success and understanding what those key success metrics are for your organization,” Waid explained. “[SNA Displays] shares our passion for excellence, they share our passion for innovation, they share our passion for creating the best guest experience. For example, during the installation process, [SNA Displays] would be ahead of me going, ‘That just doesn't look right. We need to fix that.’
"The other piece," Waid continued, "is don't underestimate the value of strong project and program management. As I came to find out afterwards, talking with WJHW, most stadiums, when they swap out their LED boards, take 18 to 24 months. We had 11 to 12 months.”
Waid said SNA Displays blew his team away with its plan to deliver on the scope and scale of the ask, and having the entire process under its purview—especially when supply chain issues can still creep up—was a big advantage as well. According to Mitch Leathers, VP of marketing and communications, SNA Displays, the team was able to get the job done in a short timeline by Opening Day because they were ready for the pitch.
The SNA Displays team was able to complete the project in roughly 24 weeks from being awarded the project to the start of the season in April. "We began preliminary design and engineering prior to award to show our understanding of the timeline significance and general commitment to the project," Leathers explained. "Post-award, all the extensive engineering, purchasing processes, logistics, and planning began immediately and stayed on a priority track throughout the fabrication and delivery phases."
Put Me In, Coach
It's not simply a shiny, new center field videoboard. The Braves have a Master Planning Project—a plan that aims to continue to elevate the ballpark to provide new and enhanced experiences for Braves fans—that brings LED power throughout the stadium in monster displays and ribbon boards … with more to come. Waid said the plan is to have all 12 new displays installed in time for the MLB All-Star Game on July 15.
The standout display is the new 65x121-foot center field BravesVision videoboard, a 10mm pixel pitch display that has more than double the number of pixels of its predecessor. Per the SNA Displays team, it was custom engineered to provide improved operational service and maintenance access for the AV support team.
SNA Displays was able to overcome several challenges, including color matching with the original fixtures of the stadium. David Kile, senior director of solutions, SNA Displays, said a critical process in the testing and commissioning of new LED display surfaces is color correction and matching, which SNA Displays adjusted to within 0.1% of the color coordinate.
"For each of the Truist Park assets, once data and power connections were complete, on-site technicians analyzed the appearance of the newly installed EMPIRE Exterior system and performed color corrections using our V3 Pro software with custom color tables," Kile explained. "These adjustments are initially performed at the panel and pixel level at our factory and are part of a rigorous, pre-planned testing process designed by our project and operations teams. Once installed at the stadium, each display was again calibrated to match the existing displays by performing measurements using a certified colorimeter and entering that data into the V3 Pro Suite."
Obviously, getting the right pixel pitch is always important. "Pixel pitch discussions for these kinds of high-profile venues involve the proximity of the ideal viewer, but also the appearance of the boards both in person and on TV," Leathers said. "The Braves selected just the right mix of options, and it shows in both the clarity of the boards and the seamlessness of the fan experience."
There was also a 3x411-foot LED ribbon along the 400 level on the first-base side and a longer 479-foot-long ribbon on the third-base side. New displays were also added to the new Outfield Market, Blue Moon Beer Garden, and the brand-new, family friendly Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Park. In The Battery Atlanta, new displays were added to the Good Game venue, an incoming Shake Shack, and on the Truist Tower Parking Garage. If Matt Olson gets a hit, fans are going to see it whether they are inside the stadium, on the way in, or eating burgers outside.
"We've added a couple of new areas," Waid added. "The centerpiece of our brand-new Outfield Market is a big LED display that connects the guests that are in there with the game while they're enjoying themselves eating food and socializing with their friends."
Collaborating on Content
As Waid noted, it was a very active installation. Truist Park doesn't simply host 81 home baseball games (and potentially playoff games) a year. There are concerts, a visit from the Savannah Bananas, and this year's MLB All-Star Game and the extra events that come with it. So, while SNA Displays was adding new displays to completely new areas of the park, and while there were cranes and other equipment constantly on the move, there was a control room renovation as well.
"As we got deeper into it, we replaced our control room platform as well, or at least the vast majority of it," Waid said. "That was an added complexity in the coordination of all of that." Waid said SNA Displays helped transform 80-90% of the control room, one that includes Ross Video XPression graphics and a Grass Valley switcher. While the BravesVision production team refreshes its show each season, even old content (like corporate logos) that is sometimes reused had to be redone with the new LED display dimensions.
The Atlanta Braves fanbase has high expectations, and while that is primarily on the field, the move to the new stadium also heightened those expectations surrounding the field as well. And that's why the SNA Displays partnership continues to fit like a batting glove.
"The Atlanta Braves are obviously a world-class organization that knows how to deliver an enjoyable experience to their fans," Leathers said. "Our team and the Braves' front office quickly developed a good working relationship which led to a smooth workflow and efficient project overall."
"For everybody that embarks on a project like this, don't lose sight of what you're trying to accomplish and have fun along the way," Waid concluded. "The payoff is tremendous. Don't lose sight of that because there's always budgets, there's always deadlines, there's always milestones, there's always technology problems. But at the end of the day, I think it's a game changer for us."
