At The Battery Atlanta, a new mixed-use development that Atlanta Braves fans walk through as they head into SunTrust Park, people now can’t miss the new 7-foot tall curved LED display encompassing a giant metal baseball. It’s one of the many unique features within the newly-opened ballpark, which has technology for people of all ages.
NanoLumens, creator of the Nixel Series LED visual piece of art, worked closely with Braves President of Business Derek Schiller and his staff to design a display that “would stand out from every direction, for every visitor and would make a bold statement.”
“At NanoLumens we like to say that we make our clients’ dreams into reality,” Dan Rossborough, NanoLumens Director of Strategic Projects said in a statement, “and in this case, we’re confident no other display manufacturer could have delivered this design. The 7’ by 69’ display weighs just under 5,000 pounds, and that’s only possible because of NanoLumens’ patented technologies that are thinner and lighter than others, and have fewer moving parts. Because it uses less power and produces very little heat, cooling fans aren’t required.”
The 360-degree LED baseball display can turn into four separate screens and broadcast live video via a 16:9 ratio feed. Light sensors enable the piece of technology to adjust its brightness output as the ambient light changes outside as well. If the temperate in the display gets too high, an alert gets sent to the control room at the ballpark through a .5 mile long fiber optic cable.
Added Rossborough: “NanoLumens actually made the impossible, possible. What’s happening is people are saying, ‘let’s meet under the ball, grab food then go to the game.’ The leadership wanted an iconic structure that people would be attracted to and would be memorable, and that’s exactly what it has become.”
Get The Latest MLB Tech News In Your Inbox!
The LED baseball display sits 40 feet over a water foundation and because of its ability to reach 7,000 bits of brightness, is available from 100-plus yards away in every direction. The Braves content team also created a baseball graphic to form a 22-foot baseball when combined with the display and metal.
Along with NanoLumens, Overland Park, Kan.-based Dimensional Innovations, an experiential design firm, also played an integral role in manufacturing and creating the underlying metal baseball structure, which can be seen being pieced together below.
In addition, due to its location in The Battery — where about 50,000 Braves fans and visitors could pass through on game day — the NanoLumens display can highlight advertisements and corporate partners for the Braves in addition to broadcast the team’s games.
“This area is a hotspot within The Battery Atlanta,” Rossborough said in a statement.
“Right at the base of the ball, Fox has broadcast rights to host pregame and postgame shows, and the spray fountain is a popular spot for families and friends to meet.”
A timelapse video shows the display and its hundreds of small NanoLumens Nixels (LED panels) being installed to form the curved structure. Based on its design, if one LED panel no longer works, NanoLumens can replace that single Nixel and doesn’t have to remove entire sections of the display.