LED Media solutions of Barco break through in European sports market
Orders reach € 10 million level over last 3 months
Las Vegas, December 12, 2003. Barco is proud to announce that over the past three months it has received orders for its LED sport solution from five stadiums across Europe. The five installations, which are at sports complexes in the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Ukraine respectively, have a combined value approaching 10M Euro. With these orders, Barco confirms it is strengthening its position in the media market for LED walls, by capitalizing on the growing European sports market. In this way Barco significantly increases its market-share in this competitive market.
The largest order was placed by the Hala Sazka Arena in Prague, host of the Ice Hockey World Championships 2004. The Hala Sazka Arena has already received much attention by being granted the award for “Best Executed Construction with Steel Structure” in the Czech and Slovak Republics, 2002-2003. The high-profile installation at the Hala Sazka Arena is a perfect example of Barco’s ability to adapt its display solutions to suit the client’s needs. The state-of-the-art arena will feature a centre-hung LED display of 136 square meters Barco ILite 12, as well as 310 meters Barco SLite 22 LED which will serve as fascia boarding, 245 flat screen displays that will adorn lobbies, public areas and VIP suites as well as 200 full color LED stair screens which will be used to provide additional lighting effects throughout the arena. The entire display solution is backed by Barco’s proprietary sport control software. Installation is due for completion in April 2004.
States Stephan Paridaen, President Barco Media & Entertainment: “With these and other recent project wins, we are clearly beginning to see the fruits of the strategic acquisitions we made in the international sports market last year. By acquiring Trans-Lux Sport (Utah, USA), now known as Barco Media, we have concentrated a significant amount of energy on this market, in terms of R&D as well as system development. Over eleven sports stadiums across Europe and North America, including some of the world’s biggest and most modern stadiums such as Estadio Das Antas (Porto, Portugal) and Stade De Geneve (Geneve, Switzerland), have installed Barco sport solutions during the past year, a clear indication that Barco is fast extending its reputation as reference in the visualization industry to the sports market too.”
A second high-profile installation of Barco’s LED display solution will take place at the Moscow-based Bitsa Horse Race Track. The stadium, which is currently undergoing a complete renovation, will be reopened featuring three brand-new, state-of-the-art Barco LED displays together totalling over 100 square meters. The three Slite 14 displays will be divided across indoor and outdoor locations, with a 25 square meter display used indoor and 25 square meter and 50 square meter displays used at outdoor locations in and around the stadium.
The remaining three orders are for installations at the Furth Stadium in Furth Germany (28 square meters Slite 14 outdoor LED), the multi-purpose Odessa stadium in Odessa, Ukraine (24 square meters ILite 12 indoor LED) and the Leiria Stadium in Leiria, Portugal (106 square meters Slite 14 outdoor LED).
"We pride ourselves on the system integrity of our sports display solutions,” says Barco Media Division Manager, Nico Vernieuwe, adding: “Whether our clients need a simple fascia-board solution or a full-fledged indoor and outdoor display solution, Barco provides them with the products, software control and support needed to turn their facility into a total entertainment experience.”
Barco’s sports solutions are found in stadiums across the globe. Using the highest quality standards, the various components of Barco’s sport solution adhere to the strictest imaging standards. Its indoor (ILite 3, 6, 8 and 10mm) and outdoor (DLite 7 and 10mm and SLite 10, 14 and 22mm) LED display ranges offer the perfect display medium for game footage, instant replays and sponsor advertising, while its fascia and perimeter boards offer fully interactive, controllable display solutions that allow the switching from text to statics to advertising or video within a second. Backed by Barco’s proprietary control software, each stadium’s unique display solution can be easily managed at the touch of a button.
For more information on Barco’s products, please visit www.barco.com .
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, is active in three key areas of imaging technology. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. Barco has a network of subsidiaries, distributors and agents in almost 100 countries. Barco is quoted on Brussels/Euronext and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company.
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