FOX Sports commissioned a three-story broadcast center at the top of Super Bowl Boulevard for coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII. Production Resource Group (PRG) recently completed the construction of the FOX Sports’ Super Bowl Broadcast Center there. The three-story structure has been certified by the Times Square Alliance as the largest non-permanent structure every erected in Times Square. The 65′ tall, 40′ by 40′ building is a fully functional broadcast facility, completely climate-controlled, that serves as the New York City broadcast base for FOX Sports’ and other FOX Networks’ Super Bowl coverage. The week will culminate on game day when FOX Super Bowl Sunday will broadcast live from Times Square.
The facility has 8,100 square feet of usable space, boasts a high-definition broadcast studio with south and north facing 10′ by 20′ windows for iconic views of the Boulevard. It also features a mini-football field on the roof complete with stadium-style lighting and Astroturf. On the outside of the building are two 12′ x 22′ PRG Nocturne LED video screens and the west wall is covered with a 30′ by 20′ PRG Nocturne LED screen located right next to Cleatus, FOX Sports animated robot that stands 16′ tall and weighs 1,500lbs.
PRG’s scope of work included all of the coordination of the onsite construction and project management; providing engineering services; onsite systems integration; scenic fabrication; lighting, video, and audio infrastructure and integration packages.
PRG had trucks scheduled and positioned so that construction could begin in Times Square at 12:01am on Friday 1/17/14. Working in shifts, PRG had 15 site supervisors and five project managers working to oversee the 60-man strong team that built the broadcast facility in Times Square. Construction continued during the snowstorm that dropped 12″ of snow on the city. After 27 semi-truck deliveries and seven days of construction, the broadcast studio was turned over to FOX Sports – two days ahead of schedule.
The entire structure was test-built in the PRG New Windsor, NY facility to ensure the smooth onsite construction and that all contingencies were accounted for ahead of time. Anticipating extreme conditions, PRG developed innovative methods for construction. For instance, to make it easier for crews working in heavy clothing and gloves, PRG designed the structure to be easily inter-lockable without the need for many of the smaller tools used in construction.
To keep the project green, PRG used heat pumps to provide heating for the facility. By using four five-ton heat pumps with an electric back up, the studio is comfortably heated for the Fox broadcast team to work in sub-zero temperatures during Super Bowl week.