Venue News & Notes: Heat To Deploy Hot New Arena Display

To spice up the exterior of the American Airlines Arena, the Miami Heat is deploying the hottest new outdoor-media-system technology. A clear-mesh LED system that will be draped across the exterior of the arena, Mediamesh can display both still and moving text, as well as full-color video and graphics. The 3,400-square-foot stainless-steel–mesh grid will be installed over 12 arena windowpanes, but, because the system is 70% transparent, the LED won’t block views from inside or outside the facility.

The latest technology delivering live and dynamic billboard advertising will drape the exterior of the American Airlines Arena this spring when the Miami Heat becomes the first U.S. sports franchise to tap into the next generation of outdoor media systems designed to drive ad revenue. The product, called Mediamesh, essentially is a large, clear-mesh LED system that will be attached to the front of the arena to serve as its marquee. Made by a Germany-based GKD, the flexible, transparent-mesh element can display both still and moving text and full-color video and graphics while hanging permanently on the outside walls of arenas and stadiums…

…Just five months after the Beijing Olympics, the Bird’s Nest is a cavernous museum searching for a new purpose. The iconic National Stadium drew acclaim for its daring design, an engineering marvel that borders on sculpture. Now it draws about 10,000 tourists a day — mostly Chinese — who pay 50 yuan (about $7) to walk on the stadium floor, then climb through the expensive seats to a souvenir shop hawking pricey mementos recalling Zhang Yimou’s dazzling opening ceremony or the three world records set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt…

…A spokeswoman for the San Francisco 49ers said this week that the team has no immediate plans to share a new stadium with the Oakland Raiders, although she would not rule out the possibility. Team spokeswoman Lisa Lang made the comments in response to a media report that the 49ers’ plans to build a 68,000-seat stadium in Santa Clara, CA, is in trouble because of the worsening economy. Lang insisted that the project is moving forward, although she acknowledged that plans to break ground in 2010 and open the stadium by 2012 may have to be adjusted…

…Next week, a handful of architectural-design firms will present their ideas for the new Boston Red Sox spring-training facility in Lee County, FL. Not everyone is crazy about the project, partly because of the unknowns, such as cost, location, and financing details. The new facility will be modeled after Fenway Park, with an approximately 10,000-seat stadium and other amenities, such as retail space. Other possible facilities include a football stadium and aquatics center.