Coming to Bristol Motor Speedway in Spring 2016: Colossus

World’s Largest Outdoor, Center-Hung Video Display Will Revolutionize Guest Experience Through World-Class Resolution And Sound

Shown is a concept depicting Bristol Motor Speedway’s new Colossus video display. Featuring four custom-built screens each measuring 30 feet tall by 63 feet wide, Colossus will be the world’s largest outdoor, center-hung video display. (Photo: Business Wire)

BRISTOL, Tenn.--()--Welcome to a brighter, bolder Bristol, baby.

The Last Great Colosseum will soon be the home of the world’s largest outdoor, permanent, center-hung digital display, officials announced Wednesday. The display, named Colossus, will plunge fans into the color, roar and rumble of events through four high-resolution screens and a thunderous sound system, making the Bristol experience more immersive than ever before.

“Combine all the energy and excitement of Bristol with the ultimate home theater system, and you’ve got Colossus,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). “The size, resolution, and sound of this display will draw our guests into every bit of action on the track and in the infield.”

Each of Colossus’ four custom-built screens is approximately 30 feet tall by 63 feet wide. In total, the system hosts nearly 54 million LEDs and 18 million pixels. At 6mm pitch, the pixels are grouped tighter than the large-scale outdoor displays in Times Square. The result: a glimmering visual experience capable of offering 281 trillion different color combinations, and one that’s 23 times brighter and 25 percent sharper than the typical home HD TV.

The display will hang from a halo-shaped truss and features an additional circular LED display beneath the screens which measures nearly six feet in height. Between the screens and the LED ring, that’s more than 8,500 square feet of high-resolution, active viewing area.

Colossus also boasts a state-of-the-art, 540,000-watt audio system powering 380 3-way loudspeakers and 48 stadium subwoofers, enough to make any rock star squirm with envy. By contrast, the current system hosts 2,400 watts of power, with only 10 2-way loudspeakers and 8 subwoofers.

The scale and quality of the project draws on the technology solutions expertise of partners such as Panasonic, a company known for creating large displays in numerous iconic sports venues across the U.S., including other Speedway Motorsports, Inc., (SMI) tracks like Charlotte and Texas Motor Speedways.

“Panasonic is honored to be chosen by Bristol Motor Speedway as their technology partner for a project that so dramatically transforms the fan experience,” said Douglas Moss, senior vice president, Marketing and Sales, president of Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company. “We worked closely with Bristol to recommend a unique, high-end technology solution that we believe is a true game-changer. Colossus lives up to its name in every respect, creating a completely immersive fan experience with its sheer size, unparalleled resolution and imaging crispness. Panasonic has a proud relationship with Speedway Motorsports, Inc., delivering customized technology solutions to SMI-owned and operated member race tracks, a legacy that continues to grow and now includes Bristol as the latest high-profile success story.”

Once the build begins in November, the track’s existing pylon and screen frame will be removed, clearing the infield for next year’s NASCAR events and the Battle at Bristol, college football’s biggest-ever game. Colossus will rise via four massive support towers ranging in height from 190-220 feet and weighing in at approximately 437 tons. These will be positioned outside the bowl, and the display will then be suspended over the infield by miles of cabling, the largest of which exceeds the diameter of the vertical cables supporting the Golden Gate Bridge.

Rentenbach Constructors of Knoxville, Tenn. is taking on the build of the structure. “It’s a real thrill for Rentenbach to be back at BMS to help install this exciting piece of technology,” said Don Freeman, chairman, Rentenbach Constructors, a Christman Company. “Construction of the Speedway continues to be a special point of pride for everyone at our company, and the chance to do more than be on the sidelines cheering at the upcoming Battle at Bristol will make this once-in-a-lifetime game day even more special.”

According to Caldwell, Colossus will be ready to dazzle guests at the Spring 2016 NASCAR race. Throughout the year, BMS will demonstrate one of Colossus’ additional design elements: the ability to transfer screens around the facility for events like the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in June and the track’s annual holiday celebration, Speedway in Lights.

“Colossus will transform the way we see, hear and experience events at Bristol, and provide additional opportunities for events here,” said Caldwell. “We’re fortunate to have entrepreneurs and owners like Bruton and Marcus Smith who care about providing fans with the best possible entertainment experience.”

Colossal Facts:

Colossus is brilliant.

  • Colossus has the highest viewing quality of any permanent outdoor stadium display in the world. It features 2880 x 1350 lines of resolution, compared to the average home HDTV screen at 1920 x 1080.
  • Colossus hosts nearly 54 million LEDs and 18 million pixels, and is capable of displaying 281 trillion different color combinations.
  • The space between pixels, known as pitch, is closer on Colossus than any other large-scale outdoor installation. At 6mm pitch, the pixels are grouped tighter than the large-scale outdoor displays in Times Square.

Colossus is big.

  • It’s the largest outdoor, center-hung screen display in the world.
  • Colossus features four LED screens. Each one is 29.5 feet tall and 62.9 feet wide, and all together, equals approximately 1,145 50-inch TV’s.
  • Each screen will be at least 20 feet closer to guests and 4.5 times larger than current screens.
  • The unit will also have a lower viewing ring measuring 5 feet 11 inches high by almost 189 feet in circumference, for an additional 961.2 total square feet of screen space.
  • Colossus weighs nearly 700 tons. This includes:
    • 437 tons of steel among the four supporting towers, or roughly the same weight as 1,748 college football goal posts.
    • 127 tons in the supporting ring, screen frame and screens. That’s more than the combined weight of every player and coach on the UT and VT football teams—for the next five years.
    • 117 tons of cabling. The largest diameter cable weighs 63 pounds per foot, and the suspension cables are larger than the vertical cables supporting the Golden Gate Bridge.
    • The main cable suspending the screens is long enough to circle the track twice.

Colossus is bold.

  • With 540,000 watts powering 380 3-way loudspeakers and 48 stadium subwoofers, Colossus’ sound system will go boom. By comparison, the former system featured 2,400 watts, 10 2-way loudspeakers and 8 subwoofers.
  • Colossus provides a listening distance of no more than 90 feet from speakers to ears, compared to a previous listening distance of 200-400 feet.
  • The quality of the system’s speakers means there will be less than 3 decibels of difference among any seat in the grandstands.
  • The sound system hosts 40 miles of cabling and fiber optics, enough for 80 track laps.
  • All of Colossus’ electrical power is certified Green for energy efficiency.

About Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company

Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company, a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, designs, installs and services large-scale Audio-Visual and Eco technology solutions for the enterprise market. Panasonic Enterprise Solutions serves customers across a wide range of industries with customized applications using cutting-edge technologies, experience in managing large-scale, complex corporate projects and dedicated onsite support services. The Audio-Visual Solutions team is an industry leader in high-end digital display solutions, having installed some of the largest high-definition LED video boards in the world at well-known sports and entertainment venues, including Churchill Downs, Texas Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Eco Solutions provides expertise in end-to-end solar energy projects and delivers technological and financial solutions to the expanding commercial and industrial renewable energy markets. Learn more about Panasonic at us.panasonic.com/news.

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About Rentenbach Constructors Incorporated, a Christman Company

Rentenbach was founded in Knoxville in 1946 by T.J. Rentenbach following supervision of much of the war-time construction of the City of Oak Ridge, TN, as well as the majority of the manufacturing facilities housing the “Manhattan Project” for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Other Rentenbach-constructed landmarks include the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) towers and iconic Sunsphere gracing the Knoxville skyline. In 2013, Rentenbach merged with The Christman Company, a century-old, nationally-recognized construction firm based in Michigan, for strategic growth and enhancement of southeast U.S. capabilities and services. The resulting employee-owned company is ranked at #111 on the Engineering News-Record ENR 400 list of top contractors nationally. With a range of services including construction management, general contracting, design/build, real estate development, facilities analysis and planning, and self-performed skilled trades specializing in industrial concrete, the company is currently managing over $2 billion of projects in several key market sectors including historic preservation and adaptive reuse, healthcare, education (university and K12), office, science and technology, power generation, and industrial. 280 construction management professionals and 230 skilled crafts employees work from 10 offices located in Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN; Augusta, GA; Reston, VA; and throughout MI. Learn more at www.christmanco.com.

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About Bristol Motor Speedway

Nestled in the mountains of northeast Tennessee near the Virginia state line, Bristol Motor Speedway is a 0.533-mile concrete oval race track with 28-degree corner banking, 650-feet straightaways and a 40-foot wide racing surface. Renowned as “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” the short track features two races each year from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series, one Monster Truck event and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR K&N Pro Series-East race. With a crowd capacity in excess of 150,000, the facility is expected to set a new NCAA college football attendance record on Sept. 10, 2016 when the racetrack transforms into a football stadium and plays host to border rivals, the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech. The speedway property is also home to Bristol Dragway. The historic drag strip celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, headlines with the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals and operates more than 70 event days each season. In 2014, the Bristol Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities, a 501©(3) nonprofit organization, awarded a record-breaking $749,000 to regional children’s charities bringing their seventeen-year total to nearly $9 million in grants. In existence since 1961, Bristol Motor Speedway was purchased in 1996 by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. a publicly traded company that is a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. For more information, visit the company’s website at bristolmotorspeedway.com.

Contacts

Bristol Motor Speedway
Becky Cox, VP – Communications, 423-967-3302
bcox@bristolmotorspeedway.com
or
Panasonic
Jim Reilly, 201-392-6067
jim.reilly@us.panasonic.com
or
Stephen Feeley, 201-392-6329
stephen.feeley@ext.us.panasonic.com

Contacts

Bristol Motor Speedway
Becky Cox, VP – Communications, 423-967-3302
bcox@bristolmotorspeedway.com
or
Panasonic
Jim Reilly, 201-392-6067
jim.reilly@us.panasonic.com
or
Stephen Feeley, 201-392-6329
stephen.feeley@ext.us.panasonic.com