Texas Motor Speedway will be unveiling a new press conference set during next week’s Samsung Mobile 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend that will be unparalleled in motorsports and among the elite designs among all of sports.
Texas Motor Speedway commissioned FX Design Group, the industry leader in set design, to custom build the vibrant set that will be situated in the deadline room of the Samsung Mobile Infield Media Center.
“It is important that Texas Motor Speedway always be first, best and most creative in all aspects and how we present ourselves to the world through the media is another tool,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “There is no one else in professional sports, not to mention motorsports, that has such a set in its press room. It is a big step forward for not only ‘The Great American Speedway,’ but for auto racing as well.”
The set will feature an eight-foot, custom-built, anchor-style desk with a Samsung 40-inch LED, high-definition SMART television on the front for branding and special effects. Special drafting chairs will be used to place the press conference guests at perfect height to show off their sponsors more prominently.
Two Samsung 55-inch LED, high-definition SMART televisions will be stationed behind the desk on rolling carts that can be positioned horizontally or vertically for branding such as logos as well as video and PowerPoint presentations. HDFlow wireless technology will allow speedway staff to control content on the three television screens remotely.
An 8-foot-by-14-foot backlit duracurve wall featuring a graphic application of Getty Images photographs at Texas Motor Speedway will finish out the set. The wall features a dramatic photo of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race action past the speedway’s frontstretch grandstands and suites while the others are racing shots from NASCAR and INDYCAR.
The audio and lighting aspects also have been upgraded in the new design. All guests will use lapel microphones for optimum sound while eight state-of-the-art, low-heat Pro Color Cannon fixtures were professionally positioned to give the effect of three-point lighting.
Since 1986, FX has built an impressive and varied portfolio of network affiliate, cable and specialty set design and fabrication, including work for nationally syndicated shows as well as news sets in many of the country’s top markets. FX’s work also has been honored with multiple Emmy Awards and five Broadcast Design Association Awards.
“It was a kick to create a network quality set for Texas Motor Speedway’s media center in Dallas/Fort Worth, and to our knowledge the first one of its kind in NASCAR and in motorsports overall,” FX Design Group Creative Director Bill Brown said. “The Texas Motor Speedway desk and backdrop will rival the studio environments of networks, major cable sports outlets and local stations across the country and is unparalleled in their industry and among the premier in sports overall.”
The stage area also will have a European-style metal lectern from villa-proctrl that is being custom built. The Dutch company is providing a temporary modern-style alternative until it is completed.
A sneak preview of the set design will come Sunday when Gossage will utilize it for the speedway’s Satellite Media Tour with local and regional television affiliates to preview the upcoming Samsung Mobile 500 race week.
TMS
