German Pro Basketball Club Makes Its Home Court A Giant Dynamic LED Video Floor

August 21, 2024 by Dave Haynes

Sports playing surfaces that are made of laminated glass and animated by LEDs have been demonstrated at special events all the way up to the skills challenges during the NBA’s all-star weekend, but never used as a permanent playing surface for professional leagues … until now.

Sixteen:Nine’s German content partners at invidis have a post up relating how the home arena for Munich’s team in the Basketball Bundesliga pro league will now use a glass LED surface for all of its home games. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has reviewed and signed off on the surface as a safe alternative to traditional hardwood floors, opening up a massive business opportunity for a German firm, ASB MultiSports, which makes and markets its ASB Glassfloor.

This one, at the BMW Arena, has an area of ​​580 square meters and is thought to to be the largest of its kind in the world.

In the future, reports invidis, all of FC Bayern’s home games will become a digital experience: classic logo placements will be replaced with video messages, there will be an animation show at the entrance and the floor will display the score during the games. The spectator experience will change thanks to this floor – club managing director Marko Pesic is certain of that. FC Bayern and the BMW Arena initially signed the service contract with ASB Glassfloor until 2030.

The LED glass floor from ASB Glassfloor consists of two 5 millimeter thick safety glass panes that are laminated with a safety film. Underneath is a specially made LED display on aluminum elements. These in turn are intended to give the floor uniform elasticity and absorb shocks. The surface is deeply etched with burned-in ceramic dots. This means it offers a similar level of grip to a parquet floor and at the same time protects against skin burns in the event of a fall. It is also intended to be suitable for wheelchair users. ASB Glassfloor advertises that its high-tech version is also easier on the joints than traditional hall floors.

This video shows the BMW Arena’s first temporary LED floor in action:

The floor is not just for show, but also for training purposes: The coordinated software, Glasscourt OS, can record the players’ positions and later replay their game on the floor. An AI-based tool is even supposed to give the players the best passing and defensive options during the game – of course only during the test matches. FC Bayern has already published the first photos of the start of training on the high-tech floor – but the floor does not yet light up. The authorities still have to approve it before the first league game.

But it’s not just basketball fans who will benefit from this innovation: from September, the state capital of Munich plans to use it for other events in the BMW Park, such as roller skating discos or concerts. Companies can also rent the arena and accompany their corporate presentations with floor shows.

Fan experience is now a huge part of sports events, which is why a lot of pro sports teams have ambitious projection mapping shows on playing surfaces – like ice for pro hockey – before the matches actually start. But those shows are over when the game clock starts running, with teams resorting to tactics like fan-engaging kiss cams and dance-off cams during time-outs and broadcast commercial breaks.

While I don’t think the LEDs are going to be running messages like “LET’S HEAR SOME NOISE, MUNICH!!!” as a guard takes the ball up the floor in mid-game, the dynamic aspect of this surface opens up a pile of opportunities for things like corporate sponsor logos, team branding, countdowns and on and on. I also saw a brief video that shows quick animations when the home team scores.

It may read as a bit crazy, but I could envision this being used in settings that aren’t about sports. Yes, there are other manufacturers with LED floors – even fine-pitch ones like SiliconCore’s. But dance floors and museum corridors are a different product and unlikely to have had the levels of testing and certification this has gone through to make players safe and happy.