The Budweiser Events Center, a multi-purpose arena located within The Ranch Events Complex in Loveland, CO, hosts some of the community’s most exciting events. The venue is primarily known for being home to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles hockey team, but also presents rodeos, monster truck shows, arena motocross, concerts, and state basketball games. To provide quality video for its broadcasts, along with game film for the Colorado Eagles to review, the events center turns to JVC Professional Video KY-PZ100 PTZ cameras.
Like many other institutions during the pandemic, the Budweiser Events Center had to find new ways to produce content. The arena was no longer able to present anthems or other special ceremonies from the ice, which led them to create a production space with a camera deck out of what was previously a utility area for spotlights. Needing to produce content at a further distance than ever before, the Budweiser Events Center team required a better PTZ with broadcast-quality video. Building off the Eagles previous experience using JVC GY-HM850 cameras for game film, the production team knew they could once again entrust the brand to do the job.
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“We didn’t have a camera that could produce quality footage all the way from the rafters, so we decided to mount a JVC KY-PZ100 PTZ up there, since the team had such a good experience with the brand,” said Dillon Dannettell, technical services manager at the Budweiser Events Center. “We were so impressed with that camera, we decided to replace all our old PTZs throughout the arena.”
In addition to the JVC PTZ camera that sits up in the rafters, several other KY-PZ100s are deployed in various capacities throughout the venue, which are all connected to a JVC RM-LP100 remote camera controller. Two are used as coach cams for the team, another is for game film and one additional camera is mounted at center ice. On the production side, there are five more KY-PZ100s located in various positions around the arena to catch essential game play. This includes on the nets, under the scoreboard, and one to cover the bench. For additional wide and tight game shots, the Budweiser Events Center also utilizes four GY-HM850 cameras.
“The JVC PTZ system allows us to have all our camera shots saved as presets, in addition to storing multiple positions in a preset group, which is really beneficial for the range of events we deploy in the space,” added Dannettell. “We have position groups set up for specific events. So, when we have basketball, rodeos, or other events, we don’t have to override the previous job―we can recall the different presets. For example, position group one is hockey, group two is basketball, group three is rodeo, and so on.”
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Dannettell added that another standout feature for his team is the RM-LP100 remote camera controller itself. “As the engineer, I’m in charge of most of the games,” he continued. “If everything is going well, I’m able to watch the production and will use the controller to do game follow. It’s generally a wider shot and being able to follow the action with precision is great. The picture quality we get from the JVC cameras is really good and set up is easy since the cameras can operate over IP.”
Using the JVC cameras, the Budweiser Events Center has been able to produce quality broadcasts for AHL’s streaming platform, AHLTV, as well as its own board shows. In addition, the arena has previously broadcasted to ESPNU for NCAA Regional D1 Hockey, and they plan to utilize JVC for these broadcasts in the future as well.
