It was a year ago next month when JD Systems’ Jak Darakjati described Hazlet, New Jersey sports bar Park East to Sound & Communications magazine: “It doesn’t matter what kind of fan you are, you can see your game.”
This “any game from any seat” philosophy the owners touted resulted in a total of 80 plasma and LED screens installed across the venue, and contributed to Park East quickly becoming a New Jersey hot spot. Expect the venue to be packed this September 8, when the NFL season officially begins with the Saints v. Packers game. (Catch it on DirecTV with the NFL Sunday Ticket package, or hit your favorite sports bar.) The real party will start this weekend as the NFL season gets into full swing.
As the design for Park East evolved even as we were pulling wires last year around this time, we kept adding more monitors, until we eventually had to expand the Knox Chameleon video matrix. (Good thing those boxes are field-expandable, even though it’s not an easy task while the bar is open for business.)
And that still wasn’t enough for Demitri and Kosta Rexinus. Just before this year’s opening day, we put in another 10 LED screens around the bar area. There were a few spots of bare wall and we all wanted to make sure everyone really could see any game from any seat.
We also added a digital signage display near the entrance, powered by a Tightrope Media digital signage display server with custom content created by our in-house designers. The owners use it to promote drink specials, share what’s going on in the venue, and create the atmosphere they want from the second customers step in the door.
Expect most screens to be tuned to the Packers v. Saints on Thursday the 8th, and come out and enjoy the action with a great Jersey crowd that knows how to party, pour drinks, make sushi… and give their customers the best audio video experience in town.
It will really get crazy this Sunday when you can see any game in the NFL across close to 100 different screens. There’s no doubt football season is here — come out and celebrate with us!