The Montreal Canadiens wanted to give fans an experience they would never forget, as they returned to the Bell Centre for the first time in over a year, having reached their first finals since ‘93. PixMob were called on by the team to design a shared experience for the 3,500 fans in attendance and the millions cheering on from home — making a limited capacity arena feel full and helping unite a fanbase that had been starved of live hockey since March 2020.
“We’ve illuminated the world’s biggest sporting events and some of the highest-grossing musical tours of all time, but working with our hometown Canadiens at the Stanley Cup Finals is extremely special to us,” said PixMob President, Jean-Olivier Dalphond.
Fresh from their second consecutive Super Bowl Halftime Show in February, the PixMob team have been illuminating 5,000 empty seats with Nova Pixels at the Bell Centre to help fill the arena in lieu of a full house.
“We have empty seats which could have been a negative, but PixMob is turning that into an advantage. We’re glad to work together on this,” added Montreal Canadiens VP Marketing, Jon Trzcienski
Having kicked off at Game 3 of the semifinals series against the Vegas Golden Knights, the PixMob in-game spectaculars will continue to run through the entire Stanley Cup Finals, which include a variety of high-energy effects for key moments such as the game opening, national anthems, and goal celebrations.
The Nova pixel is just the latest in a long line of innovations from PixMob that empower production managers to create unforgettable moments of shared human connection. Even though live events had been mostly dormant the past year due to COVID-19, the PixMob team continued to innovate to be prepared for the return of events, creating new products such as the Nova. With the brightness of ten PixMob wristbands, the Nova can illuminate empty seats and displays even better on a live broadcast.
Just as the Nova was developed, live events were coming back and production teams were looking to put on something extra special for the return. For the Montreal Canadiens, there was no better time than their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in over 30 years.
Having less than 30 hours before Game 3 of the Semi-Finals to execute, PixMob had to act fast to get everything ready. The team arrived at the Bell Centre the morning of the game to install the 5,000 Novas, which easily strapped on to empty seats. Given carte blanche for the event, PixMob’s show operator created a variety of high-energy effects for key moments such as the game opening, national anthems, and goal celebrations, all of which synced with the existing game production.
After such a difficult year for Montrealers, it’s wonderfully cathartic to see people come together and have something to cheer about. PixMob has been particularly honoured to be a part of this experience, especially considering it is the first time that the company has worked with their hometown team.