design:retail - March 2018 - 49

049

← Everyone gets
to feel like a
winner at the
Super Bowl
Celebration, an
AR experience
that puts guests
on the field
at the NFL's
biggest party.

visitors' vertical jumps and tackling strengths in
the Equipment Room, there is pretty much something for everybody.
"The NFL was conscious of not just doing a Hall
of Fame," Durmick explains. "They wanted the
general notion of entering as a fan, then moving
through the cinema and seeing the sport at close
angles, seeing and hearing and touching like a player on the second and third levels, and then getting to
engage in a championship experience like a player,
so that people feel like they're leaving as a player."
The showstopper at the NFL Experience is The
Stadium, the 4-D theater that features a 20-minute
2-D movie produced by NFL Films with physical
elements like wind, rain and pounding vibrations
added by Cirque du Soleil to really bring it to life.
Martinez + Johnson Architecture, which is
known for its construction of performing arts
centers, was responsible for designing the theater
itself. "When we arrived, there were four floors and
a hole in one of the floors, which the landlord had
put in for us," describes Stewart Jones, managing
principal at the firm's New York office. "We were
fascinated with the project though, because it was
incredible to watch the 4-D experience unfold with
the amount of technology needed."
In the Game Plan, visitors have a chance to virtually meet with Coach John Gruden to learn a real NFL
play before engaging in an immersive huddle to discuss the play. They then move on to the Quarterback
Challenge, where they get to pass with their favorite
quarterback using the play. The excitement culminates in the Super Bowl Celebration, an augmented

reality experience of a confetti shower and Gatorade
dunk before heading to the Champions Stage to
virtually receive the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Beyond the activities, Nathan Amondson, art
director at Thinkwell, says the NFL wanted to emphasize the authenticity of the space. "Through the use of
finishes, they wanted it to have some of the lived-in
feeling that you'd get in an actual stadium," he says.
"They also wanted to make sure all of the vocab and
the graphics were perfect, even in places like the locker rooms, so that you'd really feel like you were part of
the life that a normal fan would not [be]."
Because of this, polished concrete, rubberized
flooring and turf abound. It is also not unusual to
see old and new stadium finishes like board-formed
concrete, cinderblock and brushed aluminum
throughout different areas of the space.
Les Hiscoe, CEO of Shawmut, says although
his firm has previously worked in Times Square,
the magnitude and complexity of the NFL
Experience presented some unique logistical challenges, especially when it came to communication
and coordination among so many vendors and
subcontractors. "On a more technical level, the NFL
Experience introduced several custom elements that
have never been designed or installed before, which
means there was no roadmap for the infrastructure
needed to support these elements either," he notes.
Despite this, the overall outcome is one that is
truly unique, which is no small feat for any retailer
or attraction trying to stand out in Times Square.
Anyone can pop in for a rotating selection of local stadium delicacies and to watch the game or

shop the latest apparel on the second floor without
buying a ticket. As the NFL strives to broaden its
appeal, it looks like the NFL Experience might be a
winning touchdown.

PROJECT FILE
NFL Experience
Times Square
New York
RETAILER

SURFACING

NFL

Wilsonart LLC

CONTRACT DESIGN FIRM

SIGNAGE & GRAPHICS

Thinkwell Group

MTWTF, Thinkwell Group
(graphic design), Dimensional
Communications Inc.

ARCHITECT

Martinez + Johnson
Architecture

WALLCOVERINGS

HBF Textiles

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

FABRIC

Shawmut Design and
Construction

Rose Brand
CEILING SYSTEMS

COSULTANTS/ENGINEERS

Armstrong Ceiling Solutions

BurroHappold Engineering,
FisherDachs Associates,
Boyce Nemec Designs,
Acoustic Distinctions,
Cerami & Associates

GLASS

LIGHTING

TECHNOLOGY

V2 Lighting Group, USAI
Lighting, ETC, Coronet,
Sistemalux, Lucifer Lighting
Co., XAL, Barn Light Electric
FLOORING

Armstrong Flooring Inc., Shaw
Industries Group Inc., Mohawk
Industries, Mats Inc., Daltile

Clifton Architectural Glass
& Metal
SOUND SYSTEMS

Technomedia
Helios Interactive, Bolder
Games, M1
Information in the project file
is provided by the retailer
and/or design firm.
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