Digital signage for sports venues puts screens in the canteen, clubhouse, concourse and hallways to show menus, sponsors, schedules and results. Stadium digital signage groups screens by zone, so a gate, a suite and a canteen each get their own content. Screenbird manages all of it from one dashboard, from EUR 12 per screen per month billed annually.
What the screens do
A sports venue has several audiences in one building: members, players, visitors and sponsors' guests. Each group passes different screens, so the useful question is where each screen sits and who looks at it.
Canteen and hospitality: menus and prices
A canteen menu board changes with the season, the match and the stock. A digital menu is edited once and shows on every screen it is assigned to, which is faster than reprinting. Screenbird's guide to a digital menu board covers the layout.
Sponsors: a loop that runs on a plan
Sponsor screens work on a rotation. Each sponsor's slide appears for a set number of seconds in a loop, and the loop can be planned weeks ahead, for example a different rotation for a home match and for a training day. A deck in Google Slides is a common source for the loop.
Match days, schedules and results
Kickoff times, gate changes and delays are the information visitors need on the day. A spreadsheet that the club maintains is the simplest source: one person changes a row, and the screens follow. A fixture list or a table is only worth showing when it comes from a source the club maintains or has permission to use, such as its own competition administration. A screen with an outdated result does more harm than a blank one.
Clubhouse and training rosters
Inside the clubhouse, the screen shows which team trains on which pitch and at what time, changing rooms, upcoming events and club announcements. A calendar keeps this accurate, because a trainer changes the calendar and the roster on the screen follows.
How to set it up
- Map the zones. List the places for screens: entrance, canteen, clubhouse, concourse, suites. Mark which ones face members, visitors or sponsors' guests.
- Pick the sources. Choose one owner and one tool per type of content: a spreadsheet for the match schedule, a calendar for training, a slide deck for sponsors, a menu design for the canteen.
- Choose the players. Each location needs one screen and one media player, for example the Amazon Signage Stick or a Google TV Streamer. See the guide to the best media player for options.
- Group the screens by zone. Gate, suite and canteen groups let each group receive only the content it needs.
- Build the playlists. Make one playlist per group, and add planned changes in the schedule, such as a match-day loop that replaces the normal loop on Saturday.
- Add notices for short-notice changes. A notice board lets a steward post a gate change or a delay from a phone.
- Test the connection. Screenbird keeps playing stored content if the internet drops during a match. Live content such as a calendar refreshes when the connection returns.
What to show and where the data comes from
The table lists the content that sports venues commonly show and the source that keeps each type current. Anything involving results or standings needs a source the club may use.
| Source | What it shows | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets | Match-day schedule, kickoff times, canteen specials | how to display Google Sheets on a TV |
| Google Calendar | Training rosters, pitch bookings, club events | how to display Google Calendar on a TV |
| Google Slides | Sponsor rotation, club news, season campaign | show Google Slides on a TV |
| Notice board on a phone | Gate changes, delays, short-notice announcements | digital notice board |
| VALD | Ranked leaderboards from ForceDecks and NordBord tests, for clubs that use VALD | VALD integration |
| Fan photos, match highlights | Instagram feed on a TV |
Leaderboards from VALD test data
Clubs that test athletes with VALD ForceDecks or NordBord can show the results on a screen in the performance area. Screenbird's VALD integration ranks the metric a team chooses, such as a jump test, in the right direction (higher or lower is better), for a rolling window such as the last 30 days or a fixed date range. Specific players can be excluded, for example someone injured or on loan. Each VALD app shows the board of one team, and a separate app shows another squad.
How Screenbird handles this
Screenbird is built for small teams with mixed screens, which suits a club with screens of different brands in the canteen, the clubhouse and the stands. Every feature is in one plan at EUR 12 per screen per month billed annually, or EUR 15 billed monthly, excluding tax, with a 7-day free trial that requires a credit card.
- Screens are grouped by zone, gate, suite or concourse, and each group receives only its own content.
- A menu or announcement is updated once and reaches every screen it is assigned to.
- Sponsor rotations and match-day schedules are planned weeks ahead in the scheduler.
- Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Calendar, Instagram and the notice board are included.
- The VALD integration shows live ForceDecks and NordBord leaderboards, and it can run in a split-screen zone next to other content.
- Screens keep playing stored content when the internet drops mid-match.
More detail is on Screenbird's page on digital signage for sports venues.
Related guides
What is stadium digital signage?
Stadium digital signage is the use of screens across a stadium or sports venue for menus, sponsors, schedules, wayfinding and announcements. Screens are managed from one dashboard and grouped by zone, such as gate, suite or concourse.
Can a club show live scores and league tables?
A club can show results and tables when the data comes from a source it maintains or has permission to use. A spreadsheet that one person updates is the simplest source. Scraping a third-party site without permission is not advised.
How do sponsors get their screen time?
Each sponsor gets a slide in a rotation that plays for a set time per loop. Screenbird plans the rotation in the scheduler, so a match-day loop can replace the normal loop on the right day.
Can a stadium update screens quickly on match day?
Yes. A steward can send a notice from a phone, for example a gate change or a delay, and the screens in the assigned group show it.
What does the VALD integration show?
Screenbird's VALD integration shows live ForceDecks and NordBord results as ranked leaderboards, with a podium or list layout, a logo and a light or dark theme. It reads from VALD and caches results only briefly.
What happens when the internet fails during a match?
Screenbird screens keep playing stored content. The VALD leaderboard keeps showing the last loaded board through a brief connection drop and refreshes when the connection returns. Live content such as a calendar needs a connection to show anything new.
What does a small club need to start?
One screen and one media player per location. A club can start with the canteen and the clubhouse and add more zones later.
Sources: Screenbird: digital signage for sports venues · Screenbird: VALD integration · Screenbird: digital menu board guide · Screenbird: pricing