Dri-Design Perforated Panels with custom painting created the trademark lion symbol for the Orlando City Soccer Club at its new stadium, the Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, FL. It was for many reasons that the perforated panels were the ideal choice for the scoreboard that displays the Lion Nation Pride.
Brad Zeeff, president of Dri-Design, explains: “The perforations are functional because they allow the panel to provide needed airflow. By adding a custom painted logo, the panels’ functionality transforms into an art form. The custom image can be created from nearly any image so there is no limit to the possibilities when working with Dri-Design’s custom panels.”
Eastern Corp., Norcross, GA, installed 5,037 square feet of 0.080-inch aluminum Dri-Design panels. The perforated panels were painted City Purple and Overjoy. Dri-Design custom painted panels use advanced computer-based manufacturing to create complex multi-color images.
Nancy Mullins, project manager with Eastern Corp., says: “The perforated panels let the wind go through on the scoreboard, and these panels were used to create the shape of the logo in a purple and gold. This came out very cool. The logo on the scoreboard is the trademark feature in this stadium.”
Opening for the 2017 season, the 290,000-square-foot stadium was designed by Kansas City, MO-based Populous. The stadium seats 25,500 and has a safe standing section; this is the first stadium with this concept in North America. Located in downtown Orlando, the stadium is home to Major League Soccer’s Orlando City Soccer Club and Orlando Pride National Women’s Soccer League team. The stadium features an expansive fan plaza, balcony-style bar, single deck safe-standing supporter section, shops and restaurants. The fans are shaded by aluminum canopies, which also reflect the crowd’s cheers back to the pitch to kick up the feel of a soccer match.
“Our new facility truly reflects the energy and intensity of the growing soccer market here in the United States,” says Orlando City Soccer Club CEO Alex Leitao. “From the start, Populous understood we were designing for soccer first, everything else came second. As a result, we’re extremely proud of the new home they have helped us create for the Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride.”