Behind the Screens with the Dallas Stars: Method Behind the Madness
Spontaneity and a feel for the moment has been a significant part of how the Dallas Stars entertainment team has made its name around the National Hockey League. While this reputation is well earned, there is a formulaic method to their strategy that begins far before puck drop.
Twenty-four hours ahead of game time, the group of content creators meet at the organization’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas to put together roughly 80-85 percent of the upcoming event’s plan.
“Everything’s got to be ready by five o’clock the day ahead of time. I enjoy the necessity of being that far ahead,” Senior Director of Brand Presentation Jason Danby said.
Preparing for each specific opponent is a key part of the success of each game’s entertainment value. Danby thinks of it as building an arsenal of content that he can use on a moment’s notice during the 20 percent of the show that is left to interpretation.
On game day, the team runs through pre-production to make sure everything is in working order. Even with the previous day’s preparation, this process is nerving. Utilizing software and hardware on a scale of that size poses challenges, and the stakes could not be higher.
“If we’re not prepared for a game day by about 2 p.m. on that game day, then at some point it’s too late to study for the final,” Danby suggested.
Ultimately it is impossible to know which pieces of content will be appropriate for a given point in a game. This is why flexibility is built into the plan. However, even if it does not seem like it, there is in fact a very structured fan behind the madness that is a Dallas Stars game.
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