When you host the largest attended college football game in the country, appropriately titled Battle at Bristol, you dont need to have a tower in the middle of the field.   This was just the situation when Bristol Motor Speedway was the venue for the University of Tennessee versus Virginia Tech University.  The speedway was set up for automobile racing and had an existing race tower in the infield of the coliseum that was used for updating fans with driver positions throughout races. This tower had to be removed so they could add the football field for the huge event.

Seeing an opportunity to enhance the guest experience and eliminate the tower issue in the future, Bristol Motor Speedway reached out to Raker Rhodes Engineering to design the worlds largest outdoor, center hung, four sided video screen.  Weighing in at approximately 700 tons, Colossus, as the structure is affectionately named, consists of a halo of 4 steel tubing with support structures and walkways suspended over the infield, along with four steel towers with massive cabling and anchors which can be found outside of the speedway.  Four LED screens measuring 68 feet wide by 30 feet tall are attached to the halo ring and offer clear, unobstructed views of the screens for all 160,000 seats.

Being outdoors and exposed to the elements, designers knew the structure would have to withstand varying weather conditions including heavy rain, direct sunlight, snow and sleet.  Also, due to the infield section of the structure being suspended and not easily accessible for maintenance, the protection system must be as maintenance free as possible.  Speedway management has used hot-dipped galvanizing in the past and knows the benefits of galvanized steel including its durability to withstand adverse weather conditions and provide virtually maintenance free service life for years to come.  All exposed steel was hot dipped galvanized, blending Colossus into the surrounding galvanized steel of the speedway.

The timeline to complete this project was extremely aggressive because of the busy schedule of events going on at Bristol Motor Speedway. The galvanizer was relied upon heavily to provide quick turnaround times.  Due to the varying sizes of material and complexity of the components required, multiple facilities were required to complete the galvanizing of the structure.

Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway shared his excitement for the giant new screen at a special reveal ceremony.  Combine all the energy and excitement of Bristol with the ultimate home theater system and youve got Colossus.  The size, resolution and sound of this display will draw guests into every bit of action on the track and in the infield.