Transforming Sydney’s largest indoor entertainment venue with transparent LED, continuous COB ribbon LED and a large-format lift shaft display.
Afterpay Arena, Australia's largest indoor entertainment and sporting venue, has undergone a venue-wide transformation. At the heart of the project is one of the more technically demanding LED installations undertaken in an Australian venue: three transparent LED screens, each seven metres wide and spanning a combined 84m², suspended above the Grand Foyer. Complementing this centrepiece, the venue introduced new COB ribbon P1.5 LED displays throughout the Grand Foyer and Secondary Entry, together with a large-format P2.5 LED display measuring 8.6m × 4.48m integrated into the lift shaft.
Outsource Resource was engaged to design, supply, install and commission all three LED systems, working under venue signage rebrand consultant Beyond Media and alongside our installation partner, Complex Works.
Transparent LED at this scale presents a unique challenge. The screens needed to integrate seamlessly with the building's architecture without disrupting sightlines or compromising the openness of the Grand Foyer. Suspended from a purpose-designed aluminium truss rather than mounted directly to the building, the installation demanded precise structural coordination and visual alignment to ensure the displays became part of the architecture rather than appearing as an addition.
The COB LED brought a different kind of precision challenge. Rather than a purpose-built structure, it needed to mount onto the Grand Foyer and Secondary Entry’s existing balustrade, which meant custom framing was designed and manufactured to suit, with no tolerance for error in keeping each run sitting flush and true along the line of the building.
The lift shaft LED presented another unique application. Measuring 8.6m × 4.48m, the large-format P2.5 display needed to integrate with a prominent vertical section of the venue while delivering the resolution and visual impact required for its viewing environment.
With Afterpay Arena remaining operational throughout the project, all three installations also needed to be carefully coordinated around the venue’s live events calendar.
Outsource Resource managed the design, engineering, supply, installation and commissioning of all three LED systems in collaboration with our installation partner Complex Works. The transparent LED centrepiece was suspended from a purpose-designed aluminium truss, creating a striking visual feature above the Grand Foyer. Visible through the venue's glass frontage, the displays draw visitors towards the entrance before revealing uninterrupted views through the transparent panels into the arena beyond.
For the COB Ribbon LED, Outsource Resource supplied, installed and commissioned P1.5, 1000nit displays across the Grand Foyer and Secondary Entry. The Grand Foyer run spans three sections: a 28.2m main display plus shorter runs which return to face the main staircase (3.6m) and back to the foyer (6.6m). The Secondary Entry carries two further runs, 6m on the left and 12.6m on the right. Because the displays mounted directly onto existing balustrade rather than new structure, custom framing was manufactured specifically for the job, with no tolerance for error in keeping each run true along the balustrade line.
Completing the LED installation, an 8.6m × 4.48m P2.5 LED display was integrated into the lift shaft, transforming the large vertical surface into another high-impact digital feature within the venue. All three workstreams were sequenced around the arena's live events calendar, with installation and commissioning windows built around show days.
Afterpay Arena now has a foyer centrepiece that functions as architecture as much as display, visible from outside the venue and only more striking directly in front of it. Alongside it, COB Ribbon LED signage across the Grand Foyer and Secondary Entry gives the building a consistent, dynamic way to direct fans from arrival to seat. The large-format lift shaft LED adds another prominent digital touchpoint, transforming a previously functional vertical surface into a high-impact display capable of supporting venue, event and promotional content.
Being fully digital, the LED installations provide the venue far more flexibility than static signage ever could, allowing displays to shift between wayfinding, venue, sponsor and promotional messaging as requirements change. The project stands as one of the more technically complex LED integrations completed in an Australian venue to date, bringing together a purpose-installed truss carrying suspended transparent screens, precision balustrade-mounted COB displays and a large-format P2.5 lift shaft display within a live entertainment environment.
Outsource Resource designs, supplies, installs and commissions LED displays, digital signage and integrated signage solutions across Australia. From single-site installations to complex national rollouts, we deliver technically demanding projects in partnership with clients, integrators and specialist delivery partners.
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Outsource Resource delivers complete signage solutions. From concept through to manufacture and installation, we handle everything. Backed by a guarantee of quality, compliance, and value at every stage of the project.
