Supplier News
Austria – Admiral opens Europe’s largest sports bar
By Phil - 8 May 2017
Located in a prime location in Vienna, Admiral Arena Prater opened on May 1 following six months of conversion work to become the largest sports bar in Europe.
The launch event was attended by around 3,500 guests as well as racing legend and Novomatic brand ambassador Niki Lauda and Novomatic AG CEO Harald Neumann.
A range of activities and events were on offer both outdoors and inside the venue – action stages, football modules, and autograph sessions by the Vienna Capitals ice hockey team, the Austrian woman’s national football team, as well as Rapid Vienna and FK Austria Wien football teams.
With Admiral Arena Prater, HTM Hotel und Tourismusmanagement GmbH and ADMIRAL Sportwetten GmbH are setting new standards in the entertainment sector. The Admiral Arena in Vienna’s Prater offers sports betting of the highest caliber over two floors covering a total area of 1,350 qm. At the centre of the venue, reminiscent of an American sports bar, there is a large, semi-circular bar with a 15 qm LED wall in high definition picture quality. Another LED wall, and at 42 qm is one of the largest LED walls in Europe, extends along the back wall. Here sporting events are broadcast in supreme quality from 9 am to midnight daily. This main wall is the size of a small flat with an approximate length of 15m and height of 3m, weighing around 2 tonnes. The wall consists of 180 individual panels with a total of 4,608,000 LED image points. About 6 km of cables were laid to operate the two LED walls.
The main wall can also be split into many different screens thanks to Novomatic-developed software. “This means that, for instance, all Champions League games playing at the same time can be broadcast together – this broadcasting possibility is unique in Europe,” said Harald Neumann.
The interior furnishings are also exceptional and exclusive in Austria. Guests can take a seat on comfortable furniture designed to reflect different sports, such as baseball, tennis or football. Around 70 betting terminals and a dedicated horse racing area are available for use by guests. A selection of Grand Prix race courses can be tested on a Red Bull Racing Seat, and an entertainment stage is available for all kinds of events. The high-tech furnishings around the whole arena enable every show to be broadcast simultaneously across all screens and LED walls.
AdmiralArena Prater also provides a comprehensive range of culinary delights. In addition to breakfast offers and lunch menus, chef Alexander Zerava also prepares meals that are an absolute must for a sports bar: crispy chicken wings with homemade barbeque sauce, the famous Admiral tartar, classic burgers and the president steak. This is accompanied by draft beers, including dedicated draft pumps on the tables, with trendy craft beers, as well as fresh lemonade with honey, ginger or basil.
