Phoenix Suns Install 9,266-Square-Foot Transparent LED Facade Ahead of 2027 All-Star Game
2026-08-24 · via invidis
The Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury are installing a 9,266-square-foot transparent LED display across the main plaza entrance of Mortgage Matchup Center, a project the teams say will be the largest exterior transparent LED display on any NBA or WNBA arena.
The display measures 226 feet wide and 41 feet tall and uses Absen LED technology, according to the announcement. It packs more than 17 million pixels and supports content at 60 frames per second. Flanking LED panels can run independently or join with the center display to form one continuous canvas. The installation is described as a multimillion-dollar project and is scheduled for completion in September, ahead of the new NBA season.
For operators and integrators, this is another data point in a trend that has been building for a few years: large-format LED moving off the scoreboard and out of the seating bowl and onto building exteriors. Arenas and stadiums increasingly treat plazas and entrances as programmable media surfaces rather than pure architecture, using them for sponsorship inventory, live event simulcasts and standalone outdoor programming when there is no game happening inside.
The timing is not incidental. Phoenix hosts NBA All-Star 2027 from February 19-21, with the All-Star Game itself at Mortgage Matchup Center on February 21. That gives the new facade a global audience within months of going live, and gives the arena an outdoor platform for watch parties and other fan activations during All-Star Weekend, a period when host cities lean heavily on exterior digital displays for sponsor visibility and media coverage.
Arena owner Mat Ishbia framed the project as part of a broader push to upgrade the fan experience at the downtown Phoenix venue, with the goal of turning the plaza into a gathering space rather than simply a walkway into the building.
What the announcement leaves out
The release does not name the display's pixel pitch, its supplier beyond Absen as the panel maker, the integrator handling installation, or the cost of the project beyond calling it multimillion-dollar. It also does not specify what content management or scheduling software will drive the display, how sponsorship inventory will be sold against it, or whether the transparent panels will be used for daytime programming given the visibility challenges transparent LED can face in direct sunlight.
For digital signage and DOOH players watching the sports venue market, the project underscores where the growth is: not inside the bowl, where video boards are largely built out, but on exterior facades and plazas that arenas are only beginning to treat as addressable media space. Expect more of these deals tied to marquee events, where a host city's spotlight offers a built-in justification for the capital spend.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from invidis for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
A 9,266-square-foot transparent LED display will transform the main entrance of Mortgage Matchup Center into a large-scale digital canvas for games, concerts and outdoor fan events.
The NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury home is getting a digital addition ahead of one of basketball’s biggest events, with a 226-foot-wide transparent LED display being installed across the main plaza entrance of Mortgage Matchup Center.
Measuring 41 feet tall and covering 9,266 square feet, the installation is being billed by the teams as the largest exterior transparent LED display on an NBA or WNBA arena. The multimillion-dollar display uses Absen LED technology and will be completed in September, in time for the NBA season. The LED panels on either side of the center display can operate independently or combine with it to create a single continuous visual canvas with the installation featuring more than 17 million pixels and supporting content at 60 frames per second.
The display will show Suns and Mercury content, game highlights, concerts, and other arena events, allowing for outdoor watch parties and other activations designed to make the plaza a gathering space instead of simply an entrance to the building.
The timing is ideal since Phoenix will host NBA All-Star 2027 from Feb. 19-21, culminating with the 76th NBA All-Star Game at Mortgage Matchup Center on Feb. 21.
That will put the new LED display in front of a global audience only months after it goes into operation, while also giving the arena a large outdoor platform for fan activities surrounding All-Star Weekend.
The project is part of an effort by Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia to upgrade the fan experience at the downtown Phoenix arena. In announcing the display, Ishbia said the objective is to create a place where fans can gather around major sports and entertainment events throughout the year.
The installation also illustrates how large-format LED is increasingly moving beyond the seating bowl. Arena and stadium operators are using exterior displays and digital facades to extend the event experience into plazas and other public areas, creating additional spaces for live content, sponsorship, and fan engagement before, during, and after events.