The lights are officially on at Atlanta United's newest space for world-class storytelling. The club held a ceremony for the opening of the Emory Healthcare Studio, a first-of-its-kind media operations facility within the new expansion to the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground.
Guests were invited to the training ground for a reception and presentation about the Emory Healthcare Studio. Afterward, the spaces were opened for self-guided tours. Key stakeholders in the project were able to see their visions come to life. Arthur M. Blank, Owner and Chairman of the Blank Family of Businesses, gave his remarks along with Emory Healthcare CEO and Executive Vice President for Woodruff Health Sciences Joon Lee, MD and others.
"[Emory Healthcare] is an unbelievable leader in the area of medical health for all of us in a variety of ways, both in terms of research and in terms of care in their facilities, but they've been an unbelievable support [as well]," Blank said. "The fact we built this studio here under the banner of Emory, it just takes your breath away. It's unbelievable. The studios, the editing facilities, everything they've done here is like Emory. It's all first class."
Emory Healthcare, Atlanta United's official healthcare provider, continues its partnership with the club to create new opportunities for high-level content creation. The studio will be a unique space for the club's in-house digital, video and broadcast production teams to give fans unmatched insight into the club and its personalities.
“This exciting expansion, along with the launch of the new Emory Healthcare Studio, represents the next chapter in our collaboration with Atlanta United, offering a unique hub for storytelling and content creation,” Lee said. “This studio will be a powerful platform to share stories of health, wellness and resilience, while creating connections between athletes, caregivers, patients, families, fans and our community ... Arthur, thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be a partner with your organization, and more importantly, for really what you've done to transform this whole region."
The featured area of the Emory Healthcare Studio is named Studio 17, the same number Atlanta United affectionately dubs its fans. Studio 17's first power up was a sight to behold. Executives flipped the switch to illuminate the space. They took in sights of a studio equipped for multicamera broadcasts, with vivid video walls, a custom lighting grid and many more bells and whistles. It will serve as the creative hub for Atlanta United's expanded coverage of the club — live match coverage and analysis, cultural segments, player-focused shows among many other plans.
The Emory Healthcare Studio also includes Studio 5, named of course for the 5-Stripes of Atlanta United. The white-walled space across the hallway will be a photographer and videographer's dream, an ideal location for media day shoots among other creative projects. Sat in between the two studios is a mini-halo board that mirrors the real thing in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It wouldn't be complete without a control room. Called "The Box", the space will serve as the command center for everything going on around the studios, with control of lighting and cameras, communication capabilities through speakers and more. It's a part of the upstairs level of the expansion, a strategic location with eyes on all the studio spaces.
Near The Box upstairs lies the last addition to the Emory Healthcare Studio, a podcasting room. The sound-proofed space is full of microphones and an LED Atlanta United logo and will be used to provide even more avenues for fans to consume context about the 5-Stripes. You may hear the voice of Atlanta United's radio play-by-play announcer Mike Conti, or the club's host Joe Freihofer.
The club produces content such as the ATL UTD Original Series Rooted in the Stripes and 5-Stripes Unplugged entirely in-house. The Emory Healthcare Studio unlocks even more possibilities for those series and more. All of these spaces will be vehicles for next-level storytelling — showcasing the athletes and staff that shape Atlanta United.
"For us, it is all about, how do we be as transparent as we possibly can be?" Atlanta United Chief Business Officer Skate Noftsinger said. "People need to get to know our players. Look how diverse the city of Atlanta is. Look how diverse North America is, and our team and our roster is a reflection of that. The more content that we can get out about the players, the more opportunity for connection and inspiration."
