Renegades smash it at match start with Giant Inflatable Arch entrance.

Background

As the popularity of the T20 Big Bash League increases around Australia, teams are looking for new ways to stand out from their competition. As with many sporting events, the entrance of the home team to the field of play can become an entertaining and memorable aspect of the game day timetable, if given extra thought.

Having worked with Giant Inflatables before on several inflatable brand activations, the Melbourne Renegades approached Giant Inflatables once again to develop a reusable entrance tunnel to bring their players onto the field of play. Having seen the success of the inflatable arch entrance tunnel created for the West Coast Eagles AFL team, the Renegades’ brief was to create a similar product, with the design focusing on their brand identity.

The Design and Fabrication

A seven-metre-high inflatable “R” shaped entry arch was selected as the final design using PMS-matched colours for cohesion with their brand and design elements pulled from their logo.

As the Renegades’ “R” forms the main asset of their logo, the Giant Inflatables design team determined that this would result in the best cohesion with their brand identity.

By utilizing a high-volume inflation fan for quick inflation and many zips for even faster deflation, the inflatable arch entrance could be set up and taken down within the allocated time.

Organizers gave special care to the assets available on game day, including staffing, weights and location, to ensure that installing the inflatable was as efficient and safe as possible.

A significant challenge to overcome was how to create a stable shape utilizing their “R,” which was stylistically missing half of its central column. By using intricate printing techniques and masking technology, Giant Inflatables added a black support leg to complete the structure while remaining understated and not subtracting from the overall impact of the inflatable.

The Results

Debuting at their home game at Marvel Stadium on the 22nd of December 2021, the inflatable arch entrance was successfully installed and packed away with no delay to the match’s start time.

The Renegades used the Inflatable Arch Entrance for several home games and took it with them for away games in Geelong.

After a brief training period and the first two events run under the supervision of the Giant Inflatables team, the Renegades had the confidence to use the inflatable on their own, and the inflatable has been successfully installed independently since.

The Melbourne renegades noted that the inflatable created a significant amount of social media buzz and remained problem-free for the rest of the season.

The Renegades had this to say about working with the Giant Inflatables team:

“Thank you for all your hard work on creating our inflatable arch in such a quick turnaround time and
showing us how to use it independently.”

“It has been an incredible success, and both the fans
and team members love it!”