NFL Network last week tested its MediaCruiser in downtown Minneapolis, a portable set on wheels that will be "featured prominently" during Super Bowl LII, according to Michael Rand of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The set makes its formal debut next month during the Pro Football HOF weekend and will be used on "Thursday Night Football" this season. NFL Media VP/Operations & Engineering Dave Shaw said, "The impetus of it is that at every Super Bowl and NFL draft we spend a lot of hours at a site, and we build a set to suit each one. When we were looking at the Super Bowl this time, we liked the idea of potentially being able to pick this thing up and move it and make it mobile." Rand notes the parts "merged together to form what looks like an Airstream trailer -- but one that transforms and opens up almost like a clamshell to accommodate a broadcast set." Shaw "declined to disclose the final price tag," noting only that it was more than $1M. Shaw: "It should pay for itself in a certain amount of time." The "expectation is that the MediaCruiser will be parked at that exact spot starting the Monday of Super Bowl week, with the possibility of moving to a spot outside U.S. Bank Stadium as the game gets closer." Shaw: "We learned what kind of footprint it needs" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/27).
