ROE and Solotech assist NBA’s Macau comeback

ROE Visual, Solotech and Sands China Entertainment have partnered to deliver a large-scale LED installation at The Venetian Macao. The display was created for the return of the NBA China Games and has been built entirely from 2,000 ROE Topaz 2.6 panels covering a total area of 500m².

With the NBA league absent from China for nearly six years, the 2025 return carried symbolic and commercial importance – not only for the NBA, but also for its partners working to reintroduce professional basketball to the country.

Sands China, which manages a portfolio of premier properties across Macau, entrusted Solotech as the supplier for The Venetian Macao. The goal was to create an LED display suspended above the basketball court that could deliver both functional and visually appealing content – including live game stats, player profiles, instant replays, sponsor content and immersive show visuals. For Sands China, the investment extended beyond a single event – the company needed a solution that it could permanently own, redeploy and reconfigure across its portfolio of venues and special events. Choosing the right technology meant prioritising adaptability, scalability and long-term versatility.

During the evaluation process, a trip to ROE’s Shenzhen headquarters from Sands China and Solotech reaffirmed their decision to choose the brand’s Topaz panels.

The original scope called for a conventional jumbotron-style display, focused primarily on exterior-facing screens for the audience. However, following creative direction and discussions from the NBA Legends Celebrity Game in 2024, Sands China entertainment department management expanded the concept to a dual-surface configuration with both interior- and exterior-facing LED screens — increasing the total display area by nearly 60%. Unlike a traditional jumbotron, which only projects outward in four directions, this setup provides audiences with visuals from all vantage points, including courtside, sideline and upper tiers.

Solotech and ROE Visual adapted to the change, navigating technical and logistical challenges to deliver the expanded solution. It was noted that as ROE stocked LEDs from the initial binning, it guaranteed a perfect colour match for the expanded second order. From initial PO placement to production, the turnaround was just three months with scope expansion only allowing one month after which Solotech and Sands China immediately transitioned into installation. “ROE and Solotech really pulled out all the stops on delivery, even as our scope expanded late in the project,” noted Cormac Veale, technical director at Sands China.

The project also posed various technical challenges, such as designing a dual-surface LED structure that met NBA-regulated height requirements. Although the interior and exterior displays were hung on independent truss systems, custom corner solutions had to be fabricated to support the precise, parallel geometry. Equally critical was the development of a detailed load-distribution strategy that could safely support both LED surfaces while preserving the required 12m clearance above the court.

These solutions were engineered collaboratively by project lead technical director Cormac Veale, technical engineering Craig Burridge, and technical head of video Neal Watkins.

“Working with ROE on the project management side has always been consistently professional and highly responsive,” commented Bob Barbagallo, senior VP Intl business development, Solotech. “Their communication was the linchpin in delivering an on-time and on-budget solution.”

Jane Liu, account manager at ROE Visual, echoed those sentiments: “Solotech has been an incredible partner for many years. It’s a proud moment for ROE to see Topaz at The Venetian Macao and for it to be used in such a unique design.”