GREEN BAY, Wis. — There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes before and during every Green Bay Packers game at Lambeau Field.
People in the booth prepare hours ahead of kickoff to give fans the best viewing experience possible.
Kregg Shilbauer is the director of broadcast, video production and game presentation at Lambeau Field. He has been in the broadcast industry for more than 30 years. He said his job is like driving a car, but not being able to use your hands or feet to control it. It’s all done through communication.
“It’s really a team effort when we do things that make the crowd react that, maybe help the team, see what that play is and things like that,” said Shilbauer said.
Shilbauer is one of more than 50 men who oversee all the audio, video and graphics that are heard and seen during the game and on your TV screen. He said that comes with a lot of pressure.
“There are NFL rules related to what we do. There are times we have to show replays. There are times we don’t have to show replays,” Shilbauer said. “They’ve really understood the power of audio and video in the bowl and how that can affect the game itself.”
A Packers fan from Two Rivers has visited other NFL stadiums in his time as a football fan. He said that he likes being able to watch the game on the multiple screens around the stadium and not miss a second if he leaves his seat.
“There’s absolutely nothing like it,” Tanner Schultz said. “A few years ago, I went to a game in San Francisco at their stadium. It was a great experience, but there’s not an environment around the stadium like there is at Lambeau.”
Shilbauer said some fans don’t realize production workers have specific rules to follow during a game. For example, they must show a replay on every first down and turnover. For every touchdown, they must show two replays.
He said he hopes to keep upgrading technology so the fan experience can keep growing.
“It doesn’t matter how you feel or if you’re sick or what’s going on. We start an hour before kick and we go until the game is over,” Shilbauer said. “For four hours, all 52 people are working at trying to provide a great experience for the fans.”