The Force was strong with this one. The Detroit Pistons and the Palace Sports & Entertainment production team won the 2013 National Golden Matrix Award for Best Mascot Video.
This is the first Golden Matrix Award for Palace Sports & Entertainment since 2003. Ryan Archibald and Barry Walton produced the original “Hooper’s World: A New Saga” digital short for Star Wars Night at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The video, starring Hooper and Detroit Pistons Center Andre Drummond, aired in-arena during the Pistons win over the Atlanta Hawks in January.
Pistons Hooper’s “Saga” beat out stiff competition – across professional and college sports – for the award presented at the 31st Annual IDEA Conference in Montreal. IDEA annually recognizes artistic and technical excellence in large-screen video and matrix displays in arenas, stadiums, convention centers and other public assembly facilities.
“We want to congratulate Ryan, Barry and Hooper for this recognition of their work,” said Harlan Hendrickson, PS&E Vice President of Marketing. “The video was well-received and this award is a reflection of how creative and innovative our production team can be.”