How INFiLED Helped Launch the Pro Cheer League

Introducing a New Sport to a National Audience

When Varsity Spirit launched the Pro Cheer League in 2026, it was more than the debut of a new competition series. It marked the first serious effort to establish a professional platform for elite cheer athletes—extending careers beyond college and presenting the sport to mainstream audiences as a televised entertainment property.

The concept was ambitious. Four inaugural teams from Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, and San Diego would compete in a touring series of events staged in arenas and convention centers across the United States. Each event needed to deliver the excitement of a live sporting event while also meeting the visual and operational standards of a national television broadcast on ION Television.

To realize that vision, Varsity Spirit turned to UpLight Technologies to design and produce the complete event environment, including lighting, audio, video, and scenic elements.

At the center of that design was a large-format LED system built with INFiLED’s Black Widow AMT Series.

Designing for Two Audiences at Once

For founder and production designer David Surbrook, the challenge was to create a set that could serve two equally important audiences: the thousands of spectators in the venue and the millions watching on television.

Cheerleading is one of the most visually dynamic sports in the world. Athletes are launched high into the air, routines unfold at remarkable speed, and every performance depends on precision and timing. The production design had to amplify that energy without distracting from the competition itself.

The LED system became the visual anchor of the show. A 40-foot-wide by 16-foot-tall upstage wall established a bold broadcast backdrop, delivered live camera feeds and replay content, and reinforced the league’s branding. Two side walls expanded the visual footprint and provided additional opportunities for sponsor integration, team introductions, and scoring graphics.

Rather than functioning as simple scenic support, the LED walls were an integral part of the storytelling—helping define the Pro Cheer League as a premium sports property from its first event.

Engineering for the Realities of Touring

The Pro Cheer League was designed as a national tour, which imposed a demanding set of practical constraints. The system needed to travel efficiently, deploy quickly, and withstand repeated setup and teardown with a lean crew.

Load-ins were often compressed, leaving little margin for complicated assembly or troubleshooting. Every component had to be robust enough for constant transport and reliable enough to perform night after night without interruption.

At the same time, the displays had to meet stringent broadcast requirements. Camera systems are unforgiving, particularly in fast-paced environments where bright lighting, rapid motion, and reflective surfaces can expose flicker, moiré, and other visual artifacts.

As Surbrook explains:

“We needed a product that could handle the realities of touring while also delivering a clean, broadcast-ready image every single show.”

Why INFiLED’s Black Widow AMT Was the Right Fit

UpLight Technologies selected INFiLED’s Black Widow AMT Series because it addressed both the operational and technical demands of the project.

The 3.9 mm panels provided the image density required for close camera shots while maintaining efficient deployment for a touring application. The matte surface reduced reflections from high-output lighting and fast-moving athletes, helping maintain image clarity on air.

The Black Widow AMT’s modular cart and touring frame system simplified transport and accelerated assembly, enabling the crew to meet tight production schedules with confidence.

Durability was equally important. Reinforced carbon fiber construction, integrated collision protection, and hard-glued LED encapsulation created a system designed to withstand the rigors of repeated touring while maintaining structural integrity and pixel performance.

For broadcast, the panels delivered high refresh rates and 12-bit processing, producing stable imagery, smooth gradients, and consistent color reproduction under a wide range of lighting conditions.

Together, these attributes made the Black Widow AMT more than a display solution; it became a dependable production tool.

A Broadcast Set That Defined a New League

The LED system helped establish the visual identity of the Pro Cheer League from day one.

For spectators in the venue, the walls added scale and energy, supported replays and introductions, and created a professional arena atmosphere. For television viewers, they provided a clean, cinematic background that elevated the presentation and reinforced the league’s branding.

The screens proved so effective on camera that broadcast producers regularly used them as part of scoring and editorial compositions, integrating the live set into the overall television package.

The result was a production environment that gave a new sports property the visual credibility of an established professional league.

Proven Performance and a Strong Partnership

The inaugural season drew more than five million television viewers and generated enough momentum to secure a second season.

For UpLight Technologies, the project demonstrated the value of choosing technology that performs reliably under both creative and logistical pressure.

“It’s been a very reliable product, and the customer service and support we’ve received from INFiLED has been top notch.”
— David Surbrook, Founder, UpLight Technologies

By combining broadcast-quality image performance with touring durability, INFiLED’s Black Widow AMT Series helped transform an ambitious concept into a compelling live and televised experience—setting the stage for the successful launch of the Pro Cheer League.