Bribie Island RSL
The hero of the room: the island’s ultimate sports bar, built around one big screen.
How LED Media helped Bribie Island RSL create Bribie’s first dedicated sports bar, and its highest-ever membership.
Key wins
- A show-stopping hero screen at the centre of the new sports bar.
- One big screen that splits into multiple views, so everyone watches their game.
- Simple iPad control for staff: layouts, channels, and volume in a few taps.
- An “epic” opening, packed with regulars and a wave of new faces.
- A partnership the club trusted through a long, complex renovation.
The challenge
Bribie Island RSL had run a TAB for years, but its old sports bar was cramped, with low ceilings and nowhere near enough seating on the big days like Melbourne Cup. The demand was clearly there. A large, diverse membership who love their sport, and not a single dedicated sports bar anywhere on the island. Having already transformed its food areas, the club set its sights on the natural next step: building the ultimate sports bar on Bribie Island. It was a genuinely complex brief. The space had to work for daily regulars watching one game, big-event crowds, and a younger crowd drawn to UFC, boxing, and live sport, all at once.
What we delivered
- Consultation on configuration (one large screen versus several) and pixel quality.
- A seamless indoor LED video display, sized for the room’s high ceilings.
- Delivery and installation alongside the club’s builders and trades, to the renovation timeline.
- Multi-view capability, so the screen splits into a major and minor view for simultaneous sports.
- Integration with an iPad-based control system, with the club’s control partner.
- Staff training on layouts, channels, and volume.
- Ongoing advice, support, and maintenance guidance for the life of the screen.
Our approach
The club knew the screen would be the hero of the room, so they did something smart. They built the whole renovation around the technology. After extensive member research and many design iterations, the space was zoned so everyone could find a spot that suits them: a traditional 18-plus area with dry bars and a dedicated TAB under a sound ceiling, a family-friendly terrace dining space with a feature tree, and full alfresco outside. For the screen itself, we worked through the big decision, one large screen or several, and landed on a single large display for maximum wow factor under the high ceilings, with the flexibility to split into as many views as members want and a real focus on pixel quality.
For GM Janelle Barraud, choosing a partner came down to people, not technology. It was unfamiliar territory, so the club needed someone they trusted, who answered every call and email and explained things clearly enough to take back to the board and members. Being Melbourne-based while the club is in Queensland was never a concern, because the relationship and responsiveness were there from the start. Dan turned up on site whenever needed, and the install team simply got in and got the job done.
The result
The moment the screen lit up, it delivered everything the club had hoped for. It’s the hero piece of the renovation, and while the sheer size makes an impression on its own, it’s seeing it switched on, showing its full functionality, that confirmed the sports bar would work. The club opened just before Christmas, and the response from members and visitors has been, in Janelle’s word, epic. The space has been packed with regulars and a steady stream of new faces, all drawn to the big screen and the wow factor the club was chasing.
And the results have lasted. An organic wave of non-members has started joining after experiencing the space, and the club reports membership at its highest ever. Day to day, after a steep initial learning curve, staff now run everything from an iPad, changing layouts, channels, and volume in a few simple taps, delivered together with the club’s control-system partner. Janelle’s advice to other venues is to start with the technology and build around it, and to choose a partner for the relationship, not just the screen. Because anyone can buy a big screen, but only the right partner helps you use it to its full potential.
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