Not in Santa Clara: the New York ‘bunker’ where Super Bowl controversies are decided
At every NFL game, on-field and replay officials in the host stadium collaborate with a NYC ‘command centre’ to ensure that reviews are officiated properly.
Art McNally GameDay Central (AMGC) is the high-tech officiating command center for the NFL and is located at the league’s headquarters in New York City, it serves as the “brain” for every instant replay review and officiating decision made during NFL games.
It is named after Art McNally, a legendary figure often called the “Father of Instant Replay” and the first official ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
What happens at AMGC?
On game days (which include the Super Bowl), the room is packed with officiating experts, replay assistants, and technicians who monitor every game in real-time. Their main responsibilities include:
Replay Reviews: When a play is challenged or automatically reviewed (like scoring plays and turnovers), AMGC staff look at every available camera angle to help the referee on the field make the right call.
Replay Assist: They can proactively communicate with on-field officials to correct “clear and obvious” errors regarding things like ball spotting, clock issues, or whether a player was out of bounds—often without a formal challenge.
Rule Consultations: They ensure that complex rules are applied consistently across all stadiums.
AMGC technology
The center looks like a NASA mission control for football and features 16 custom stations, each monitoring a specific game.
Technicians use Xbox style controllers to toggle through camera angles and Hawk-Eye technology to synchronize video feeds for precise frame-by-frame analysis.
They have access to every single camera angle recorded by the TV networks, including many “raw” feeds that viewers at home never see.
Why Art McNally?
Art McNally was the NFL’s Supervisor of Officials from 1968 to 1991. He was the first person to realize that film and video could be used not just to grade officials, but to help them get calls right in real-time. The league dedicated the center to him in 2014 to honor his work in modernizing the profession.
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