West Virginia University has announced that it will install a new videoboard in the north end zone of Milan Puskar Stadium. The Daktronics 13 HD display is slated to be in place for the 2017 season.
“Along with the renovated stadium and WVU Coliseum concourses, this project is another way for us to enhance the fan experience at our athletic venues,” director of athletics Shane Lyons said. “Live video and replays now will be available to virtually every seat in the stadium. One of my main objectives from my first day on the job two years ago was to improve our athletic facilities for our student-athletes and fans. This addition not only will look great at the stadium, but will add another dimension to our game day entertainment.”
The new board will work in conjunction with the current Panasonic south end zone video board (installed 2008), providing additional live action, replays, statistics, out-of-town scores, in-game entertainment and advertisements.
The new high definition video board will be 37.2 feet high by 97.2 feet long for a total of 3,616 square feet. The square footage dwarfs the current board, which is 23.6 feet high by 85 feet long for a total of 2,006 square feet.
The 13 HD board will offer brighter and clearer high definition images to punch through direct sunlight and other outdoor elements, providing a consistent, crisp image with deep contrast. Installation on the structure has begun and a late August timeline has been set for the completion of the project.
The new board will sit atop Touchdown Terrace, and give the stadium two scoreboard structures for the first time since 2004, when the addition of Touchdown Terrace removed the matrix scoreboard structure in the north end zone. The 2017 season will mark the first time in the 37-year history of the stadium in which two actual video boards will provide in-game entertainment. Additional fascia ribbon boards in the north end zone also will be a part of the project and installed on the front of Touchdown Terrace.
Back in the fall during an exploratory phase, the athletic department sent out a Request for Proposal (RFP) on adding another video board to the stadium. Four companies responded and Daktronics was selected over Panasonic, Mitsubishi and Prismview. The cost of the complete new structure, fascia and board will be $4 million and will be funded by IMG through the capital expenditure fund in IMG’s media rights contract with the athletic department.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to provide West Virginia University Athletics with this video system upgrade for their stadium,” Josh Francois, Daktronics sales representative, said. “These upgrades will increase the overall atmosphere and home field advantage at Mountaineer home games, while bringing the game-day production and fan experience to the next level. We’re looking forward to seeing the system in action this fall.”
Currently, Daktronics has boards in 21 of 32 NFL stadiums, 21 of 30 MLB ballparks, 21 of 30 NBA arenas and 23 of 30 NHL venues. In the Big 12, Daktronics has installed videoboards in football stadiums at Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Kansas and Iowa State.