There's an arms race going on out there. It’s not nuclear weapons, pitchers, or quarterbacks. No, this arms race is about the ultimate man cave item if you own a sports facility.
Yes, from ballparks, to race tracks, to football stadiums, and beyond, it’s no longer just about being able to have fans close to the action, you have to give them something that displays video on a scale that makes a zit on someone’s forehead look like Mt. Everest.
Who’s the next in line?
This Saturday at EverBank Field, the home of the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars, the club will unveil 35.5 million LEDs that will light up during the unveiling of the world’s largest HD video displays that were manufactured and installed by Daktronics (NASDAQ-DAKT) of Brookings, South Dakota. To commemorate the unveiling EverBank Field will host a friendly soccer match between Fulham F.C. and D.C. United followed by concert from country music star Carrie Underwood.
To give you an idea of the sheer size of the display, Daktronics provides this infographic showing the scale of the them in relationship to you, a car, semi, home, goal post, and yes… Washington’s face on Mt. Rushmore
Taking video displays to massive levels, Daktronics has built this behemoth that will be unveiled at EverBank Field, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars
The unveiling of the displays puts the Jags in first place (at least for the moment) as they surpass Texas Motor Speedway (who had the title beginning in March) to take the title of “World’s Biggest Screen” and beats out its second-best NFL rival the Houston Texans who unveiled their displays in August of last year when they unveiled their 14,000+ square feet display boards. The new displays will outsize the Texans displays by more than 7,000 square in the new Jaguars’ end-zone boards alone.
The question is, will anyone watch the actual game and concert, or be mesmerized by what can only be described as an HD television on steroids?
“The Jaguars have done a great job in preparing an exciting unveiling event for the world’s largest video displays,” Daktronics Vice President of Live Events Jay Parker said. “These displays will set a precedent in professional venues in terms of the fan experience and what can be witnessed by going to the stadium. The team can show a never before seen combination of content with essentially three huge HD screens on one massive LED display. It’s going to be amazing when they fire them up to host their first home football game.”
Not content with one, the unveiling will feature two massive end zone displays that each measure a massive 60 feet high by 362 feet wide and feature a 13HD pixel layout. With more than 21,700 square feet of digital canvas, each display is longer than a football field and can feature three full-size HD windows for maximum versatility during any event. A section of 60 feet high by 106 feet wide provides enough real estate for such a feat while also providing an extra 44-foot-wide buffer space for additional graphics, statistics and other content.
The 13HD technology was selected for this installation for many reasons, chief among them being the high brightness that helps overcome the Florida sunlight – especially in the direct sunlight received by the north end zone. The high contrast and wide viewing angles are unmatched in the industry for this type of product, thus providing the outstanding visual impact desired by the Jaguars for their fans.
The bottom line is, the race to have the biggest video displays are bolstering the bottom line of companies like Daktronics. Expect the title to be held by the Jacksonville Jaguars for about as long as it takes you to find that lost TV remote in the couch cushions.
