The much anticipated kickoff to the 2023 NFL season is upon us. Both the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers fans will have an all-new gameday experience, thanks to massive Daktronics installations.
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Gillette Stadium to Feature New Curved, HDR-capable Display
Daktronics continues its partnership with the Kraft Group, New England Patriots, and New England Revolution with 14 new LED displays added to the venue in 2023, including the largest outdoor videoboard in a sports venue in the country. The installation took place over the course of this spring and summer at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA and is believed to be the largest outdoor end zone display in professional football.
The project adds 14 displays totaling more than 29,500 square feet, bringing a total of 47 Daktronics LED displays and a combined 48,500 square feet of digital canvas to Gillette Stadium to engage and entertain their audiences.
“Daktronics has been providing our LED displays and have been a tremendous partner since we opened Gillette Stadium in 2002,” said Gillette Stadium chief operating officer Jim Nolan. “Their products provide the highest resolution in the industry and the brilliant colors bring our fans closer to the action. This year’s installations, especially the addition of the nation’s largest outdoor videoboard at a sports venue, will greatly enhance the day of game experience for our fans.”
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North End Zone Displays
Located in the north end zone, the new curved-radius video display measures 60x370 feet, totaling 22,200 square feet. Its convex curvature mimics the stadium’s architecture.
Much like the south end zone display, this new installation is capable of variable content zoning allowing it to show one large image or multiple zones of video and content to keep fans immersed in the action at Gillette Stadium. Any combination of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, game information, graphics, animations and sponsorship messages can be displayed. Both end zone displays at Gillette Stadium will now rank in the top 10 among the largest video boards in professional football.
Just below the main video board in the north end zone is an additional ribbon board measuring 10x214 feet. The end zone also features a field level outdoor display measuring 3.5x82 feet on the recently announced Bud Light Celebration Beer Hall and a display in front of the newly renovated “Row of Honor” measuring 5x30 feet for additional messaging opportunities to highlight the names of the men and women who have served and will be honored at every ticketed event at the stadium. The main video board, as well as the ribbon and field-level displays, all feature 10-millimeter pixel spacing.
Additional Displays
As fans enter from the north, they will be welcomed to the stadium through the TicketMaster gate featuring a canopy that measures 3.5 feet high by 163 feet wide and features a tight 5.9-millimeter pixel spacing. Two indoor displays, measuring 18 feet high by 64 feet wide, and an elevator display, measuring 9 feet high by 16 feet wide, will be installed in the G-P Atrium to capture fans attention when inside the premium area. These three displays feature 2.5-millimeter pixel spacings to deliver crisp, clear imagery as they help immerse fans in the live event experience.
The “Gillette Stadium” channel lettering above the north end zone displays will also be brought to light, in conjunction with DCL (Design Communications), with full-color LED modules, which can change colors and content. These channel letters measure 14x108 feet and feature 10-millimeter pixel spacing. Also working with DCL, five double-sided pylon displays are being added in the Enel Plaza. Each display features 3.9-millimeter pixel spacing and measures 6.5x5 feet to bring additional excitement to the plaza for all stadium events.
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Bringing the installation together is Daktronics Show Control system, which was upgraded at Gillette Stadium in 2022. This control system provides a combination of display control software, video processing, data integration and playback hardware that forms a user-friendly production solution.
Green Bay Packers Deliver High-Resolution Experience at Lambeau Field
The Green Bay Packers selected Daktronics to manufacture and install two main video displays, two auxiliary video displays and 60 concourse LED displays at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The installation of approximately 24,500 square feet of LED displays totaling 79.5 million pixels will take place in the spring of 2023 as the technology will debut at the beginning of football season this coming fall.
In-Bowl Displays
Each main end zone display will be the highest resolution main displays in professional football, baseball and soccer as they will feature 6-millimeter pixel spacing, a first in professional football. Measuring more than 10,500 square feet at 48x220 fee, the Packers displays will be one of the few 4K displays in professional football. These displays are also HDR-capable and feature industry-leading environmental protection to keep them operating as expected in the Green Bay weather.
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The east and west auxiliary scoreboard displays will each measure more than 7x74.5 feet and will also feature 6-millimeter pixel spacing to share all the scoring and statistical information fans expect to see as they follow along with the game.
“Daktronics is proud to once again have a significant presence inside Lambeau Field,” said Tony Mulder, Daktronics regional manager. “We have been fortunate enough to work with the Packers recently as they have updated their outdoor marquees and some of their club area high-resolution displays, but the in-bowl displays are certainly our core business. We couldn’t be happier partnering with the Packers organization and such a legendary stadium on those centerpieces once again.”
Concourse Displays
All 60 displays in the concourses will feature 2.9-millimeter pixel spacing as they connect with fans while away from their seats and keep them immersed in the action while moving about the stadium. Varying in size and location, each display is optimized for its location inside Lambeau Field for maximum impact on audiences whether showing live game feeds, concessions or pro shop promotions, live data updates or other special messaging.
