MLS Columbus Crew SC

Crew Announces New Video Boards at Crew Stadium

January 24, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS - The Columbus Crew today announced that manufacturing is underway for new state-of-the-art Crew Stadium video boards, most notably on the main scoreboard on the facility's south side. Installation of a Daktronics main and auxiliary video board on the scoreboard, as well as ribbon displays on the east and west sides of the seating bowl, are set to be completed ahead of the Crew's Opening Match on March 22 as the first topflight soccer-specific facility built in the United States opens its doors for its 16th season of Major League Soccer.

"We have been going through a thorough process of analyzing all of the different aspects of our club and where we need to make improvements, and it was fairly obvious that replacing the existing video board at the stadium was a top priority of Precourt Sports Ventures for improving the fan experience," said Crew Chairman and Investor-Operator Anthony Precourt. "In addition to winning soccer matches and trophies, delivering a professional, high-quality and exciting experience at Crew matches is paramount to our success as an organization, and I am looking forward to this high-impact upgrade for the 2014 season."

The Daktronics main video display is set to be expanded to nearly 17 feet in height and 66 feet in width, more than doubling the square-footage of the current video board. Its display - a 15 millimeter pixel layout - is capable of highlighting live video, instant replays and interactive fan promotions. The display can also be divided into separate windows to show a variety of vivid graphics, colorful animations, up-to-the-minute statistics, scoring information and sponsor advertisements. The auxiliary video display - located directly under the main display - is set to feature the same Daktronics 15 HD technology and measure nearly five feet high by 40 feet in width.

Two 42-foot-long ribbon displays - one located on each side of the seating bowl - also feature Daktronics 15 HD technology, providing the opportunity to showcase sponsors throughout events and provide real-time statistics and game information. These video upgrades - coupled with the LED field boards installed in 2012 and the full stadium audio system in 2013 - represent a significant investment to the fan experience by the organization over a three-year period.

The club also invested in creating Premier East seating - the three center areas in sections 105, 106 and 107 - on the east side of the stadium. There, bench seating is being converted to individual chair-back seating. Additional renovations include investing in creating four more access points from these sections to the lower concourse concession stands and restrooms. The square footage of the lower concourse was also doubled in an effort to alleviate fan congestion before, during and after matches for both the lower east and west concourses. 

"These are significant upgrades for our fans and sponsors," said Crew President Mark McCullers. "The new seats and concourse access points on the east side of the stadium are major improvements for the fan experience, and the new video board capabilities will allow us to create deeper fan engagement and feature our partners in a technologically advanced platform that provides greater value. I think these investments speak volumes about the commitment that Anthony is making to this community and Crew fans to ensure we provide the right type of experience to help grow our season ticket base and our corporate partnerships."

The technology operating the new video boards is being integrated by iVideo Technologies. The Ohio-based company is focused on engineering, installing and supporting advanced audio, video and broadcast systems at Crew Stadium. The majority of the technology in the control room - including the LDX cameras, DYNO-S replay system and the GV Director switching unit - is provided by Grass Valley.

The Crew opens the home portion of its 2014 campaign against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, March 22 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Before then, players report for preseason camp on Friday, January 24 ahead of two separate training trips to Florida with a week of training back in Columbus in between. For more information on catching the Black & Gold in 2014 - visit TheCrew.com/tickets. Single-match tickets for all Crew regular-season home games in 2014 are now on sale. Prices range from $23 to $50 for advanced purchases, and through a special limited-time offer, all tickets purchased by midnight on Friday, January 24 are not subject to any online fees.

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