BROOKINGS, S.D. – The start of football season gets fans all across the country excited. There will be even more excitement at college and professional football stadiums this season as Daktronics (Nasdaq – DAKT) turns on integrated systems at venues from Florida to North Dakota to California.

Daktronics provided new systems for the St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs prior to the start of this season. The Kansas City Chiefs upgraded Arrowhead Stadium with new end zone displays and more than 1,800 linear feet of digital ribbon board technology from Daktronics. HD-X technology now populates the two end The existing well-known oval-shaped structures above the end zones at Arrowhead Stadium are now fully-digital, providing the Chiefs game day staff with incredible flexibility to program the two large boards with single high definition video feed, or multiple zones of video, scoring, stats, sponsor messages, crowd prompts and other information. The new system also includes more than 1,800 linear feet of digital ribbon boards.

The St. Louis Rams project included the replacement of the existing video displays with two super-wide end zone video boards using Daktronics latest HD-X technology. Additional LED display technology upgrades included nearly 1,000 linear feet of LED ribbon board on the inside fascia of the seating bowl at the Edward Jones Dome. Five digital LED marquees were installed on the outside of the Dome to communicate and promote events.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have also upgraded their Daktronics systems this fall, with two additional LED ribbon boards and a digital marquee outside of Heinz Field.

Daktronics is also assisting college programs with new equipment, all designed to meet the needs and budgets of various sized programs. For defending BCS national champion University of Florida, two large LED video boards will make "The Swamp" even more intimidating for visiting teams and more entertaining for Gator fans for years to come.

"The HD-X displays will provide a dramatic improvement to the fans' game day experience," said Mike Hill, Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs. "The resolution, coupled with the boards' size, will make a tremendous impact on our stadium."

Dickinson State University, an NAIA member school in North Dakota, wanted to make its fall Saturdays more exciting and entertaining for their fans. The solution was a Daktronics integrated system, complete with a traditional numeric scoreboard with programmable LED team name displays, a large video display, and new Sportsound® 1500HD sound system.

Working with Division I-AA Cal Poly, Daktronics developed a unique integrated scoring, video and sound system. The main scoreboard measures approximately 35 feet high by 53 feet wide.

"We look to make some progress every year," said Athletic Director Alison Cone, "and it’s a big visible statement of progress. I think it will increase the fan experience at the games. I think the players will enjoy the things that happen with a video board. So it’s very exciting."

College athletic programs putting in new football scoring and displays systems for this fall include:

    • Ashland University – Ashland, Ohio
    • Augustana College – Sioux Falls, S.D.
    • Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo, Calif.
    • California University of Pennsylvania – California, Pa.
    • Concordia University – St. Paul, Minn.
    • Dickinson State University – Dickinson, N.D.
    • Dixie College – St. George, Utah
    • Duke University – Durham, N.C.
    • Eastern Illinois University – Charleston, Ill.
    • Eastern Michigan University – Ypsilanti, Mich.
    • University of Florida – Gainesville, Fla.
    • Fort Valley State University – Fort Valley, Ga.
    • Idaho State University – Pocatello, Idaho
    • University of the Incarnate Word – San Antonio, Texas
    • Indiana University – Bloomington, Ind.
    • Liberty University – Lynchburg, Va.
    • University of Louisiana at Lafayette – Lafayette, La.
    • Louisiana State University – Baton Rouge, La.
    • Louisiana Technical University – Ruston, La.    
    • University of Minnesota – Minneapolis, Minn.
    • University of Missouri – Columbia, Mo.
    • University of New Haven – West Haven, Conn.
    • Northwestern Oklahoma State University – Alva, Okla.
    • University of Notre Dame – Notre Dame, Ind.
    • Oklahoma State University – Stillwater, Okla.
    • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Troy, N.Y.
    • Rutgers University – Piscataway, N.J.
    • Stony Brook University – Stony Brook, N.Y.
    • University of Texas – Austin, Texas
    • University of West Georgia – Carrollton, Ga.


About Daktronics

Daktronics has strong leadership positions in, and is the world's largest supplier of, large screen video displays, electronic scoreboards, computer-programmable displays, digital billboards, and control systems. The company excels in the control of large display systems, including those that require integration of multiple complex displays showing real-time information, graphics, animation and video. Daktronics designs, manufactures, markets and services display systems for customers around the world, in sport, business and transportation applications. For more information, visit the company's World Wide Web site at: http://www.daktronics.com, e-mail the company at [email protected], call (605) 697-4300 or toll-free (800) 325-8766 in the United States or write to the company at 331 32nd Ave. PO Box 5128 Brookings, S.D. 57006-5128.