Scoreboards From 1980 Miracle on Ice Game Get LED Upgrade

The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) representing the Lake Placid Olympic Center in New York has returned to Daktronics for their scoreboard technology needs. After more than 37 years, the four-sided center-hung scoreboards used in Herb Brooks Arena 1980 Rink during the famed 1980 Olympic men’s hockey game are being replaced with new LED video displays.

“When that scoreboard read 4-3, the United States over the then Soviet Union during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, the nation did believe in miracles. For 37 years, the board has registered countless scores for NHL, minor, junior, collegiate, high school and tournament games,” says ORDA president/CEO Ted Blazer.

Blazer continues, “The new board will allow for more crowd interaction for the fan and create new memories and experiences.”

While gone, the scoreboard won’t be forgotten as one scoreboard section will be returning to where it was manufactured in Brookings, SD, at Daktronics headquarters while another panel will be on display at the lake Placid Olympic Museum. Locations of the remaining two panels have not been determined.

“This is an iconic site, not only in the history of USA Olympics, but also in the history of Daktronics as the project represented a significant accomplishment for our company as our first major event on the international stage,” says Jim Morgan, Daktronics project engineer on the original installation and current member of the board of directors. “Daktronics was a much smaller company at the time, so providing scoring and timing for our first Olympics was a very fun and exciting challenge. Many of us watched the game in 1980 and experienced the miracle ourselves. It’s something we have a strong connection to and we are honored to bring the venue into the next generation of live event entertainment.”

The new centerhung features four identical video displays, each measuring more than 7 feet high by 12.5 feet wide. These displays will employ 6-millimeter line spacing to provide crisp, clear imagery to every seat in the venue.

The new displays are capable of meeting fan’s expectations for live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics and other game information. The variable content zoning feature allows each display to show one large image or to show multiple windows of differing content, statistics or sponsorship messages.

Daktronics will also be including its powerful Show Control System with this installation. This industry-leading system provides a combination of display control software, world-class video processing, data integration and playback hardware that forms a user-friendly production solution.

The previous scoreboards stood the test of time as they were operational prior to the 1980 Olympic Games through 2017 giving hockey fans at all levels of competition scoring, timing and other statistics for 37 years.

Herb Brooks Arena 1980 Rink will also receive two fixed-digit scoreboards along the seating fascia and the adjacent USA Rink and 1932 Jack Shea Arena will each receive a fixed-digit scoreboard on the end walls of their arenas.