Twins New Ballpark Taps Daktronics Scoreboard

Daktronics has been selected by the Minnesota Twins to design and build one of the largest integrated scoreboards at Target Field, the new downtown Minneapolis ballpark scheduled to open in 2010.
“The Twins organization is pleased to announce Daktronics as our scoreboard- and video-board-technology partner for Target Field,” says Dave St. Peter, president of the Minnesota Twins. “Not only is Daktronics based in Twins Territory, but we’ve seen what they have provided at other MLB ballparks, and the positive impact their systems have had on the overall fan experience. Our great fans will really enjoy this 1080 high-definition video display and the other complementary components of the system.”
The centerpiece of the integrated system is a large, true-HD display that will measure approximately 101 feet wide by 57 feet high and feature Daktronics HD-X LED video technology. The video board can be operated as a single giant display or divided into multiple zones to show a wide variety of content, including statistics, graphics, animation, and live and recorded video.
More than 1,230 feet of full-color Daktronics digital-ribbon display technology, in five configurations, will accent the inside of the ballpark. The ribbon board will be more than 523 feet long and located behind home plate. These displays will energize fans with in-game information, out-of-town scores, advertisements, and crowd prompts. They will also open up creative opportunities for sponsors to get their messages across through motion graphics. Two of the smaller ribbon boards will be dedicated to closed-captioning for the hearing impaired.
The new ballpark will have one of Major League Baseball’s largest and most capable out-of-town game scoreboards as part of the right-center-field fence. The display will measure about 109 feet wide by 12 feet high and will have the ability to show up-to-the-minute information on the current pitcher, hitter, base runners, game scores and stats, as well as game notes, player head shots, colorful graphics, animations, and video clips.
“For more than seven years, Daktronics has provided the Minnesota Twins and their fans at the Metrodome an enhanced game-day experience,” says Tony Mulder, Daktronics regional sales manager. “As the Twins move back to the outdoors, Daktronics is pleased to provide Target Field with the latest in scoring and video-display technology. The Twins and their fans will experience the game like never before.”
The contract also calls for the manufacture of full-color LED displays near the bullpen and at the entry plaza, 14 backlit fixed advertising panels, 37 small LED ticket-window displays, and two long LED ticker displays in the ballpark’s restaurants.