Venue News: Sports Authority Eyes Broncos’ Stadium Naming Rights

Sports Authority is in negotiations with Invesco, the Broncos, and the Metropolitan Football Stadium District to assume naming rights of the venue that has been home to Denver’s NFL franchise since 2001. If the stadium district approves the deal during a public meeting Tuesday, Sports Authority will pay $150 million over the next 25 years for the right to have its name on the Broncos’ stadium. Invesco Funds Group, a Denver- based mutual fund group, signed a 20-year, $120 million deal for naming rights that was set to expire in 2020. From those naming-rights revenues, 50% goes to the stadium district and 50% is allocated to the Broncos. That same split would be retained in the proposed deal with Sports Authority. All involved parties said Invesco was not looking to end its relationship with the Broncos…

… BB&T Field, home of the Wake Forest University Demon Deacon football team, will feature a new integrated video and scoring system for the 2011 season. The LED displays will be designed, manufactured, and installed by Daktronics. 

The focal point of the new system will consist of large-screen video display located in the south end zone. Measuring approximately 42 feet high by 90 feet wide, the video display will provide live and recorded video, with picture in picture capability and multiple zones to show scores, statistics, and sponsor. The University will also be adding two ribbon displays each measuring approximately five feet high by 24 feet wide. The ribbon boards will flank a fixed digit scoreboard that will measure 70 feet wide. Also included in the project are Daktronics video image processing technologies and the new Show
Control system…

… Liberty University announced plans to construct a new baseball stadium next to its recently expanded Williams Stadium, home to Liberty’s football team. The new baseball stadium, which will seat about 3,000 spectators, should be completed well before baseball season in spring 2013. Midway through the 2011 season, Liberty changed the outfield landscape at Williams Stadium by installing a state-of-the-art scoreboard and video board. The fixture, which measures 51 feet long by 47 feet height, features the latest video technology, message center, radar gun, and a five-foot high traditional-style clock. Officials at the University hope the addition of the new baseball stadium will further enhance their position as a prominent collegiate athletics program…

… University of Washington athletic department officials introduced “The Drive For Husky Stadium” campaign, including the launch of HuskyStadium.com, a website dedicated to providing information about the Husky Stadium renovation. The campaign will carry fans through a transition year at CenturyLink Field and into an enhanced gameday experience in a renovated Husky Stadium. HuskyStadium.com provides details of the renovation’s improvements through a 360-degree virtual venue system. The site also offers users the first intricate look at the stadium’s premium seating offerings and allows interested parties to place deposits on premium opportunities…

…With one month to go before Montana State University’s first home game of the 2011 football season, construction crews began installing a key piece of the $10 million Bobcat Stadium expansion – a giant new scoreboard with a high-resolution video screen. When finished, the scoreboard and screen will be 39 feet by 36 feet, weigh 20,000 pounds, and cost about a half-million dollars. The new screen will let stadium fans see instant replays, player biographies, statistics, photos, advertising, and out-of-town scores. Expansion of the stadium will add 5,200 seats to the southeast end zone area, stretching the stadium’s capacity to more than 17,000 fans. Still under construction are new concession stands, larger restrooms, and a new student entry.