Daktronics Improves Control System Capabilities for Pro Football Venues

Daktronics has incorporated four new features to control systems that directly benefit professional football game-day operations in 2014. The features currently in use, and exclusively offered by Daktronics, consist of an out-of-town field graphic, last play widget, last play trigger and running time of possession clock, all provided by Daktronics to improve the functionality for scoreboard operators which in turn directly improves the overall experience for the fans.

The out of town field graphic enhances the fan experience by providing a visual, current-state representation from other games round the league. This feature provides a fully-customizable, full-field image representing the location of the offense on the current drive, usually paired with other standard statistical data including the score, game time remaining, and down and distance. This automated solution provides fans more information without adding work for game-day operators.

“When we are designing graphics for home games at FirstEnergy Stadium, we always hope to maximize what Daktronics’ next generation technology can offer our fans using the new video boards and their complementary digital elements,” said Browns Motion Graphic Artist, Content & Production Rich Hanchette. “Browns fans are passionate about football and are highly interested in scores from throughout the league, and we are now able to vividly and accurately provide them that information with Daktronics’ new field graphic generator to improve their in-stadium experience. By creating a visual and data driven version of the out of town scores, fans at FirstEnergy Stadium can be fully engaged with the Browns game while staying completely up to date on what’s happening throughout the country on Sundays.”

The last play widget provides game-day operators the knowledge that the most recent play has been entered by GSIS, the official statistical entry system for professional football. This widget informs the operator the statistical information they are about to put on the LED displays is up to date and accurate prior to seeing it on the displays in front of the entire audience.

“Prior to the last play widget, we could not confirm that the most recent play had been inputted by GSIS,” said Jay O’Brien, Baltimore Ravens director of broadcasting and game-day productions. “This led to situations where a big play would occur, we would trigger the statistical graphic and that big play was not yet inputted. As a result, we often waited too long to give our fans the information they expect from us. The last play widget now gives us the confidence that our statistical graphics are both timely and accurate.”

The last play trigger, commonly used on television broadcasts, is now available for LED displays. It provides for an automatic statistical graphic to roll up on the display after each play has been entered by GSIS without any extra effort from game-day operators. The player who made the run, pass or catch will come up with their jersey number, total attempts or catches, total number of yards, and average per play. This info slides up on the scoring graphic and then slides back down automatically, giving fans a quick summary after each play.

The running time of possession clock provides a running clock for the current drive versus the previous static clock. This feature is automatically triggered to reset at the change of possession, starting and stopping with the official game clock. This is an upgrade over the static clock that updates after every play, and when combined with total plays and total yards, provides the best current drive presentation in professional football.

“Daktronics is committed to helping professional football enhance the overall game-day experience for fans at every event,” said Tony Kuck, Daktronics control systems manager. “By listening to our customers and brainstorming new ideas, we’re happy to release these new innovative control features to the market. We’ll continue to listen and innovate in the future to provide the best control features for our customers.”