The Daktronics Experience

With new technology at their fingertips, Sporting Kansas City is putting on a great match-day experience at Children’s Mercy Park. To get a look behind the scenes, Justin and Matt sat down with Josh Blackford, Vice President of Operations and GM at Children’s Mercy Park, and Blake McFarland, Director of Match Experience for Sporting Kansas City. The conversation covers everything from the unique shape of their main display and how it matches their stadium to how they use multiple displays in coordination to engage their fans.

Links:

• YouTube version: https://youtu.be/uXXGU4Lr-qY?si=55kQIcFwv7E9t-pP
• News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/sporting-kansas-city-revitalizes-led-displays-with-daktronics-technology

Video displays come in all shapes and sizes, and that’s never more apparent than when we partner with DCL (Design Communications Ltd) to bring out-side-the-box projects for our customers. Justin and Matt had a conversation with DCL Vice President Mike McCarthy to hear about these types of projects from channel letters to twisting indoor displays and much more.

Links:

• DCL Website: https://www.designcommunicationsltd.com/
• Patriots News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/gillette-stadium-to-feature-largest-outdoor-end-zone-display-in-professional-football-from-daktronics
• The Conversation News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/new-digital-installation-is-turning-heads-from-design-communications-ltd-dcl-street-works-studio-and-daktronics-at-assembly-row-in-somerville-massachusetts
• The Star News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/daktronics-and-dcl-deliver-curved-led-feature-display-for-complexity-gaming

ON-SITE PODCAST:

Gillette Stadium just completed a massive renovation project in the north end zone as they continually elevate the game-day experience for their fans. To dig into the details, Justin and Matt visited the stadium and spoke with Doug Klausen, Senior Director of AV & Broadcast Systems, and Woody Benisek-Beal, Director of Construction at The Kraft Group. 

Links:

• YouTube Interview: https://www.youtube.com/daktronicsinc 
• Episode 182 - Bringing Life to Gillette Stadium’s Largest End Zone Display
  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTIE_XhWagk
  • Audio: https://podcast.daktronics.com/e/182-bringing-life-to-gillette-stadium-s-largest-end-zone-display/ 
• News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/gillette-stadium-to-feature-largest-outdoor-end-zone-display-in-professional-football-from-daktronics 

When it comes to delivering an amazing fan experience using the latest and greatest Daktronics technology, Abbey and Jen at Gillette Stadium know all about it! Abbey Thistle is the Director of Event Presentation and Fan Engagement and Jen Gahan is the Manager of Game Entertainment and Fan Engagement for the stadium and sat down with Justin and Matt after a big win to discuss everything that goes into controlling their game-day experience as well as the largest end zone video display in America.

The Denver Broncos invited us back to hear more about their LED display upgrade at Empower Field at Mile High. This time, Justin and Matt were on the field with Russ Trainor and Hailey Sullivan to get the details of how they plan to activate the main display and corner boards, hear more info on the back-end IT side of things and what they are looking forward to this season for special themes at every home game.

Links:

• Denver Broncos Video Board Goes Mile High with Daktronics | Daktronics Experience Podcast Ep.169: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnlVKdrj7WU&t=1631s
• News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/denver-broncos-add-to-game-day-experience-with-24-500-square-feet-of-led-displays-from-daktronics-in-2023
• Building the Mile High Video Experience for the Denver Broncos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo0U2joHMio 

When the Denver Broncos looked to upgrade their video display experience at Empower Field at Mile High, they made it the tallest main end zone display in the league at 72 feet tall by 225 feet wide. But that's not all, they upgraded their auxiliary displays and concourses with new technology as well. Justin and Matt sat down with Nick Schultz and Pat Jordan to hear all about how they are using this technology to build energy for the team and their fans.

Links:

• News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/denver-broncos-add-to-game-day-experience-with-24-500-square-feet-of-led-displays-from-daktronics-in-2023 
• YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnlVKdrj7WU&t=1630s 

Fans of outdoor baseball in Minnesota have a new reason to cheer as the Twins and Target Field upgraded their LED display technology for the 2023 baseball season. To hear all the details and how the new tech is impacting the experience, Justin and Matt visited with Sam Henschen, Director, Game-Day Experience for the Minnesota Twins. He talks about the evolution of the Twins home ballparks, including the changes in technology at those venues, and how they're catering to their fans' needs this year and beyond.

• YouTube Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTra3z_xLG0&t=16s
• News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/daktronics-to-upgrade-experience-at-target-field-for-minnesota-twins-with-75-larger-hdr-capable-main-video-display 

When fans pack into Lambeau Field to watch the Green Bay Packers, they’re in for the experience of a lifetime. Knowing the stakes, we talked with Kregg Shilbauer, Packers Director of Digital, Broadcast and Game Presentation, to hear about their investment in new LED video displays ahead of the 2023 season – including the highest resolution end zone displays in the entire league.

Links:

• News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/green-bay-packers-select-daktronics-to-deliver-high-resolution-experience-at-lambeau-field
• YouTube Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yPjf3CHuR8 

We’re set to host the inaugural Women in Sports online event on July 25! What is this event all about? We talked with Sarah Rose, Daktronics vice president of global services, to hear all the details, including information on the keynote speaker, Desiree Reed-Francois.

Links:

• Women in Sports Webpage: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/events/women-in-sports
• Women in Sports News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/daktronics-connects-women-in-sports-with-online-event
• Previous Podcast with Sarah: https://podcast.daktronics.com/e/40-a-high-level-view-of-daktronics-services-with-sarah-rose/

When getting your display system up and running, Daktronics Application Engineers are your biggest advocates! Justin and Matt sat down with Greg Fleischbein to hear how he helps customers bring their systems online and implement features they need to captivate their audiences. Learn about the multiple things this group does in this episode.

• Daktronics Professional Services Webpage: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/markets/sports/services