CSU going big with new stadium's scoreboard

Fans won't have any trouble seeing the scoreboard at CSU's new on-campus stadium this fall, no matter where you sit.

That's because it's the size of a high school basketball court, 84 feet across and 50 feet high.

That's more than three times as large as the main video board at the Rams former home field, Hughes Stadium, and one of the 25 largest in college football, school officials said.

If you're seated in the south end zone, with the scoreboard behind you, don't fret. The giant Panasonic video board will be supplemented by nearly a quarter-mile of ribbon video screen, 3 feet high, wrapping around the stadium. It will provide key statistics, out-of-town scores, prompts urging specific cheers at key times and, of course, those ads from sponsors that fans have come to expect while attending NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL games.

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The main video board at the new stadium will provide many of the same visuals as at Hughes as well as high-definition replays, promotional videos, photos shared by fans through social media.

A spokeswoman for Panasonic said she was unable to discuss the video board's capabilities, referring all questions to Colorado State University. Doug Wilson, the project manager for stadium construction for Icon Venue Group, said Panasonic put in a bid to provide the larger video board for the same price that had been budgeted for a 68-foot-by-38-foot video board and that there was no significant cost to modify the support structure. An itemized construction budget included $5.4 million for the scoreboard and ribbon boards.

It's a major upgrade and one of several elements of the new $220 million stadium, with seating for 36,500 and total capacity of 41,000, designed to enhance the fan experience.

"Our focus is to really revamp and revitalize game day within the stadium, so this technology really helps us do that," said Nick Popplewell, CSU's assistant athletic director for marketing and digital media. "I think fans can expect something new, something fresh and more engaging from the game-day experience inside the stadium."

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CSU is also adding enhanced Wi-Fi coverage throughout the stadium and distributed antenna systems to boost the signals of major cellphone service providers, making it easier for fans to keep track of other games and post to social media about the Rams and their own game-day experiences.

"We have to make it an entertainment experience for folks," Popplewell said. "… You're going to have traditional football fans: 'Hey, I'm going to the game and I'll just watch the game on the field.' A vast majority of folks, yes they want to go the game, but they also want to be there with their friends and have the amenities and everything else they might get at home at the game. Otherwise, why should I go to the game?

"So that's what we're trying to do, I guess; outdo the home experience at the stadium."

Video production on game days will be handled by as many as 20 people working at the stadium and out of a new control room at Moby Arena. The control room, connected to the stadium via a 48-strand fiber optic cable, will have 11 people working in it on game days, said Benjamin Brune, the athletic department's director of video production. Three more people, including Popplewell, will work out of an auxiliary control room at the new stadium, and a handful of camera operators will be stationed on the field and in the stands to provide live footage, highlights and in-game promotions.

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Most of those working will be students in CSU's journalism and communication media program and a few recent graduates working on a freelance basis, much like the production crews television networks Root Sports, CBS Sports Network and ESPN use for game-day broadcasts.

"We're very lucky to have an unbelievable journalism and communications school here at CSU, and so we draw a lot of our student help from there," Popplewell said. "A lot of schools would love to have that; they just don't. Moving forward, we want to try to continue to build out that partnership, because getting students that can help us on the camera side, the production side, from a talent perspective being on camera, that's where we're going to continue to grow and see things advance."

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Having a single control center for video production that can be used for events at the new stadium, Moby Arena and eventually the school's soccer and softball fields, allowed CSU to invest in new technology that will enhance the video capabilities at all locations, Brune said.

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The universities of Colorado and Minnesota recently built similar video production control centers, said Steve Cottingham, CSU's executive senior associate athletic director and the athletic department's chief financial officer.

Funding for the $1.83 million project is coming from cost efficiencies in the stadium construction budget that provided $545,000 and a $1.28 million loan to the athletic department from the university's general fund that will be repaid over the next five years, Cottingham said.

The additional advertising and sponsorship revenue opportunities that the new video equipment provides should more than cover the costs of building and operating the control room, Popplewell said.

CSU fans, inevitably, will compare the video presentation to what was offered at Hughes Stadium. But a better barometer, Brune said, is what fans experience during Denver Broncos home game.

The new video capabilities are that much better.

"It's definitely something that Colorado State fans are just not accustomed to, because this is just going to be such an experience-changer," he said.

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news

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