Northwestern State’s Turpin Stadium will have a dramatically enhanced game-day experience for Demon football games beginning this fall with installation of a new, much larger LED video display scoreboard, along with audio upgrades, athletics director Greg Burke said Monday.

Nearly $900,000 in sponsor commitments have been secured by NSU Athletics to cover the cost of the project, said Burke. It has been approved by the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System, which includes Northwestern, and was endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Demons Unlimited Foundation, the non-profit fund-raising arm of NSU Athletics.

Daktronics, the industry leader in video boards and scoreboards, will design, manufacture and install the new system. NSU has had Daktronics products at its athletics venues since 1996, including a 2008 round of privately-funded installations totaling $2.2 million for boards at Turpin Stadium, Prather Coliseum (basketball, volleyball), Brown-Stroud Field (baseball), Lady Demon Diamond (softball) and the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex.

The latest Turpin Stadium upgrade comes on the heels of a $600,000 donation last year by former Demon football player Bryant Lewis and his wife Heloise that funded installation of new chairback seating and other enhancements.

The new video board’s LED display screen will be more than double the size of its predecessor, said Burke.

“Northwestern State is pleased to continue its partnership, which originated 20 years ago, with the world’s largest and best scoreboard company by installing an updated and greatly enhanced video board at Turpin Stadium,” said Burke. “Our university, football program and fan base deserve this tremendous upgrade.

“I cannot wait until our home opener Sept. 16 to see how it will change the game-day experience for Demon fans and students. What excites me most about this project is the infusion of enthusiasm it will create in our football locker room, as well as among our season ticket holders and fan base.”

Burke said the Turpin Stadium project is the first in a series of planned facility enhancements to the NSU Athletics complex, with others in earlier stages of development. Demons football coach Jay Thomas said the enhancements already have had significant impact for his program.

“Our players are excited and looking forward to our fans enjoying this new video board this fall,” he said. “Turpin Stadium has a great home game atmosphere and this will just make it even better. Our recruiting has already gotten a jolt from this and once the board is installed, and we’re bringing in young men to experience Demon football, this will be something they’ll remember as they’re making their college choices.

“We appreciate our athletic administration, the DUF, and the sponsors who are making it possible,” he said.

The new north end zone display will feature a 15HD pixel layout and measure approximately 17 feet high by 54 feet wide. The large digital canvas will provide excellent image clarity and contrast with wide angle visibility to appeal to every seat in the stadium.

“This new video board will be a positive on many levels, most notably the impact it will have on the Demon football program and on NSU home football Saturdays. Recruiting, image and branding will all benefit from this new look,” said Burke. “For our fans, based on the configuration of Turpin Stadium, this new video board will make them feel as if they are sitting in their living rooms watching the Demons.”

Capable of variable content zoning, the new LED display can be used to show one large image or it can be divided into multiple windows to show any variety of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, graphics, animations and sponsorship messages.

“We’re excited to continue our long-standing partnership with NSU,” said Andrew Rice, Daktronics sales representative. “The new video display is going to be an amazing addition to their live event productions on game-day, both for the student-athletes and the fans. It will be great to see the completed project and how it helps the university achieve its goals this year.”

Daktronics will also be adding improvements to the audio system which is integrated with the video and scoring system. The audio upgrades will improve the full-range sound reproduction and help deliver clear and intelligible speech for a powerful audio experience for the fans.

In addition to the equipment installation, NSU will also receive a bank of hours for the creation of digital content to be produced and delivered by Daktronics Creative Services. This content will consist of a mixture of sponsorship messages, crowd prompts, headshots, game opens and venue announcements.

Daktronics LED video and messaging display technology features industry-leading environmental protection for a long lifetime with consistent performance and low power consumption, providing value and excitement for years to come.

 

Source:shreveporttimes.com

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