SoFi Stadium “Scoreboard” Rises Above All Others

SoFi Stadium is striking for many different reasons, but the signature element of the opulent new home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers hangs 122 feet above the playing field.

It’s the world’s first dual-sided, center-hung video board, which marks another evolution in scoreboard development and how fans consume information during games.

The video board at AT&T Stadium, fittingly nicknamed ”JerryTron” after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, tried to bring an arena experience at a much larger scale to a stadium. The ”Haloboard” at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium was the first 360-degree board at a stadium when it opened in 2017.

Three years later, this board has upped the ante. SoFi Stadium hosts its first game Sunday when the Rams welcome the Dallas Cowboys.

”Everyone was interested in taking it to the next level. It is connected to the architecture and allows us to create this canvas for digital immersion,” said Lance Evans, the stadium’s main architect from design firm HKS. ”The way that the video board interacts as you walk around the venue is the beautiful piece of the design. You always feel like you are connected to it but it doesn’t scream for your attention.

The way that we’ve created the elliptical shape with the aperture that allows light to flow through – it is a complementary shape and form.”

SoFi Stadium’s video board is the largest ever created, with 70,000 square feet of digital LED space. It is also the first and only board that is capable of 4k video from end to end.

It weighs  2.2. million pounds, it took nearly six months to construct and raise.

Samsung manufactured the video display, making this the fourth NFL stadium where it has video boards. Mark Quiroz, Samsung’s Vice President for Product Marketing, said one of the biggest challenges was trying to make sure the construction could take place while everything else was going on around the complex.

In the three months since the board was lifted, it has been tested to make sure the display was consistent throughout all seating levels.

”We want that screen to look as perfect as it can be along with there being a perfect balance,” he said.

When it comes to what can go on the board, there really aren’t any limits.

The size of the board allows for multiple feeds where fantasy stats can be showed along with instant replays, live action or multiple events. There also can be the possibility of showing other games.

While fans aren’t allowed into Rams or Chargers games for the foreseeable future because of the coronavirus pandemic, both teams will be able to put the board through many different tests to come up with the best presentation format.

But there is one group who will be able to see it this season – the players.

”The video board is dope, just the way it circles the whole field. It’s going to be exciting and hard not to watch,” Chargers receiver Keenan Allen said.

 

FILE – In this Sept. 4, 2020, file photo, The playing field and seating areas of SoFi Stadium, future home for NFL football’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, is viewed in Inglewood, Calif. Welcome to Sofi Stadium, Stan Kroenke’s billion-dollar palace where the Rams and Chargers will call home. The fans will be at home due to COVID-19, and look for huge TV ratings for this prime-time affair.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

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