LED Display Upgrades from Daktronics will Improve Cyclone Fan Experience

23 displays totaling 20,000 square feet slated for installation across seven locations on campus in Ames

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Sept. 25, 2024 – Through an award made from a recent competitive request for proposal, Daktronics (NASDAQ-DAKT) of Brookings, South Dakota, is manufacturing and installing 23 LED displays across seven locations on campus at Iowa State University in Ames. The project delivers more than 20,000 square feet of digital displays to support Cyclone Athletics and additional events. Basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling, soccer, track and field, and aquatics will be completed in 2024 while football and softball displays will be completed in 2025.

“We are anxious to unveil our new video displays in many of our facilities this fall and believe that Cyclone fans will enjoy an enhanced game-day experience thanks to the state-of-the-art technology upgrades these systems will provide,” said Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard. “We believe that our new video displays, coupled with the installation of new audio systems in all of our venues this year, will take our game-day experience to a whole new level.”

Hilton Coliseum

Supporting multiple sports, James H. Hilton Coliseum is receiving a new centerhung to deliver all the video, stats and more that fans expect from every event. The main video display will be a continuous design for a seamless 360-degree viewing experience. It will measure roughly 15.5 feet high by 113 feet in circumference and will feature 3.9-millimeter pixel spacing to deliver crisp clear imagery to fans in every seat.

Below the main display, two underbelly displays will measure 6.5 feet high by 11.5 feet wide to appeal to fans sitting closer to the action. Each will feature 3.9-millimeter pixel spacing and supplement content shown on the main display. 

Circling the arena along the seating fascia will be a long, narrow ribbon board measuring 1.5 feet high by 830 feet long and featuring 10-millimeter pixel spacing. In each corner of the arena will be corner ribbon boards, each of the four displays measuring 2.5 feet high by 26 feet wide and also featuring 10-millimeter pixel spacing. Closer to the action, five LED scorers tables will each measure 2.5 feet high by 6.5 feet wide and feature 3.9-millimeter pixel spacing. These tables can be set up in any configuration to fit the event being hosted at Hilton Coliseum. 

The ribbons and scorers tables offer the ability to highlight sponsors throughout events while also sharing supplemental graphics, animations and statistics to the main display.  

“We are excited about the opportunity to work with Iowa State University,” said Matt Warnke, Daktronics sales representative. “The upgrades they are making across campus will help enhance what are already great game-day environments. The upgrades refresh a 2006 installation at Hilton Coliseum and an installation from 2011 at Jack Trice Stadium. These upgrades highlight Daktronics’ ability to design and manufacture LED display technology that stands the test of time and our commitment to providing customer support that is second to none. We look forward to seeing all of these displays come online and the impact they will have on the fan experience.”

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Jack Trice Stadium

When Cyclone fans head to a football game at Jack Trice Stadium in 2025, four new LED displays will enhance their experience. The north end zone will receive a display measuring approximately 36 feet high by 157 feet wide while the south end zone will receive a display measuring roughly 36 feet high by 79 feet wide. Both will feature 13-millimeter pixel spacing, an improvement in resolution from the previously existing 15-millimeter pixel spacing.

Along the seating fascia, two ribbon displays will each measure 3.5 feet high by 625 feet long and feature 15-millimeter pixel spacing. These will supplement content on the main end zone displays while also highlighting sponsors and sharing their messages throughout each game and special event.

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Additional Displays

Iowa State University is upgrading and providing new LED displays at four other venues:

-          At Beyer Hall for aquatics, the display will measure 11.5 feet high by 21 feet wide and feature 5.9-millimeter pixel spacing.

-          At the Cyclone Sports Complex for soccer, the display will measure 15.5 feet high by 27.5 feet wide and feature 10-millimeter pixel spacing.

-          At the Cyclone Sports Complex for softball in 2025, the display will measure 14.5 feet high by 26.5 feet wide and feature 10-millimeter pixel spacing.

-          At Lied Recreation Athletic Center for indoor track and field, the display will measure 11.5 feet high by 21 feet wide and feature 5.9-millimeter pixel spacing.

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Each of these displays, including the main video displays at Hilton Coliseum and Jack Trice Stadium, are capable of variable content zoning. This allows each display the flexibility to show multiple zones of content as needed for each event’s production needs. The content could be any combination of live video, instant replay, up-to-the-minute statistics and results, game and meet information, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages.

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To control all of these displays, custom Daktronics control solutions will be installed at each venue including Show Control and Venus Control Suite. Together, these control solutions offer great flexibility and capability for each production and display to show all the needed content and information. Hilton Coliseum is also receiving Camino to provide a new level of functionality. It allows for the creation of dynamic, real-time rendered content that was previously not available in a Daktronics system. 

Camino opens up creative possibilities to display visuals in a 2D/3D space, incorporating data-based logic to automate production elements, and developing timelines within a single piece of content so it can react in real time as the event unfolds.

Included in the equipment installation, the Cyclones will receive a digital content package to be produced and delivered by Daktronics Creative Services. 

Daktronics has grown with the sports industry from the company’s beginnings in 1968. Today, the company has LED video display installations at hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States. For more information on what Daktronics can provide for the collegiate market, visit www.daktronics.com/college.

About Iowa State Athletics

Named the 2023 Entrepreneurial University of the Year for the Americas, Iowa State University is a special place located in Ames, Iowa. But what truly makes Iowa State unique is a rare combination of campus beauty, the opportunity to be a part of the land-grant experiment, and the progressive and innovative spirit of the Cyclone experience. As a public, Land Grant institution, Iowa State enjoys a world-renowned reputation for its excellence incorporating entrepreneurial initiatives throughout the university and prioritizing entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education. 

The Cyclones are an NCAA Division I FBS athletics program and a founding member of the Big 12 Conference. Iowa State began competing in intercollegiate athletics in 1892 and currently sponsors 18 intercollegiate sports.