Memorial Stadium might not be home to any football games during the summer, but the facility’s staff is keeping plenty busy with several renovations.
Among the new features fans will take in when the Cornhuskers take the field Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic are additional video boards and two ribbon boards and a complete transition to high-definition video.
The video boards, which are 24 feet long and 21 feet tall, have been installed on the northeast and southeast towers of the stadium and match their south-side counterparts.
“They’re in the final process of being completed,” said Shot Kleen, NU director of technology. “We’re in the final stages of getting them fine-tuned right now.”
The new video screens will be a much-welcomed addition by fans in the North stadium. Most had to turn around and look at the more than 4,000 square foot scoreboard in order to see replays.
“Everyone in the North stadium will be able to see a screen and just about every person in the stadium will be able to see a screen,” Kleen said. “We think it’s probably one of the best setups in the country.”
The innovative new ribbon boards will hang on the balconies on East and West stadiums. The electronic boards are only about four feet tall but are 307 feet long and will stretch from end zone to end zone.
During games, the ribbon boards will report game statistics, promotions and updated scores from the Big 12 conference and around the country.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to update stats more quickly,” Kleen said. “We’re really unlimited with the amount of information we can put on them.”
To go along with the new boards, HuskerVision is in the final stages of completing its full transition to high-definition programming.
All video that is fed to the video screens will be in HD, and that will continue during basketball season at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Kleen said upgrading digital production has become “an arms race” among schools around the nation.
“I personally think our creative staff is a key element of HuskerVision, and they make a difference in the production and in the fan experience,” he said. “Everyone will have great equipment now, but we will stand out there.”
Kleen’s full-time staff is currently being trained on the new equipment, and production of material for this fall – including the Tunnel Walk video – is underway.
Part of the transition to HD requires creating a digital archive of film and tape from old Husker football games. The clips will go through a process of upconverting in order to appear in HD.
The renovations cost more than $3 million and were funded a number of ways.
IMG, the athletic department’s marketing company, paid for the ribbon boards, and the video screens were part of the athletic department budget; a $2-per-game price hike on season tickets helped defray those costs.
-Compiled by Max Olson
