Technology is moving at lightning speed and we are in a constant run to keep up with it. Beyond just the latest gadgets, we are a society that is eager to ‘connect’ in every way possible. Some psychologists have offered views that our constant state of knowing has placed an added stress never before seen in our society. They recommend that we allow ourselves some down time. One of the most popular stress relievers remains attending a favorite sport competition. This is a time we can have a more personal connectivity and enjoy our favorite teams. The role of the electronic scoreboard has surpassed all expectations as a zone of attention and the 21st century is bringing the scoreboard to the fans as a personal experience.
Most of us take the scoreboard for granted. As the years have passed, we have seen it evolve from a hand held device to keep us updated on the teams score to a colorful LED display with automatic updates and commercials. The electronic scoreboard has entered into this century with a roar – adding visual effects, real time video, and music and offering the marketing groups a pure branding environment. The demand by our society for more continues the challenge for electronic scoreboard manufacturers. Larger sized scoreboards, coupled with high quality sound has given us an almost real-time, on the field experience. Mechanics have been replaced with programmers and graphic designers. So what do we have to look forward to in the next twenty years?
Continue reading “21st Century Scoreboards: The full experience”
You don’t have to go to Vegas to see everything in lights anymore. The truth is, the lowly electronic scoreboard has surpassed even the manufacturer’s anticipated results. We are delightfully bombarded with the latest technology in scoreboards at every turn, and the promise of the future looks like this trend will continue.
Each new school year the Director of the Sports Department has a meeting to review the needs of the various teams. Everything is examined: from uniforms to the condition of the field or stadium. As each sports team regroups for the season, they will also add their input for what they feel is needed for the success of the year. On the top of the list is the electronic scoreboard.
There is an entire generation that has grown up not knowing what life was like without the internet, phone apps and high tech electronics. As a society, we have sped with lightning evolution into an age where everything can be viewed, communicated and shared, in an instant. In the U.S., the supply and demand channel for high tech has been backed by the hungry fans of our sports teams. We have progressed from a nation attending a hometown game with the old fashioned manual scoreboard to an expectation level of streaming, moment-by-moment updates on electronic scoreboards.
Electronic Scoreboards are seen in every new stadium that has been built. The Dallas Cowboys’ new $1.4 billion stadium looks to have the largest scoreboard ever created, with it being completely digital and capable of showing high quality video to virtually every guest in attendance. Sports scoreboards for a long time have been regarded as an advertising tool for many businesses, with signs and banners plastered all over the older models that were well before the time of affordable digital design. Then came LED message boards which opened up a broad spectrum of possibilities for companies that sought advertisement space or those who wanted to be more creative in their methods of putting thoughts of product into the minds of those within reach. Its a game of exposure, and exposure is the prime focus of all advertising.