Friday, May 25, 2012

BBVA Compass Stadium

 After a 2 month road trip, the Dynamo played their first home game at the new BBVA Compass Stadium. Just near the Astros' ballpark, the new downtown stadium seats 22k. Populous designed this stadium, and it cost them 95 million dollars. This is just another soccer specific stadium in the MLS, and the increasing size is worth noting. Off the top of my head, I think only New England, DC, and Seattle play in stadiums not built for soccer usage.

It also looks really cool from the outside!

New Scoreboard for the Bolts

The Lightning signed off on a new arena scoreboard at the Forum. In addition to the 42 million dollar renovations last summer, the Lightning will introduce a Jerry-World esque scoreboard for 5 million dollars. The length of the board will run along the ice, and the ends will have their own.

The system, developed by renowned industry-leader, Daktronics, will feature the largest high definition center-hung video displays in any U.S. or Canadian arena. The 28 foot high/50 foot long board will include a state-of-the-art control room, and allow for a true high definition signal with 1,296 lines of resolution.

The only other arena I know that has this is the Tulsa basketball arena, so this might be the future of scoreboards!