ALEX HAUETER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, June 6, 2006 7:00 pm
Having placed 6,500 new seats above the north end zone of Memorial Stadium, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln began focusing on what all football stadiums really need — a big screen.
Installation of the Huskers’ new video screen began Tuesday, said Shot Kleen, director of operations for HuskerVision. The 117-by-33-foot area is equivalent to two 16:9 aspect ratio screens placed side-by-side.
The screen is made of 168 LED panels, which are guided into place by a crane at ground level and crews working within the video board’s frame. Each piece is bolted into iron girders that are buried in the bedrock below the stadium.
“They’re not going to fall out,” Kleen said reassuringly.
Installation of the new screen is expected to take five days. Mitsubishi, who manufactures the LED elements, will test the system in July before handing control over to HuskerVision.
In addition to the north end zone screen, Kleen said crews will install two 24-foot-wide LED screens in the southeast and southwest corners of the stands to replace the existing Husker Vision screens, which use outdated technology.
Crews will also install new LED scoreboards at field level in the southwest and northeast corners.
Memorial Stadium became the first college-only stadium with video screens when the original Husker Vision screens were installed in 1994, kicking off an “arms race” to build video boards in college stadiums across the country.
The new board will bring Memorial Stadium back to the leading edge.
“We designed this not to be the biggest,” he said, “but (we designed it) to our needs and our fans’ (needs) and our stadium.”
Reach Alex Haueter at 473-2646 or ahaueter@journalstar.com.