We all know that US sports venues are great examples of how – in a positive way – digital signage and big LED walls became a commodity.
This one is special, because it links a a very “traditional” venue with the modern experience that comes with digitization: Butler University in Indiana is upgrading its iconic Hinkle Fieldhouse with LED from SNA Displays.
Built in 1928, Hinkle Fieldhouse has the status of a National Historic Landmark and is also called “Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral”.
SNA Displays tells the story in the press release: “Six U.S. presidents have delivered speeches at the venue. It was also the site of a world-record-tying 60-yard dash by future Olympic gold medalist Jessie Owens in 1935 and the first all-Black high school team in the US to win a state championship in 1956 led by future Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson. The Fieldhouse was utilized as US Army and Navy barracks during World War II. It was also the filming location of the dramatic final scenes of the 1986 movie Hoosiers, in addition to hosting the 1954 high school state championship game on which that movie is based.”
Today, Hinkle Fieldhouse is home to the Butler Bulldogs’ basketball and volleyball programs and served as a host site for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament four years ago.
Not that Hinkle Fieldhouse didn’t have a center hung scoreboard – but the new media right partnership with Playfly Sports also included an upgrade of these facilities. Technology consultant Anthony James Partners (AJP) provided design, procurement, and construction administration services for the upgrades; for the hardware part, SNA Displays was chosen.
The centerpiece of the project is a new LED center hung display cube, which will consist of four LED walls which are about 4 meters (14 foot) high and have a 4 millimeter pixelpitch.
Additionally, there will be installed:
- 0.5-meter-high LED ribbons along the second-level fascia
- two 5.7-meter-long vomitory displays between the second and third levels
- eight courtside mobile scorer’s tables equipped with LED screens
- two 16:9 screens in an adjacent practice facility
All screens will be integrated into a new control management system. SNA Displays will also provide demolition and removal services for the venue’s outdated display technology.