The NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves are updating the 26-year-old Target Center, and the plans include a new center-hung video board system that will be installed this summer.
The Target Center’s 15-display video board configuration will consist of 4,300 sf of screens. Each of the four main screens will measure 18x33 feet, with four 6x33-foot auxiliary displays perched on top.
Above the main and auxiliary screens will be a 203-foot ring display. The underside of the center-hung configuration will have six more displays facing the courtside seats.
“Fans will be blown away by this scoreboard,” Ted Johnson, the Chief Strategy and Development Officer for the Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, said in a statement. “Every person who walks into the arena will immediately be impressed and feel the energy buzzing through the crowd. With state of the art technology, the scoreboard sets the new standard for in-arena viewing.”
Photo: Minnesota Timberwolves.
Other NBA teams are also stepping up their video boards.
The Charlotte Hornets are adding a four-panel center-hung scoreboard to Time Warner Cable Arena this summer. The two boards that run parallel to the sideline (as in, the longer boards) will measure 25x43 feet, and the two baseline boards will be 18x31 feet.
The Hornets boast these high-definition, 1080p, LED video displays, but the Sacramento Kings may have just jammed on them like vintage Chris Webber.
Photo: Sacramento Kings/AECOM. Click to enlarge.
The Kings will install 4K Ultra HD video boards in their new Golden 1 Center, which will open in the fall. The screens will have four times the pixels of a standard 1080p display. The boards will be as large as they are sharp: The Kings will have 6,100-sf of screen space, and the main sideline boards will measure 84 feet in length. That’s just 10 feet shorter than the length of the court.
Gigantic displays are becoming the norm in the league. In recent years, the Cavaliers, Rockets, Nuggets, and Jazz have all upgraded their scoreboards. The Bucks and Warriors will open new arenas towards the end of the decade and renderings for each team also show big, sharp video boards.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HDR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest institutional building design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Institutional Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Draft NIST report on Cowboys practice facility collapse released for public comment
A fabric-covered, steel frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys collapsed under wind loads significantly less than those required under applicable design standards, according to a report released today for public comment by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
| Aug 11, 2010
Recreation facility scores with sustainable features
A new $79.1 million health and learning center is under construction on the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff. The 270,000-sf facility will house recreation space, classrooms, health and counseling services, and the Lumberjack Stadium for track and soccer teams. Designed by the Phoenix office of OWP/P Cannon Design with Mortenson Construction as CM, the project is aiming for LEED ...
| Aug 11, 2010
And the world's tallest building is…
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.
| Aug 11, 2010
TCF Bank Stadium first new football stadium to get LEED certification
The University of Minnesota has received LEED Silver certification for its 50,805-seat TCF Bank Stadium, making it the first new football stadium in the country to achieve LEED status. Designed by Populous, Kansas City, Mo., the facility features a stormwater management system that captures and stores rainwater in an underground filtering system, where it is harvested, filtered, and drained int...
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction begins on Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame
Heavy construction and foundation work has started on the new Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame and Regional History Museum in Natchitoches, La. Designed by Trahan Architects, Baton Rouge, the $12 million, 28,000-sf museum will be clad in sinker cypress planks as a nod to the region’s rich timber legacy and to help control light, views, and ventilation throughout the facility.
| Aug 11, 2010
Modest recession for education construction
Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009. Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008.
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Green Building
27. Next-Generation Green Roofs Sprout up in New York New York is not particularly known for its green roofs, but two recent projects may put the Big Apple on the map. In spring 2010, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will debut one of the nation's first fully walkable green roofs. Located across from the Juilliard School in Lincoln Center's North Plaza, Illumination Lawn will consist ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Dream Fields, Lone Star Style
How important are athletic programs to U.S. school districts? Here's one leading indicator: In 2005, the National Football League sold 17 million tickets. That same year, America's high schools sold an estimated 225 million tickets to football games, according to the American Football Coaches Association.
| Aug 11, 2010
Giants 300 University Report
University construction spending is 13% higher than a year ago—mostly for residence halls and infrastructure on public campuses—and is expected to slip less than 5% over the next two years. However, the value of starts dropped about 10% in recent months and will not return to the 2007–08 peak for about two years.
