Published: August 29, 2008 12:00 am            

New OU videoboard will open eyes

When it's fully lit, it gives off a glow akin to the space ship in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Some fans who make their way to Owen Field for Oklahoma's season opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga today, will get the same feeling when they see what sits in the south end zone.

The new videoboard will open eyes and cause others to squint. Visually there's a lot to digest. Over 113 feet wide and 32 1/2 feet high, it stretches the length of the end zone.

The board will be the biggest change for fans this season.

"Game atmosphere is an important part of what draws people to the stadium," OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said. "Obviously, the team is the most important part, but whatever we can provide to make our gameday atmosphere exceptional we'll hold up to anybody."

The Sooners will try to do that with one of the biggest technological upgrades in the stadium's 83-year history. Consider the old videoboard in Owen Field's south end zone was only a fourth the size.

Castiglione said the project took three years from planning to tonight's debut. The board, built by South Dakota-based Daktronics, was installed at a cost of $4.5 million with all money coming from OU's athletic department. No state funds were used.

"The best choice for us is to avoid any burden placed on ticket holders," Castiglione said. "Not a penny of the ticket price went to the construction of this board. It was all funded by our corporate partners."

The entire board has high-definition capability, and OU also will employ high-definition cameras for the first time this season.

There's also the belief the technology upgrades will be a major fundraiser.

Learfield Communications, under the heading of Sooner Sports Properties, and OU are in a 10-year, $76 million contract for multi-media rights.

Part of what Learfield purchased was the advertising rights at all of OU's events. Obviously, the higher quality picture and larger space give Learfield something more attractive to sell.

The massive amount of advertising has been the top complaint about the scoreboard explosions. OU's is believed to be the fourth largest in the country. The top three reside at Texas, Texas A--M and Nebraska.

The one at Texas's Royal Memorial Stadium was dubbed "Godzillarton" when it debuted in 2006. The screen is 7,370 square feet.

Others dubbed it "Adzillatron" for the massive amount of advertising that bombards fans throughout a game.

Castiglione said that won't be the case at Owen Field.

"The advertising won't increase all that much," he said. "We've already established a threshold of advertising and we've added one ... We don't like the commercials that you see at some stadiums as part of their gameday. It just doesn't have the right feel. Everything we do will be short. Quick 5-10 second displays. We want to keep the focus on the game action. We don't want to get over commercialized. We don't want the focus to be on the board."

Perhaps that will be the case in future. But tonight, it will hard to see what sits atop the south end zone at Owen Field.

John Shinn 366-3535 jshinn@normantranscript.com

        

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