Bright LEDs, big scoreboard

The Wall Street Journal has some facts and figures on the Dallas Cowboys’ new Texas-sized scoreboard. It cost $40 million, is 160 ft long and 72 ft high, weighs 600 tons, is suspended 90 ft above the field, and it includes 30 million LEDs that provide high-end home TV resolution. (Shameless self-promotion plug: click here to learn more about designing with LEDs.)The Journal reports that the center-hung screen’s unusual location resulted in calls to raise the screen higher above the field when a punt during a preseason game hit the screen. The National Football League ruled that the screen could stay where it was.

Team owner Jerry Jones told the Journal that the screen makes business sense, allowing the stadium to better to compete with the comforts of home and the high-definition, big-screen televisions many fans now own.

But, the Journal notes, some fans find the scoreboard distracting rather that attractive. Said one fan, “You don’t even know there’s a field, you stare at the board so much.” If fans find themselves consistently ignoring the field in favor of watching the 30-million-LED scoreboard, they may indeed decide to stay home, where, as the Journal points out, “…the seats are comfortable, the parking is easy, and the beers don’t cost $8.”