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
Giants 400 | Oct 23, 2017
Wooing jocks and fans
Colleges are going all out to optimize the fan experience and make the most of student athletes’ time.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Oct 23, 2017
Top 50 sports construction firms
AECOM, Mortenson Construction, and Turner Construction Co. top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest sports sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 20, 2017
Top 20 sports engineering firms
WSP, Walter P Moore, and ME Engineers top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest sports sector engineering and EA firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 20, 2017
Top 40 sports architecture firms
Populous, HOK, and HKS top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest sports sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Sep 27, 2017
A soccer team’s fan base could play an integral role in its new stadium’s design and operations
Sacramento Republic FC and HNTB are conducting a contest where the public can submit concept ideas.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Sep 11, 2017
Mid-size, multi-use arenas setting a trend for the future
While large 20,000-seat sports venues aren’t going away, mid-size venues provide advantages the big arenas do not in a time of budget constraints and the need for flexibility.
AEC Tech | Aug 25, 2017
Software cornucopia: Jacksonville Jaguars’ new practice facility showcases the power of computational design
The project team employed Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, Kangaroo, and a host of other software applications to design and build this uber-complex sports and entertainment facility.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Aug 18, 2017
Video: Designing the ideal rugby stadium
HOK invited four world-class rugby players into its London studio to discuss what they would like to see in the rugby stadiums of the future.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Aug 16, 2017
Detroit Pistons Performance Center hopes to invigorate the community, create an NBA championship team
The facility will be incorporated into the community with public spaces.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jul 17, 2017
A new Rec Centre in Toronto links three neighborhoods
Community engagement impacts its design and programming.
