Arena Gets Two New Video Scoreboards

SIOUX FALLS, SD - It's down with the old and up with the new at the Sioux Falls Arena. Crews from Daktronics are in town this week replacing the old scoreboards that have hung over the Arena floor for decades and brought on some unwanted national attention.
 
They don't look like much now, but once the giant panels are all pieced together, spectators who attend Arena events will have a front row seat to all the action.

"These boards will give us virtually infinite capabilities; basically a large computer screen.  You can divide it up.  You can do video.  You can do animations.  Virtually anything you can do on a computer you can do on this," Arena General Manager Terry Torkildson said. "We could plug Wii into it and play video games." 

"This is one of our new generation we just released this fall.  This is one of the first few sites that's getting this model," Daktronics Senior Project Manager Aaron Louwajie said.

There will be two LED video boards similar to what's seen in many NBA arenas. They'll measure 10 feet tall by 20 feet wide. 

"It will definitely be a big change from what they've seen in the past.  It should create an exciting atmosphere at the Arena," Louwajie said.

Staff say the old scoreboards were unreliable. During the last two Summit League Basketball Tournaments, the scoreboards malfunctioned on national television.

"It was a major issue to them because of the timing that happened during the tournament.  It was kind of an embarrassment to them," Torkildson said.

That's why the city invested $550,000 to replace them. 

"It sounds like a lot of money, but in the world of scoreboards, it's a pretty inexpensive one," Torkildson said.

The new scoreboards should be ready later this week.