New videoboards "should be fully installed at Soldier Field by about July 1, and the Chicago Park District will have about a week to test the high-definition displays and the revamped control system that will run them before operators have to use them for a live game," according to Phil Thompson of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The Bears yesterday "sent out details" of their planned stadium upgrades in an e-mail "to private-seat-license holders." About $7.5M will be spent to replace the two main videoboards and "six LED ribbon panels that line the upper and lower decks of the stands." A seventh ribbon panel has been "added to the west side of the stadium." The main boards, manufactured by Utah-based Yesco, will have "one of the highest resolutions" of any NFL stadiums' videoboards. Chicago-based Turner Construction is "handling the installation." All the digital screens and the new control system "must be in place" and tested by July 9 when Soldier Field hosts a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer doubleheader. Meanwhile, construction is "underway on a new cocktail lounge space for season-ticket holders called The Bears Den" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/20). ESPN CHICAGO's Jeff Dickerson noted the new lounge space on gamedays will be "available only to the team’s season ticket holders, who will be notified through an annual random selection process." However, The Bears Den will be "open to the public before and during all non-Bears major events." Soldier Field’s management company, SMG, also plans to "rent out The Den for private functions" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 5/19).
OUT OF HIBERNATION: In Chicago, Danny Ecker noted Soldier Field's new videoboards will "drastically ramp up the team's capability to show things like replays, video features and in-game stats and scores from around the league." Bears VP/Sales & Marketing Chris Hibbs said, "Everything that comes along with them is really going to change the experience for fans." He added fans can "kind of take over the building" with specific messaging, but "we just haven't had the technology to do that before." Ecker wrote the new videoboards also may "mean more revenue for the team, which will be able to showcase sponsors on multiple video screens at once." The $22M project was "mainly funded by the Bears, but the Park District, which owns the stadium, contributed" $7M (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 5/19).
