This rendering shows the main HDR-format video display, measuring 40 feet high and 215 feet wide, that will be in left field.Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds’ Great American Ball Park will be the first Major League Baseball venue to have all of its major video displays in high-dynamic-range format (HDR) for the 2020 season.
Scoreboard manufacturer and designer Daktronics is installing 12 HDR-capable LED displays at Great American Ball Park and expects to complete the work by the end of 2019. The main display will be the sixth largest in baseball at 40 feet high and 215 feet wide, according to Daryl Mihal, Daktronics regional sales manager.
“This is the first system where every display in the building, including the ribbon boards, will be HDR,” Mihal said. “So that gives them the ability to run everything under one color standard and have the incredible look that people are used to seeing.”
With the HDR format, Reds fans attending games can expect to see video presentations that are comparable to high-definition television displays they might have in their homes, Mihal said.
“Everybody kind of expects to see that great presentation that they have at their home television system, and now when they go to the Reds’ stadium they’ll be able to experience the same,” Mihal said.
The Reds are replacing their 10-year-old scoreboard and displays for $12.5 million, with Hamilton County, Ohio, contributing $3.7 million toward the project. The county is using proceeds from a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 1996 for its contribution toward the scoreboard and displays.
Mihal said the new video displays will be larger and overtake areas where the Reds had some static displays for advertisements.
“So, that gives them a much richer canvas to deal with, especially for their marketing partners,” Mihal said. “In the past, it might just be a static ad or sign for their marketing partners; now they’re able to actually activate [the ad], move it, change it, draw more attention to it, and include it in whatever their messages are, so it becomes much more of an inclusive experience for both the partner and also the fans in the stands as well.”
