Bigger Video Boards Help Boston College Compete Against Living Rooms

Bates says the boards also do “silhouette trivia,” where the video boards display a silhouette of a player alongside questions about that player for the audience to guess who it is.

“Another great thing about the boards is creating a connection between fans, students and coaches,” he says. “They can also do a close up on players so you can see their faces [even though they’re wearing helmets].You can see their personalities.”

BC’s video boards have diodes and coded louvers for protection against the New England weather.

D’Amico says the video boards make BC’s stadium unique, and will set them apart from other colleges.

“It’s big for BC, it’s big for schools in the northeast,” he says. “You’re talking about a technology that, in the past, has only been seen in the big schools and now BC has jumped right into that conversation. They’re right at the top of the list now when it comes to advanced technology in their stadium.”

Moore says that if other colleges want to amp up their stadium experience, then they need to do their homework.

“We did site visits at the Denver Broncos, Texas Motor Speedway, Tennessee Titans,” he says. “We looked at each stadium to see their boards in action, see every angle.”

The same video boards seen at BC can also be found at 5 NFL stadiums:
• San Francisco 49’s
• Carolina Panthers
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Pittsburgh Steelers
• Arizona Cardinals

Bates says that colleges should use their new technology to connect with fans and students to attract them into the stands.

“The more you feel connected, the more you’re invested, and you’ll come to future games,” he says. “The more we can show students, the more we can show our culture.”

D’Amico says that these video boards will give BC a leg up on its living room competitors, and will help other colleges facing similar challenges.

“It’s something that completely changes your stadium and brings a level of excitement that maybe they didn’t have before,” he says. “As the home experience gets better, there are always more challenges to get people into the stadium, so things become more of an event. You have to do things to wow your fans and keep them excited, and this is a great way to do that.”