When professional baseball returns in 2014, it will throw the first pitch at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney, Australia, a venue that features LED video displays from Daktronics (Nasdaq – DAKT) of Brookings, South Dakota. The first game schedules the Arizona Diamondbacks playing host to the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 22.
“I think it’s great that professional baseball has ventured outside of the U.S. to expand their world-wide popularity as a sport, and Sydney Cricket Ground is a phenomenal venue to have been selected,” said Daktronics Vice President of Live Events Jay Parker. “Our video display installation in Sydney has proven to provide an extra element to those live sporting events and we’re confident that the display will maintain that level of excellence when the first pitch is thrown this spring.”
Sydney Cricket Ground features a Daktronics 15HD LED video display that measures approximately 36 feet high-by-81.5 feet wide. This display, installed in 2013, incorporates excellent image clarity and contrast with wide angle visibility while also providing multiple levels of protection from the elements.
The game-day production will consist of the same high-quality elements as any game played in the United States by employing the same baseball control software and Daktronics powerful DakStats® software solution. Dakstats is the premier software for managing game, season and career statistics. It delivers and tracks statistics and in-depth statistical reports for all levels of play.
Daktronics is working with SCG to consult on how best to stage a professional baseball game in a cricket venue while working with professional baseball contacts stateside to cover all of the details necessary for a top-notch production.
“With the consultation and software that is being incorporated, fans in Australia will experience the same high-level game-day production as any game in the United States,” said Tony Kuck, Daktronics control systems product manager. “By providing that parallel experience, professional baseball meets their goal of putting their best foot forward in another country.”
Keeping with today’s standards in video display capabilities, the main video display can show one large image to highlight live video and instant replays. It can also be divided into separate windows to show a variety of vivid graphics, colorful animations, up-to-the-minute statistics, scoring information, and sponsor advertisements.
