The Arizona Coyotes NHL ice hockey franchise has joined forces with the city of Glendale and AEG to carry out a major upgrade of digital displays at its Gila River Arena home.
The initiative will see a centre-hung display system from Daktronics installed above the ice at the venue, which is owned by AEG. The display was purchased from another arena.
Auxiliary displays will complement the main system, with the team planning to have all new technology up and running for its 2018 season home opener against the Anaheim Ducks on October 6.
Although the Coyotes did not go into detail regarding the costs of the project, the ArizonaSports.com website suggests the cost of a brand new board would set the team back around $10m (€8.8m/£7.9m).
The centre-hung board features 2,896sq ft of active display area and each display can show live video and replays, as well as be split into various windows to show information such as stats and sponsor messages.
Two additional video displays – each measuring 8.5ft high by 6ft wide – will also be angled out from the bottom of the centre board.
Ahron Cohen, president and chief executive of the Coyotes, said: “We know that our fans have a lot entertainment choices and we need to constantly strive to provide a great and enjoyable experience at all of our games.
“Through travelling around the league and seeing games at other arenas, there’s so much that teams can do to make the game come to life throughout the entire arena with a dynamic scoreboard.
“This will put us in the upper echelon in the entire NHL in terms of the best scoreboards.”
Cohen added: “In addition to our improved fan experience, it will give us a great platform to showcase content from our corporate and community partners.
“The scoreboard also gives us the opportunity to do a lot of cool things outside of the game experience, such as away-game watch parties, movie nights, and a whole host of other applications.”
Image: Jeff Shewan
