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Daktronics sets new business landmark with Clippers contract

Audiovisual systems manufacturer Daktronics has crossed the $800m (£639m/€747m) mark for orders in a single fiscal year after signing a wide-ranging deal with the Los Angeles Clippers to provide displays at the NBA team’s new Intuit Dome arena.

Intuit Dome is scheduled to open in 2024 and Daktronics is set to provide the venue with the largest ever double-sided halo display in an arena setting. The scoreboard will be almost an acre in size and will look to provide an enhanced experience at Intuit Dome, which will have a capacity of 18,000.

Daktronics is currently expanding its manufacturing capabilities in multiple locations to support the growing demand for its LED displays. The company has doubled its capacity to deliver surface mount device LED product lines and increased production space in its Brookings, South Dakota factory by 90,000 square feet. The Intuit Dome halo board will be one of the first projects to use the new assembly line in Brookings.

Daktronics president and chief executive Reece Kurtenbach said: “This milestone is a testament to our people, products and services all working together for the betterment of our customers.

“While large projects like Intuit Dome’s halo board quickly move the needle towards our goals, we value every order in every market. We enjoy working with our customers to achieve their unique business objectives through advanced audiovisual solutions; we are excited to design, manufacture and deliver our products around the world.”

The Intuit Dome halo display will feature around 38,375 square feet of digital canvas and more than 233 million LEDs. The Clippers have specifically designed and engineered the Intuit Dome roof to accommodate the unique display, optimising sightlines from all seats and putting a priority on the viewing experience of upper-bowl seats.

The inner halo display will measure 32 feet high by 623 feet in circumference, while the outer halo display will be 28 feet high by 661 feet in circumference. The entire display will be 4K and feature a 3.9-millimetre pixel layout.

Daktronics will provide additional displays inside and outside Intuit Dome. The arena will feature large lobby displays, a large screen overlooking an outdoor basketball plaza, ribbon displays along seating fascia and inside seating bowl entrances, and courtside scorers’ tables and basket stanchion displays. Daktronics has also built and installed a mini halo board in the Intuit Dome Experience Center.

Kurtenbach added: “Intuit Dome’s halo board is a significant undertaking for our company and we are excited to be part of the team that will deliver this unprecedented, double-sided halo display for the Clippers.

“The preparation, development and conceptualising done through intense cooperation between our engineering and creative services teams was critical in developing a vision for this project that connected with the many groups involved. I am proud of our team’s contribution to get to this point, and we are excited to help build the most intense live experience in sports for Clipper Nation.”

The Clippers named financial software company Intuit as the naming-rights sponsor of its new arena back in September as the team broke ground on the project. The 23-year deal is reportedly worth over $500m.

Daktronics has integrated LED super systems in nearly 60% of all professional sports facilities in the US and Canada. In April, the company signed a multi-year deal with LaLiga football club Real Madrid to kit out the new-look Estadio Santiago Bernabéu as part of its ongoing redevelopment project.

Image: Daktronics/LA Clippers