New Seattle Arena Has 224 Distinct Daktronics Displays; Touted As Most LED-Filled Venue In Sports

October 21, 2021 by Dave Haynes

The new sports and entertainment venue in Seattle – Climate Pledge Arena – opens tomorrow with 224 distinct LED displays around the building – 28,175 square feet of digital signage totaling more than 145 million pixels of display.

The arena is the home of the new pro hockey franchise – the Seattle Kraken – but its first official event will be a Coldplay concert tomorrow night. The Foo Fighters did a private benefit n there a couple of nights ago.

Daktronics won the supplier bid and says in PR that “no sporting venue in the world will have more LED displays, including 173 displays outside the main seating bowl of the arena.”

“Daktronics is elevating our fan experience with the most LED displays ever installed at a sports venue,” says Seattle Kraken SVP, Entertainment Experience & Presentation Jonny Greco. “With all those pixels it is imperative we think of the guest journey from the minute they set foot on the Seattle Center Campus all the way to sitting in their seats at Climate Pledge Arena. Having a world-class sports entertainment facility under a historic roof allows us to find a happy fusion of tradition and technology.”

The arena has what are described as “first of their kind, dual-hanging displays” – configurations that form a triangular shape with three displays each – two sideline-facing displays and one end-facing, curved display. Both end displays measure roughly 25 feet high by 46 feet wide and the four sideline displays measure roughly 23 feet high by 43 feet wide. Each hanging display configuration forms 2,720 square feet of digital space to show live video, instant replays, statistics and game information, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages.

There are four ribbon displays in the seating bowl totaling 2,160 linear feet, 32 displays above the entrances and exits of the seating bowl, four basket stanchion displays, three digital scorers tables and two dasher boards provide supplemental digital content and information throughout events. All displays in this area of the arena are HDR-capable.

In the concourses and atriums of the arena, 100 LED displays are installed in varying locations and configurations to enhance the fan experience. These displays total 13,175 square feet and feature 2.5- and 3.9mm pixel spacings. This includes a large column wrap, atrium bridge displays, The Climate Pledge Living Wall feature and east concourse picture frame features.

Outside of the arena, 51 LED displays totaling 3,830 square feet are installed to communicate with people as they pass by and audiences as they arrive for events. These outdoor plaza displays brand the facility immediately upon arrival and parking displays give direction to help with the flow of traffic. These displays feature 3.9- and 5.9mm pixel spacings.

Daktronics has also integrated a custom control solution including Show Control and Camino products. This industry-leading system provides a combination of display control software, world-class video processing, data integration and playback hardware that forms a user-friendly production solution.

Sounds impressive. Unfortunately, Daktronics provided all of one image and I am not sure what it is – except it is inside the building but not n the seating bowl.

There will undoubtedly be video tours shot, but much of the marketing focus to date has been on the building being the first net zero certified arena in the world.

  1. Brad Gleeson says:

    While I applaud the accomplishment and look forward to experiencing this myself (I love outside Seattle and my son has Kraken season tix) something about touting an world record LED installation at “Climate Pledge Arena” doesn’t sit right with me just a little. 🤷‍♂️ Won’t make Net Zero any easier, that’s for sure.

    1. Rein says:

      That’s the first thing that I thought of too. Maybe they are planting a tree for every pixel. LOL

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