Courtesy of Tim Nott, Grand Valley State Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations
ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Grand Valley State athletics announced today a new addition to Lubbers Stadium that will greatly change the fan experience on game day for the upcoming 2016 football campaign. Construction of a state-of-the-art video display board and digital scoreboard has begun and will be ready for the Lakers' season-opener on Thursday, September 1 versus Tiffin University. Prismview of Logan, Utah, a Samsung Electronics Company, created the video board.
"Grand Valley State is extremely excited to bring a new visual enhancement to Lubbers Stadium that will help provide our great fans with a special game day experience," said GVSU Director of Athletics Tim Selgo. "The capabilities and the high-definition imagery of the new video board system will only enhance what is already an incredible game atmosphere."
The new video board will stand 40 feet tall and 72.5 feet wide for a total display area of 2,900 square feet in the north end zone. The board will feature 977,408 pixels that offers six percent more resolution than a high definition television and a refresh rate of 24,000 Hz that is 100 times faster than a standard TV. The video display will have a 9,000 night brightness that will allow it to still pop in direct sunlight.
"The features that this new video display board will provide will be a huge addition to the fans attending a game at Lubbers Stadium," said Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing Doug Lipinski. "The possibilities are endless for what we can do in terms of highlights, replays and other video content, while we will also be able to use the board for other events in Lubbers Stadium," added Lipinski.
The board will be the largest for a Division II institution, would rank second among all FCS schools (South Dakota State), third in the state of Michigan and will be the 40th largest on-campus display board in the country. In comparison to the Lakers' previous video board (16x24/325 sq. ft), the 2016 edition will be nine times larger.
In addition to the video display board in the north end zone, a scoreboard that will display score, time, down and distance and quarter will be constructed to go directly behind the GVSU student section. The dimentions of that scoreboard will be 18 feet wide and eight feet tall.
Lubbers Stadium, with a capacity of 10,444, has led the nation in attendance for each of the last four years. GVSU hosted 74,187 fans in six home dates in 2015 for a per game average of 12,364. GVSU is 95-8 (.922) at Lubbers Stadium since 2001 and holds a 180-38-1 (.824) mark at home since the stadium opened in 1979.
Grand Valley State, ranked number two in the 2016 preseason Sporting News national poll, is the winningest NCAA Division II football program in the country and coming off an appearance in the NCAA Division II semifinals for the ninth time since 2001. The Lakers finished the 2015 campaign with a 12-3 mark, ending the season for GLIAC foes Ashland and Ferris State in the playoffs.