Real Salt Lake and Rio Tinto Stadium yesterday unveiled details surrounding the installation of the venue’s premium new Daktronics video board, which will be operational for the club’s 2015 season. Click here to view video and still renderings of how the Rio Tinto Stadium south end will appear.
The gigantic, fully high-definition board more than triples the video surface area of the current north end screen, and will provide nearly 4,200 square feet of 13HD pixel resolution, the largest board in Major League Soccer use. The San Jose Earthquakes’ board in their new stadium opening in 2015 will have a 2,880 square-foot board, while Sporting Kansas City’s home utilizes a 2,040 square-foot screen.
“As I’ve toured various stadiums during my time as an owner, I’ve made a list of things I wanted to provide our fans at Rio Tinto Stadium,” said Dell Loy Hansen, excited about the new possibility of watch parties for road games and in-house entertainment elements during RSL games. “When I saw the Daktronics board at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, I said ‘We want THAT.’ In addition to the wi-fi capability that continues to be such a huge hit with our fans, I know that this giant video board – in full HD – will enhance the experience that everyone who visits Rio Tinto Stadium enjoys.”
Daktronics, Inc., the world’s industry leader in designing and manufacturing electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays, begins installation at Rio Tinto Stadium in mid-September and expects to complete the project by early December. None of the seating areas or concession and operations functionalities in the Stadium’s south end will be affected by the process.
“This addition to the display system at Rio Tinto Stadium will greatly enhance the venue, cementing its status as an incredible destination in Major League Soccer,” said Reece Kurtenbach, president and CEO of Daktronics. “We are glad to continue our partnership with Real Salt Lake to help them provide a memorable fan experience and engage their sponsors in new and innovative ways.”
Real Salt Lake has enjoyed a pronounced home-field advantage since building its permanent home in Sandy, boasting a 75-14-24 mark on Utah soil since the beginning of 2008. RSL also owns the longest active playoff streak in MLS, currently at six seasons (projected for a seventh this Fall), and is just three wins and four points away from a league-record fifth consecutive campaign of 15 wins and 50 points entering Friday’s visit by Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids. RSL aims for the rare three-game / nine-point sweep by hosting the Rapids (8:00 p.m. MT on NBC Sports Network) in what is expected to be the club’s 12th consecutive sellout, its 14th in 16 games this season and its 18th capacity crowd in its last 23 games going back to 2013.
If you are one of the nearly 13,000 current RSL season ticket holders, you are NOW able to secure your 2015 package; please contact your Fan Relations coordinator at (801) 727-2702. As always, active holders in good standing will have first rights to purchase extra season seats, upgrade to new available locations within Rio Tinto Stadium and purchase seats to MLS Cup Playoff matches or for the new USL PRO team, which begins in 2015. In order to guarantee your current seating location for 2015, you must renew by the October 31st deadline; also, flexible payment plans are once again available for current season ticket members.
The general public sale for 2015 season tickets will begin on November 1. The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 .pm.; more information can be found online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
