If you plan on attending the George Mason Men's Basketball contest against James Madison on Saturday, January 28, you will notice a few enhancements that were installed this week at the Patriot Center. The additions are one stage of a bigger project to enhance the fan experience at games. George Mason, along with its consultants Anthony James Partners, selected Daktronics Inc. (Nasdaq-DAKT) of Brookings, S.D., to design, manufacture and install a new, integrated center-hung scoreboard, LED scorers tables, LED signage and HDTVs on the concourse for the University's Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.

The first stage of this aggressive, in-season project has been completed and available for the Mason men's basketball game Saturday at 2 pm at the Patriot Center. The new system will utilize five courtside LED scorer's tables, replacing the existing static table signs. A total of 15 LED signs above the portals inside the bowl of the arena have been installed. The four corner displays measure more than five feet high by nearly 14 feet wide. The displays will offer more opportunities for showcasing sponsors, providing in-game statistics and showing event graphics and animations.

"Mason basketball at the Patriot Center is already a great atmosphere to enjoy college basketball. With our partnership with Daktronics, we feel the experience will be even greater," said Director of Athletics Tom O'Connor. "It's exciting to see these changes, and we're looking forward to seeing what the Daktronics displays will do for our fans' and players' experience at the Patriot Center."

What will be New at the Patriot Center?

On Monday, January 30^th, Daktronics will begin to remove the existing center-hung scoreboard and end zone scoreboards. Daktronics and Mason will be working diligently to meet the challenge of an aggressive and tight schedule to install the new center-hung scoreboard, end zone scoreboards and shot clocks in time for Homecoming next Saturday, February 4^th at 5 p.m. The scoreboard will feature LED statistics displays on each of the four sides of the center-hung, static sponsor displays and an ID-ring. The center-hung scoreboard will be suspended from the Patriot Center's ceiling by a hoist designed, engineered, manufactured and installed by Daktronics rigging team in Victor, N.Y., the most trusted manufacturer in the theater and arena rigging industry.

Daktronics will also install six 42-inch LCD HDTV displays and four 60-inch plasma HDTV displays throughout the Patriot Center concourse. Daktronics IPTV systems enable users to connect to a complete collection of news wires, databases and scoring devices to instantly present up-to-the-minute scores, statistics, news and other information.

"The new equipment upgrade for the scoreboard and LED signage will have a huge impact on the live event experience at the arena," says General Manager of the Patriot Center Barry Geisler. "It's exciting to see these changes and we're looking forward to implementing them this year for Mason basketball fans and patrons."

To control all of this equipment, Daktronics is installing its powerful Show Control System which is touted by experts as the best in the industry. For more information on Show Control, visit www.daktronics.com/show.

DakStats Sport Software for basketball will also be included. This software makes it quick and easy to collect and display sports statistics, tracking player, team, game and season statistics. The software then outputs this data to scoreboards, message centers and HDTV displays to give fans live dynamic content during sporting events. For more information on DakStats software, visit dakstats.daktronics.com.

"The new integrated system at the Patriot Center will be great for everyone attending basketball games and other events at the facility," said Daktronics sales representative Arthur Portnoy. "We're happy Mason chose us to help them upgrade the arena and we're looking forward to seeing the finished installation."

Q&A

1.      Is there a video board as part of the new center-hung scoreboard?

No.  Due to building code regulations, a replacement scoreboard cannot exceed the weight of the existing scoreboard which weighs approximately 4,700 pounds. A video board with the required size and quality needed for the Patriot Center cannot be achieved given the weight limitations.

 2.  Will a center-hung video board be installed in the future?
Maybe. While the new center-hung scoreboard is 4-sided and can be removed and reused in other applications, the prospect for a center-hung video board is a major project; it will require a renovation of the Patriot Center roof estimated at $5 million and would result in closing the arena for approximately six months. Currently, there is no plan to undertake such a project, but the University will be considering it in the future plans of the Patriot Center.

3.   Can the large four corner LED displays be utilized for video?
They can be used, within limitation, to show pre-recorded video. However, at this time, they cannot be used to show instant replay of game action.

About George Mason University and the Patriot Center
George Mason University competes in the Colonial Athletic Association in Division I of the NCAA in 22 varsity sports. The men's basketball team has played at the Patriot Center since 1985, and has made the NCAA tournament six times (1989, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2011) and the NIT tournament four times (1986, 2002, 2004 and 2009).

The Patriot Center serves as the home of GMU men's and women's basketball teams on the Northern Virginia campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Managed by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the 10,000-seat arena hosts Mason basketball games, concerts, family shows and commencement ceremonies. Bruce Springsteen, Keith Urban, Bob Dylan, Enrique Iglesias, the Harlem Globetrotters and Disney on Ice are only a few of the concerts and family shows that have performed at the arena over the past 26 years.

About Daktronics 

Daktronics is recognized as the world's leading provider of full-color LED video displays. Daktronics began manufacturing large screen, full-color, LED video displays in 1997. Since then, thousands of large screen LED displays have been sold and installed in sports, entertainment and commercial facilities around the world. Since 2001, independent market research conducted by iSuppli Corp. lists Daktronics as the world's leading provider of large screen LED video displays. Daktronics designs, manufactures, markets and services display systems for customers around the world, in sport, business and transportation applications. For more information, visit the company's website at www.daktronics.com,
e-mail the company at sales@daktronics.com, call (605) 692-0200 or toll-free (800) 325-8766 in the United States or write to the company at 331 32nd Ave. PO Box 5128 Brookings, S.D. 57006-5128