New Bucks Arena to Have Largest "Overhung" Scoreboard in NBA
The Milwaukee Bucks have big plans for their big screens going up above the court and around their new arena currently under construction.
On Tuesday the team announced their partnership with the company Daktronics and the vision is pretty amazing. Bucks officials described what's coming to Milwaukee as like 'Madison Square Garden' - but even better.
Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin says it's kind of difficult to envision the new displays going above their new court because of their size.
"We tell people when we're in the Bradley Center, we ask them to look at the board which is [large], and we say 'Our new board is actually twice this size'," Feigin said.
A concept video put out by the Daktronics shows the video cube over the court - they call it the 'Overhung'. It has four main displays measuring about 25 feet high by 29 feet wide with LEDs spaced for 4k resolution from fans' viewpoints.
It will weigh close to 80,000 lbs, Jay Parker, Daktronics vice President of Live Events, said.
"And there's actually 24 displays as part of that centerhung. There are eight that you'll see on the four faces of the main video, there's four on the corners, and then there's 16 underneath," Parker said.
"They designed this board to be seamless so all the screens can actually be showing the same picture, one picture, a rotating picture...I think for us it's a little bit the ability to surprise and delight," Feigin said.
Daktronics officials said the overhung is just part of the 50+ display plan inside and outside the arena. More than 16 million LEDs will be used.
The total cost is about $10 million, Feigin said.
It's a big investment that's trying to keep people from looking at a smaller screen.
"It's our job and the Bucks job to try to entertain the fans well enough that they never want to bring their phone out of their pocket," Parker said.
Upon completion the arena will have the largest equilateral centerhung display in the entire NBA, according to a press release.