What to know about Kentucky football’s new ‘unbelievable’ Kroger Field scoreboards
The six freshmen and six transfers on Kentucky football’s Week 1 depth chart are not the only newcomers for the Wildcats this year.
Saturday’s 2022 season opener versus Miami (Ohio) will also include the unveiling of two new end zone scoreboards.
“The scoreboards are going to be unbelievable,” UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart said in August. “… That’s a big deal for us.”
The new scoreboards were approved by the university’s Board of Trustees in February as part of a $30 million facilities project that also included construction of a new indoor track facility and renovation of Nutter Field House for use by the football program. The scoreboard portion of the project was approved for $5 million.
Here is what you need to know about the new scoreboards.
Will the scoreboards be ready for the opener?
When Barnhart spoke to reporters in mid-August he expressed some concern about getting both scoreboards fully operational before Sept. 3, but as of this week the project is on track to be operational.
“The boards and system to drive the boards are here and our staff is working to load content and learn the new system as we speak,” said Nathan Schwake, UK’s associate athletics director for marketing and licensing. “As with anything, we’re hopeful to get a game under our belt, learn and make any necessary adjustments or improvements to the show.”
Interior-facing signage associated with the project is complete. Exterior-facing graphics and signage will be installed later this fall.
How big are the new scoreboards?
If you’ve driven by Kroger Field in the last month you might not have noticed a huge difference in the size of the scoreboards from outside the stadium, but the new screens are 20 feet wider than the old ones. Pixel density on the new panels decreased from 16mm to 13.3mm for a resolution of 2256 x 840.
While the scoreboards are not as large as some other SEC stadiums, they were increased to the maximum size allowed by the steel infrastructure of the stadium.
What new features will fans notice?
In addition to a crisper picture, the new scoreboards come with a new operating system. It is the same system used at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Schwake promises the new system will allow UK to “display content in a more dynamic and engaging format.” The in-game feeds will now more closely resemble content fans are used to seeing on television or online streaming broadcasts.