Falcons hire firm to build NFL’s largest video board

The Falcons have hired a South Dakota-based firm, Daktronics, to build the unique circular video board planned for the team’s new downtown stadium.

The Falcons and Daktronics said in a news release that the “first-of-its-kind” board will be “three times as large as the current largest single display board in the NFL,” installed last year at Jacksonville’s EverBank Field.

The Falcons’ board will ring the opening of the stadium’s retractable roof and will measure about 58 feet high by 1,100 feet in circumference, totaling 63,800 square feet of LED video display.

“This ‘halo’ display is really a test of engineering capabilities and architecture coordination that our team at Daktronics is proud to accomplish,” Daktronics CEO Reece Kurtenbach said. “Installing such a non-traditional display shows our depth and capabilities as a company beyond common rectangle shapes.”

Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay called the video board a “game changer” and part of the team’s goal “to reimagine the stadium experience.”

As with other super-sized stadium boards, the screen will divide into multiple sections to show video, scores, statistics, graphics, animations, advertising and other game information.

The Falcons have declined to disclose the cost of the board.

Daktronics, founded in 1968 and based in the improbable location of Brookings, S.D., has installed video displays in stadiums and other facilities around the world, including 20 current NFL venues (EverBank Field among them).

In addition to the circular board, the company also will install more than 20,000 square feet of other LED boards in the new Atlanta stadium, including multiple ribbon boards around the $1.4 billion facility and a field-level display for Major League Soccer games.

The stadium, currently under construction next to the Georgia Dome, is slated to open in 2017.