Godzillatron
Encyclopedia
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
's Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
-Major Expansions and Renovations:*1926 - "Horseshoe" built on the north end for US$125,000 raising capacity to 40,500*1948 - Two L-shaped sections added to the east and west stands, raising seating capacity to 60,130. General contractor for this work was Farnsworth & Chambers Inc...
. The official name of the board has not yet been decided; it is simply referred to as the "Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Scoreboard" by the Texas Longhorn Athletics
Texas Longhorn Athletics
Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns , taking their name from the Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the...
department. It is one of the largest high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
video screens in the world. It was manufactured by Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
in Brookings, South Dakota
Brookings, South Dakota
Brookings is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. Brookings is the fourth largest city in South Dakota, with a population of 22,056 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brookings County, and home to South Dakota State University, the largest institution of higher...
, the largest producer of large-screen video displays in the world.
Dimensions
The scoreboard measures at 55.5 feet (16.9 m) tall and 134 feet (40.8 m) wide with a pixelPixel
In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....
resolution
Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
of 2064 x 848. The scoreboard was installed as part of a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
150 million stadium renovation, $8 million of which is being spent on audiovisual improvements. The new high definition screen is the centerpiece of these improvements and debuted at the start of the 2006 football season. Previously, two scoreboards were in place, one in the south end, the Freddie Steinmark Memorial Scoreboard and Jumbotron, and one in the north end, a video matrix screen. Both were removed after the 2005 season. The new scoreboard replaces the one in the south end. The north end no longer features a scoreboard as it was removed for the 2008 stadium expansion. The giant Longhorn symbol at the very top was sold on eBay.
At the time of its creation, Godzillatron was called the largest high-definition video screen in the world, though it was quickly surpassed by a larger screen in Tokyo. It is the largest high-definition video screen in college football. In 2006, the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
held the three largest screens in college football by surface area, with Nebraska and Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
at numbers 2 and 3 respectively. Since 2006, however, Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
has added a high definition video board at Davis Wade Stadium
Davis Wade Stadium
Davis Wade Stadium is the home playing venue for the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team. Located in Starkville, Mississippi, the stadium has a capacity of 55,082. It was built in 1914 as Scott Field and was named for Don Magruder Scott, an Olympic sprinter and one of the University's first...
measuring 112 feet (34.1 m) by 48 feet (14.6 m), or 5217 square feet (484.7 m²). Godzillatron is 84% larger than the screen at Nebraska (7,370 square feet vs 4,012 square feet). At the time of creation, it was the largest HD screen in the western hemisphere, but has since been surpassed by the HD screens at Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium
Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium is a Major League Baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri, and home to the Kansas City Royals of the American League. Together with Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, it is a part of the Truman Sports Complex...
(8,925 sq ft) and Cowboys Stadium (11,520 sq ft).
Criticism
A downside for fans is that the screen can be used to allow more obtrusive advertising to be displayed during games. It has been controversial among fans because at some times a large portion (more than 50%) of the screen is being used for advertising and other non-game related graphics. This has led to some fans (including Austin American-StatesmanAustin American-Statesman
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....
commentator Kirk Bohls) calling the new screen "Adzillatron". Complaints have also been made about the scoreboard being too loud and about it broadcasting advertisements to those in the stadium, even over the top of the band playing in the stadium. In its first usage, the portion of the new screen that was typically used for showing replays and film highlights was approximately the same size as the old video screen. More recent games have featured a 16:9 format image centered in a ring of advertisement and score/clock related information. Nevertheless, complaints continue about the advertising, with some fans shouting out "We won't shop/eat/bank there" when advertisements are played loudly in the stadium.
External links
- Godzillatron's introduction video
- Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at Mack BrownMack BrownWilliam Mack Brown is head coach of The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn football team.Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs...
Texas Football