UT’s Darrell K. Royal football stadium will be updated with a new multi-million dollar video board and additional screens this summer.
The current end-zone video screen, dubbed “Godzillatron,” will be entirely replaced with an LED display, according to a posting on the UT project management and construction services website earlier this week. The project is expected to cost $4 to $6 million.
“We’ve had (the current screen) going back several years,” associate athletics director Jeff Orth said. “This just allows us to provide our fans with the latest technology.”
Updating “Godzillatron” will ensure that fans have a more enjoyable visit to the DKR stadium, Orth said. In the past, fans have complained about the color and quality of the current screen.
“We’re really, really focused on improving our fan experience,” Orth said.
The updated screen will be lit entirely with LED lighting, which is expected to be clearer and more energy-efficient than the current video board. Other changes coming to the stadium include extended ribbon video boards on the north and east sides of the stadium.
Psychology freshman Christina Lam said although she is a big football fan and has attended home games last season, she doesn’t think the screen will have a big effect on the overall football experience.
“I don’t have a problem with the screens now,” Lam said. “I mean, I guess it would improve it a bit.”
Computer engineering junior Matt Johnson also attended games last season and is planning on attending more this fall. He said the updated screen quality won’t affect students as much as it will effect other fans because of its position on the field. The video board is located at the south end of the field and sits behind the seating area commonly held by University students.
Johnson said while he is a football fan, he thinks the school should redistribute the $4 to $6 million for other uses.
“There’s definitely things around campus that need more work than a Jumbotron,” Johnson said.
The screen renovation is part of wider-schemed project that will also install a clock in the football locker room and a scoreboard at the new UT-Austin tennis facility, scheduled to open August of next year.
The construction project is being managed by officials from project management and construction, and they are currently in the process of accepting bids from contractors, communication manager Laurie Lentz said in an email.
“The stadium work is scheduled to be completed this summer, before (the) start of the fall semester,” Lentz said in an email.
