New Videoboards Are Real
August 26th, 2016
New videoboards do exist and will debut tonight.
Thursday afternoon, as Joe got a chance to stroll around the Den of Depression, it didn’t look depressing.
The stadium wasn’t quite ready for tonight’s preseason home opener, but very close. Janitors mopped floors leading to some luxury suites. A maintenance crew could be seen repairing a door. Wet paint signs were frequent, including on the field, where logos fans will see both at the stadium and on TV were just finished.
The grass was neatly and freshly mowed. Those loud lawn air blowers could be heard easily.
What was ready Thursday afternoon were the new video scoreboards that fans have begged for — and bellyached about — for so many years. To the best of Joe’s knowledge, the Den of Depression may have been the last NFL stadium to install HD videoboards.
The wait may have been worth it. Now, the stadium boasts 31,000 square feet of HD goodness. The new videoboards come with new audio as well. Instead of one loud loudspeaker, the stadium now has a surround sound system with speakers located all around the stadium, including behind some sections of seats.
The new videoboards may not be as big as Dallas or Jacksonville, but they will be sharper, Joe learned. Joe will use layman’s terms here: on those boards in Dallas and Jacksonville, the video has to be stretched out. Not so in Tampa.
In an effort to keep fans informed of other games, not only will video highlights be displayed during breaks in play, but Brian Ford, the chief operating officer of the Bucs, said there will be a strong emphasis on displaying fantasy football information for out-of-town games. This data is expected to be displayed on the “tower boards,” the videoboards in the four corners of the stadium.
In total, there are six new videoboards: one in each corner of the stadium, plus the two main, giant videoboards, one for each end zone.
Previously, the Bucs displayed video from only a handful of cameras. No longer. The Bucs will utilize 16 camera angles with two wireless cameras roaming through the stadium, one of which will be dedicated to feature Bucs gameday host Casey Phillips.
A 40-employee crew will work out of the stadium’s state-of-the-art video control room monitoring on-field action, fun in the stands, cheerleaders (of course!) and out-of-town games, harnessing all that to display on the videoboards for fans to enjoy.
Now the only thing lacking at the stadium is an air-conditioned sports bar, Joe believes. And, well, perhaps a team store that is open seven days a week, not just a kiosk in a concourse open only on gamedays.
#BOOM! pic.twitter.com/XXeOaSDdcb
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@TBBuccaneers) August 25, 2016
Field level view looking southwest.
Field level view from the south end zone.
View of what Bucs players will see as they exit the tunnel.
Entrance to the stadium’s video control room. There are three rows of monitors where some 40 workers will select video from and then display onto the stadium videoboards. The monitors carry video from both the 16 cameras in the stadium but also video of games and other happenings from around the globe.
Closer look at the first of three rows (walls?) of video monitors in the Den of Depression’s video control room.
August 26th, 2016 at 7:04 am
Can’t wait til first game!
August 26th, 2016 at 7:05 am
I hope gone are the days when there’s a challenge play to see if a receiver got 2 feet in and the replay board shows the player from the waist up.
August 26th, 2016 at 7:16 am
Awesome! 16 camera angles of Mike Evans dropping a pass!
August 26th, 2016 at 7:56 am
Wow
It makes me wanna get my fat butt back into the stadium instead of sitting in my comfy recliner every Sunday!!!!!!
August 26th, 2016 at 8:04 am
WOW!
August 26th, 2016 at 8:14 am
Holy Schnikes!! That looks so crisp and nice, it looks fake!! Looking good
August 26th, 2016 at 8:25 am
How much would it cost to have shade sails that looked like pirate ship mast and sails??? If the fans had to vote shade or watch TV at the stadium??? Though last 2 years, it would have been nice to just watch tv on those huuuuggge screens instead of the blowouts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 26th, 2016 at 8:25 am
Hate to be a debbie downer, but was at Jax last weekend for the game, and their scoreboards make ours look like watching the game on a 32″ TV at a bar…. with no sound…. Go Bog or Go Home!!!
August 26th, 2016 at 8:26 am
It does! Joe took the photos himself. They were not touched up at all.
August 26th, 2016 at 8:27 am
Stil miss the old stadium as there wasn’t a bad seat in the crib
Unless u have club seats or the first tier of seats below club u don’t have a great view. The upper deck is way to high as they have to many luxury boxes underneath
I would buy a season ticket but don’t wanna go to the game and just watch a video screen
August 26th, 2016 at 8:56 am
The missed field goals, missed non-reviewable calls, and dropped passes will be amplified and might add to the angst of some fans already going off the deep end during pre-season, but on a positive note, I look forward to the screens displaying “Touchdown”, “Fire the Cannons”, “Buccaneers Win” and the like.
August 26th, 2016 at 9:19 am
None of this lipstick will matter if the Bucs don’t win their home games.
August 26th, 2016 at 9:23 am
On a semi-related side note it turns out Madden 17 made the stadium upgrades in the game.
August 26th, 2016 at 10:33 am
Wombat no Debbie Downer. Perhaps you’d like the old screen back though?
August 26th, 2016 at 11:30 am
With the cost of a game ticket being as high as it is, Its good to know Fans will have more added amenities. Me and the family cannot afford to attend Buc games. We did back in the day (ole days). To give you New Jack City (Young kids) people an idea of what it was like, When our Bucs first came into the league, If you brought 25 dollars worth of grocery at Winn Dixie, you got a free ticket to see the Bucs. And the seats were not bad. Once, me and the ole lady (wife) got 2 free tickets on a Winn Dixie $25 purchase. Talk about a steal? Try that now and you might get arrested for mental instability! Sooo, I’ll just plop meself up in the recliner and watch us on TV. A lot of money saved..and I can buy a 6 pack of the..good beer.
August 26th, 2016 at 11:53 am
My friend that has the best seats in the stadium (50 yard line, 10 rows up) and he takes me to at least one game every year so Im excited to see what these monsters are about. He told me he was taking me to the Thursday night game this year so they’ll probably look even better at night
August 26th, 2016 at 1:33 pm
Mike Johnson… agree you can’t beat the old days game experience. Roomy sit anywhere and not be hassled, smoking allowed, tickets for $5 or less or given away. Holler until you were hoarse. A win then was like hitting the jackpot. Those were the days.
August 26th, 2016 at 5:28 pm
Forget the boards and give us some freaking shade, then i’ll go to a game.