Packer: New Jumbotron in league of its own

In the world of SEC football, everything makes a difference in recruiting. Sure, a winning tradition has the tendency to impress the top recruits. But, getting the exposure of being on the big screen has never been a bigger draw than it is about to be for high school athletes checking out Tennessee.

“I don’t know that there’s any way to measure what this will do for recruiting,” said Steve Early, vice president and general manager of the Vol Network.

The “this” is the new high definition Jumbotron that UT unveiled on WVLT’s 6 p.m. sportscast Friday.

This is not your average Jumbotron. It’s more than 4,500 square feet of crystal-clear video screen that will amaze every person who steps into Neyland Stadium this season.

“We have changed the entire infrastructure of the scoreboard,” Early said. “The old scoreboard and screen are gone. That entire area is now a digital TV that is 124 feet in length and 37 feet tall.”

Early was quick to point out that much of the credit for what will be incredible improvement to the stadium must go to Chris Fuller, associate athletic director for sales and marketing.

“The first question everyone asks is, ‘How will our video board compare to others around the country?’ ” Fuller said. “I told the guys in the office just Thursday that I don’t want us to compare to everyone else. Ours is very unique because it will be 10 stories high. There are bigger screens in the country, but not many. The University of Texas has the Godzillatron that is 8,000 square feet of video.

“The Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium has one of the great marvels in the world. Their screen is 25,000 square feet and weighs 1.2 million pounds. It is hanging off of the arch on the retractable roof in the middle of the field.”

Fuller and Early both pointed out that Tennessee had to work hard to make this video board work within the structure of Neyland Stadium. “We just couldn’t go in there and start knocking things down and tearing what was there up,” Early said. “We had a space to work with, and I’m confident we are maximizing the potential of that space.”

“Let’s just say that there were many engineering challenges,” Fuller said. “The people at ANC Sports have been amazing. I have never been around people who take their job more seriously than those guys. We expect the picture quality to be amazing.”

The size of the actual video screen, where the picture will be most of the game, is 57 feet by 32. But, during key moments in the game, the entire 124x37 will be utilized. “Any time you’re talking about football and the SEC, every aspect is competition,” Early said. “It’s not just keeping up with the Joneses, the responsibility that UT feels towards its fan base is second to none. Mike Hamilton and the university want the game experience for the fan to be the best it can be. We also want our sponsors to have the visibility they deserve, because without them, we wouldn’t have this board.”

So, how will this video board compare to other schools in the SEC? Let’s just say that for a little while the rest of the conference will be chasing the Vols in that category.

“Auburn has what they classify as HD. But, there are different classifications and theirs is a different classification than ours,” Early said. Alabama has done an upconversion and Florida is in the midst of upgrading.”

“Mississippi State did some improvements last year,” Fuller said. “I know that LSU is working their way towards improving theirs. I know we’re a little biased but I don’t know how anyone’s could be better than what we’re going to have.”

UT fans will notice these major changes inside the stadium. They also will notice major changes outside as well. The “V-O-L-S” facing Neyland Drive above the scoreboard is gone.

“I’m as much of a traditionalist as anyone,” Early said. “With the changes, there ended up being wind load restrictions. So, what we’ve done is put our signature power ‘T’ on top of the exterior with ‘Neyland Stadium’ next to it.”

Also on the exterior will be three pictures that will be lit 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

“We don’t want to totally give away what those three pictures will be, but I will tell you this, the man who’s name is on the stadium will be the middle picture,” Early said.

OK, that obviously means General Neyland will be in the middle. What about the other two pictures? Early wanted to hold off and let the imagination wander. Fuller helped the imagination a bit.

“The picture on the left hand side will be a current player,” Fuller said.

Gee, I wonder who that could be? So, Gen. Neyland in the middle, Eric Berry on the left. What about the picture on the right?

“That will be a Tennessee tradition,” Fuller said. “I think we’ll let the Tennessee fans just imagine for a little while what this is all going to look like. Needless to say, we are excited about all of the changes to the stadium. We can’t wait for fans to see the changes. A day game will be neat, but when we get to a night game it will look spectacular.”

I’ve gone back to one of the first things athletic director Mike Hamilton said several times when he took over for Doug Dickey. Hamilton said that he wanted to be known for facility improvements when his time at the University of Tennessee was done. A quick look around campus and it’s crystal clear the improvements that have been made. But, none of it as crystal clear as the picture on the board, that is about the size of the end zone, will be this season.

Oh, by the way, the cost of the board and the components to make it all work? About 5 million dollars.

Mark Packer is a freelance contributor.