Michigan Stadium new scoreboards, lights, audio system: The inside scoop about the Big House upgrades (2024)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Insider receivedan up-close look at the scoreboard, lighting and audio upgrades coming to the Big House for the 2023 Michigan football season.

College football's biggest stadium will debut massive new video boards, color-changing LED lighting and more immersive sound when the Wolverines welcome East Carolina on Sept. 2. Here are all the details:

• The new scoreboard structures measure179 x 62 feet. The original boards were 109 x 55 feet. This represents an 85% increase in the size of the total structures.
• The video boards themselves measure152 x 55 feet. The previous boards were 85 x 45. This represents a 118% increase in the total video space.
• Michigan Athletics believes eachboard would be the third-largest in college football right now in terms of square footage of video space. Jordan-Hare Stadium at Auburn is larger, as is Ross–Ade Stadium at Purdue, though those venues have only one full-size video board.
• Michigan plans on showing more out-of-town scores, in addition to better in-game statistics with the additional screenspace. The additional space will not be used for more advertising.
• The boards are a "night and day difference" in terms of resolution and videoquality. A project worker cited between 4K and 8K in terms of resolution, though the industry measures resolution for Jumbotrons differently than your traditional TV.
• The new boards are expectedlast at least 10 years before they wouldneed additional modernization.
• Michigan Stadium also receivednew lights. These LED fixtures willallow for color-changing shows synchronized with music and the largerscoreboards. In addition, football players and the viewing audiencewill benefit from brighter and more uniform lighting. These details were first reported by The Michigan Insiderlast month. It is still "to be determined" how the light show capabilities will be used during game days.
• The audio upgradesat the Big House included replacing all the concourse speakers and installing a new sound system in the northscoreboard. It will allow for better sound balance throughout the venue. The southscoreboard still will not have speakers.
• Because the project is coming in under budget, Michigan Athletics will be upgrading the video boards at the soccer, field hockey, baseball, softball stadiums, as well as inside Cliff Keen Arena. Many of those projects are ongoing.

The offseason construction at the Big House headlines a seriesoffan experience upgrades across U-M athletics facilities. That undertaking wasbudgetedat $41 million and includes:

• $8 million to fund “production room upgrades” inside the Crisler Center. Those facilities serve multiple different athletic venues, including the Crisler Center itself, Michigan Stadium, Yost Ice Arena, field hockey, soccer, indoor track, baseball and softball. The production room is also where Michigan produces content for the Big Ten Network and its digital platforms.
• $12 million to fund a replacement of the Michigan Stadium video boards in the north and south end zones.
• An additional $4 million to fund “permanent safety additions for access” to the new video boards.
• $5 million to be used to replace the audio system at Michigan Stadium. This includes the audio installations in the seating bowl and around the concourse.
• The estimated cost of site work and design fees is $12 million.

Michigan’s previousaudiovisual infrastructure had“aging technology that’s become incredibly difficult to maintain,” Michigan Athletics senior associate athletic director andCOO Rob Rademacher told the Board of Regents lastMarch.

“I can’t begin to tell you the enhancement of a scoreboard … how much that enhances the fan experience. It will be like night and day,” Denise Ilitch, a Regent, said.“To me, this is an investment in our fans and our fan experience, and it is a reinvestment in our infrastructure.”

Added Jordan Acker:“The scoreboards are one part of a huge technology upgrade, replacing a 10 year old technical studio that serves many men's and women's sports and upgrading the facilities at both Crisler and Michigan Stadium.”

The previous video boards were installed in 2011.

The Big House first receivedpermanent lights in 2010 and hosted its first-ever night game against Notre Dame in September 2011. Previously, Michigan Athletics did not schedule football games at night, and it had to rent cranes and lights for temporary light installations ahead of 3:30 p.m. kickoffs.

Michigan anticipates all construction on the lights and scoreboards to be completed prior to the 2023 football season.