Daktronics Fires up Football Fans with New Scoring and Display Systems across the USA; NFL, NCAA and High School Facilities Count on New Daktronics Football Scoreboards.

To download high-resolution, print-ready JPEG images, click on the thumbnail image above.

WARNING: these images are

very large (800K+)

Click here for caption

Sports/Business Editors & Football Writers & Columnists

NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available

A photo is available at URL:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.091003/bb2

BROOKINGS, S.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 2003

Imagine watching your favorite football team on a new giant television screen that's 20 feet high and 40 feet wide. This season millions more football fans around the country will be doing just that thanks to Daktronics (Nasdaq:DAKT) and its ProStar(R) full-color large screen video display technology.

Large screen video displays are bigger and better than ever. Not to mention more affordable. Improvements in light emitting diode (LED) video display technology are the reason. Until the late 1990s, large screen video displays used cathode ray tube (CRT) technology to show images. Now sports facilities, entertainment venues and many other applications choose full-color LED technology because of improved brightness, greater color consistency, greater color depth, and increased viewing angles, for less cost than the old technology.

Daktronics is a leading designer and manufacturer of integrated scoring and display systems and is in the midst of its busiest football season ever, providing three National Football League (NFL) facilities, thirteen collegiate facilities, and high schools across the nation with new scoreboards. The new Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, is a state-of-the-art facility with state-of-the-art large screen video displays from Daktronics. Two large ProStar(R) displays, measuring 26 feet high and 96 feet wide, are installed at each end of the field. These are two of the largest displays installed in any sports facility in the U.S.

Older facilities are keeping up with new technology. Major renovations at Chicago's Soldier Field and Green Bay's Lambeau Field included upgrades to the facilities' video display systems. Inside Soldier Field two displays, measuring 23 feet by 82 feet, are suspended from cantilevered structures, seemingly floating in the air. At historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, two ProStar(R) displays measuring 25 feet by 46 feet add even more excitement at Packers home games.

Each major project presents its own unique challenges. The Soldier Field project was no exception. The large ProStar(R) video displays hanging at each end of the stadium are installed on cantilevered structures. "Whenever you use a cantilevered support, the steel can sag or deflect at the end," said Darren Benike, Daktronics project manager for the Soldier Field project. "So you don't have a perfectly true horizontal base structure to build from when trying to install a large display that's level with the rest of the world."

Daktronics video displays are manufactured in large sections that are bolted together at the site. It is imperative to the quality of the displayed images that these sections remain even and flush at the face to provide a uniform appearance.

"We were able to work with the contractors and architects on site to make necessary mechanical adjustments and the displays look great," Benike said. "Installing the boards in Chicago, right off Lake Michigan in the winter, with the wind howling many of those days, made things even more challenging. But the end result is fantastic. It really appears that these are giant displays floating in mid-air," Benike said. Daktronics has more experience managing these types of projects than any other company in the industry.

Collegiate facilities are also using large screen LED video displays to create more excitement and entertainment value for their fans. The University of Oklahoma in Norman was one of the early adopters of LED video technology, purchasing and installing Daktronics' first generation of ProStar(R) display technology in the fall of 1997. LED video technology has evolved and improved significantly since the first Daktronics screens were installed six years ago. The brightness and color consistency of the red, green and blue LEDs have improved.

Screens with greater resolution are now available. Daktronics' latest generation ProStar(R) technology displays up to 4.3 trillion shades of color.

This year, Daktronics worked with the University of Oklahoma to upgrade the main video screen at Owen Field, replacing the existing display that had picture elements (pixels) on 34 mm center-to-center spacing, with the latest generation of Daktronics 23 mm pixel ProStar(R) technology. The original video screen was removed from the scoreboard structure, reconfigured, and installed on the sides of the stadium to provide additional information for spectators. Now fans of the number one-rated Sooners enjoy full-color video imagery, animation and graphics throughout the facility.

Smaller colleges and universities are also enjoying the benefits of large screen video technology. Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., has an enrollment of about 6,000 students. The school began its first-ever football season in 2003, defeating Newberry College 21-14 in their home opener at the new Brooks Stadium on September 6. Daktronics designed and manufactured a unique scoreboard for Coastal Carolina measuring approximately 40 feet high by 52 feet wide. Located in the center of the scoreboard structure is a video screen measuring 11 feet high by 14 feet wide.

"We decided it was important for us to have a top of the line scoreboard for our new facility," said Warren Koegel, athletic director at Coastal Carolina University. "Fans are used to high definition television and large screen displays, so we chose Daktronics to help us design a unique scoreboard with a great video display that's just right for our stadium. We plan to take full advantage of the board's capabilities at all of our football games and at many other events in the future."

Other NCAA member institutions installing Daktronics football scoreboards and video displays in time for the 2003 season include Stanford University, University of North Texas, University of Utah, Syracuse University, Georgia Southern University, Troy State University, University of Connecticut, Ohio University, Northwest Missouri State University, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Military Academy.

High schools across the country have used Daktronics scoreboards for more than 30 years. Many more high school football facilities have installed new Daktronics football scoreboards for the start of this season. Though the typical high school scoreboard today doesn't include a video display system, more school districts are finding private sector funds to help pay for these high tech video boards. Daktronics is providing three school districts in Texas and Oklahoma with larger football scoreboards that incorporate large video screens. All three of the schools contracted with Daktronics Sports Marketing, a division of Daktronics, to help raise the funds to pay for the new equipment. Sponsoring companies typically receive exposure with advertising on the scoreboards and video displays, in game programs, and on other materials.

When summer ends and fall rolls around, Americans' thoughts turn to football. And Daktronics is turning the heads of millions of football fans across the country.

About Daktronics, Inc.

Daktronics has strong leadership positions in, and is one of the world's largest suppliers of, electronic scoreboards, computer-programmable displays, large screen video displays and control systems. The Company excels in the control of large display systems, including those that require integration of complex multiple displays showing real time information, graphics, animation and video. Daktronics designs, manufactures, markets and services display systems for customers around the world in sport, business and transportation applications, and celebrates its 35th year in business in 2003. For more information, visit the Company's worldwide web site at http://www.daktronics.com, email the Company at [e-mail], call toll-free 1-800-DAKTRONICS (800-325-8766) in the U.S., or write to the Company at 331 32nd Avenue, P.O. Box 5128, Brookings, SD 57006-5128.

Additional scoreboard images are available.

Contact Mark Steinkamp at Daktronics at 605-697-4300

Note: A photo is available at URL:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.091003/bb2