Daktronics Videoboard Tops Renovation at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, FL MLB Blue Jays' spring home is regular-season home of minor-league Dunedin Blue Jays By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, January 23, 2020 - 7:00 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Next month, half of Major League Baseball's 30 teams will head south to the Sunshine State for a potential first step toward a World Series. The Toronto Blue Jays will be treated to a revamped TD Ballpark in Dunedin, FL, when they reach Spring Training. The $102 million project includes a 23- by 40-ft. Daktronics videoboard and an improved audio surround system. When the MLB club heads back north of the border, the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays will reap the benefit of this multi-year renovation.
The 23- x 40-ft. Daktronics videoboard is the centerpiece of a $102 million renovation project at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, FL.
It's a full Daktronics [renovation], says David Evans, entertainment coordinator, Dunedin Blue Jays, who is in his first year with the organization. They've come into TD Ballpark and installed a whole new videoboard and a state-of-the-art surround-sound system, so this is going to be all-new and fresh for the fans coming this spring. [The board] is a 15HD-pixel layout, so it's specifically set up for outdoor viewing, and it's going to look pretty awesome.
Up to the Wire: Project Continues 'Til Opening Day
Since Pinellas County approved the plan in April 2018, it has been a pretty chaotic time. With the venue hosting both temporary and more-permanent residents - Toronto's Spring Training runs from February to mid March; Dunedin's season is April-September - the agenda needed to be cleared by the necessary individuals from all participating parties.
It takes time to iron out the details between the county, city, state, and the two teams, Evans explains. It has been a joint venture to figure out how everyone gets what they want and know that [each party] is happy with the end result.
When the plan was signed off and received the greenlight, the team began working on upgrading a videoboard that had seen better days.
Our old videoboard was something from the 1980s, he says. It was just a line score with a digital input of the numbers and one small double-layered tech strip where we put the player's name and what he did so far that day.
The project is slated for a completion date of Feb. 19, but, with Toronto's first exhibition game vs. the Atlanta Braves a few days later, on Feb. 24, Evans and his staff are handling a lot of the prep work before the last piece of dirt is put into place.
We'll have a pretty short window, he says. I'm creating all of the content for the [videoboard] now. That's all of our headshots, player graphics, trivia, and other elements.
As for the overall construction, the staff in Dunedin is kicking operations into overdrive to reach the finish line.
The bulk of the work was done this past year, says Evans. A lot of the games and other activities were done in the complex adjacent to the stadium, so the work could be done over here. It hasn't really been done in phases since it has all been done this offseason, but we're working right up to the buzzer.
A Blue Jays Family: Establishing Synergy With the Club
In professional baseball, there is a lot of interaction among the levels of the organization. Just like players receiving instruction from coaches at the highest level, an entertainment coordinator can pick up tidbits of advice from the team.
In regard to Spring Training, I work closely with Mike Christiansen [director, technical production and broadcast services, Toronto Blue Jays], says Evans. [Mike and his staff] will be coming down here a couple of weeks before [the start of Spring Training], and we're going to have our meetings to create an atmosphere that fans are used to having in Toronto.
To establish that synergy, Evans and his four other staffers will use three Daktronics essentials in producing their show. For Spring Training and the entirety of the Dunedin season, DakStats will handle live updates and statistics, the All Sport 500 console will toggle scoring elements, and Show Control will serve as the central hub for the videoboard with graphics integration. For even more precision, the staff will be using DMP-8304 Media Players as the primary graphics engine as well as VIP-5160 display processors to adjust lighting and color.
Despite not having MLB-level equipment, Evans wants a seamless production that parallels the show done in the Rogers Centre. For fans, coming to Dunedin will be like swiping your passport for a trip to Toronto.
It'll feel very familiar and comfortable, he says. I want to hit on all of the traditions that they do in Rogers Centre: [for example], if they have a certain song that they want to be played when the gates open or play OK Blue Jays' after the seventh-inning stretch. I want the synchronicity between both ballparks.
Playing Loose: Minor-League Structure Enhances Fun, Fan Interaction
In the minor leagues, fan entertainment and marketing material are run by a different set of rules. With a 2020 promotional schedule that has nights dedicated to hurricane preparation, fishing, and both beer and bacon, Evans will be able to express a more lenient sense of creative when the major-league team leaves the premises.
After Spring Training, there is a bit more flexibility and freedom for the Single A [schedule], Evans explains. It's a little looser. It's not Major League Baseball, but you still want to make a fun atmosphere for fans.
For the first couple of months of this year's schedule, Evans will have to keep an eye on the normal duties of an MLB in-venue production, which includes sponsorship responsibilities and speci
North America Stories
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
12/11/2026
Disney, ESPN and the NBA will present Dunk the Halls, the third real-time animated NBA game using Sony's Beyond Sports data visualization technology, on Chr...
12/11/2026
Van Wagner has launched Van Wagner RELAY, a digital platform for official athlet...
12/11/2026
Deal brings together two of the industry's most established graphics brands and significantly expands Vizrt's footprint in U.S. sports and regional broa...
12/11/2026
Euro TV Production GmbH of Austria has upgraded its outside broadcast vehicle with Lawo technology. The mc 36 Classic console in service since 2019 was replaced...
12/11/2026
Tagboard has launched Spark Resize, an AI-assisted tool now in beta that takes an existing graphic and produces a new version for a different aspect ratio or sc...
12/11/2026
Ben Winston, Glenn Weiss, and FIFA's Jenni-Lee Van Gelder headlined a day fo...
12/11/2026
Free interactive platform visualizes team tendencies, formations, and schemes, updated weekly...
12/11/2026
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Charlie Jablonski's broadcasting career is...
12/11/2026
Gracenote's 2026 State of Play report signals a rising retention risk: More ...
Daktronics Videoboard Tops Renovation at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, FL MLB Blue Jays' spring home is regular-season home of minor-league Dunedin Blue Jays By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
