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
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
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 
