Progress on TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium Continues After Streak of Bad Weather The multimillion-dollar expansion will be completed in time for the 2020 season By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, October 17, 2019 - 10:27 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Texas Christian University (TCU) football has had its fair share of greats since its inception in 1896. The Davey O'Brien Award, given to the best collegiate quarterback in the nation, is the namesake of the institution's first Heisman Trophy winner. At the NFL level, LaDainian Tomlinson is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and considered one of the greatest halfbacks of all time.
TCU is updating Amon G. Carter Stadium to the tune of $100 million.
To match the legacy of these individuals and the program, as well as to satisfy the voracious appetite of Horned Frog fans, Amon G. Carter Stadium is continuing a $100 million expansion project whose completion has been impeded by rough weather in the area.
We managed to get the new videoboard installation done in time for our first game [vs. Arkansas - Pine Bluff on Saturday, Aug. 31] since that was the first priority, says Drew Dennison, director, video production, TCU. The new suites that are being installed are not done yet, but, other than the televisions that will be in those suites, all other visible videoboard displays are complete and fully operational.
The Best for Frog Fans: Upgraded Videoboard Improves Visuals
As with anything in Texas, bigger is always better. In 2012, Amon G. Carter Stadium went through a $164 million rebuild to coincide with the university's first season in the Big 12 conference. Seven years later, TCU's latest construction is led by completion of the main videoboard at the north end zone. The 108- x 48-ft. LED display covering 5,500 sq. ft. of vertical space was facilitated by Southpaw Sports & Entertainment (formerly the Live Event portion of Panasonic's Sports and Entertainment Business Unit). With Southpaw on board, the university underwent a transformation that entailed getting the production crew up to speed and transitioning the style of content that would be used on the videoboard.
We had to do a mixture of in-house creation for Creatives, a tech company that came in and worked with our [ChyronHego ClickEffects] CrossFire representatives, says Dennison. We also hired out-of-house, local artists that were able to develop our display for the videoboard. We moved from physical sponsorship on the old board for six permanent sponsors to a digital platform as a lower third.
The mechanics of the in-venue show is done onsite in a strip studio above the press boxes inside the stadium. On the west side of the field, the operations room is using ClickEffects CrossFire and Blaze systems for sponsorship graphics and has nearly full visibility of all available LED displays (except the west-side boards, which are directly below it) on game day.
The actual game production is facilitated by an offsite team located in the J.M. Moudy North Visual Arts and Communication Building. Inside the control room, camera replays and switching are connected to the stadium via fiber.
Altering the Philosophy: Installation Prompts New Tradition
At the collegiate level, traditions run deep. As the architectural landscape shifts, though, the in-venue production team adapts customs and philosophies to capitalize on the stadium's new toys.
Our game-day production has changed because of [this project], says Dennison. The biggest operational change would have to be in the pregame. We implemented an earlier approach to the intro video; it's no longer calling the team out. Our newest installation was three tunnel cameras: when the intro video completes, we lead our fans into a chant, and we're able to cut into live tunnel shots that show the team coming out and getting ready in the tunnel. That's kind of a new tradition we're trying to build here.
Football broadcasts are produced by an offsite studio inside J.M. Moudy North Visual Arts and Communication Building.
In addition to in-game execution, preparation for prepackaged content has changed as well. In a more open stadium, constant audio problems prevented videoboard material from being sound-based. Now the creatives on staff can leverage their new audio-friendly confines.
We would avoid making video content that was narrative or voiceover driven, Dennison recalls. [After] our initial testing before our first game, the acoustics are miles better. We've had no complaints. In the past, we might've heard a few things.
Inside Reimagined Frog Alley: Getting Crowds To Arrive Earlier
As with many professional venues across the country, organizations have poured money into developing surrounding live-entertainment districts. In the collegiate circuit, that out-of-stadium activity before (and sometimes after) the game has been affectionately known throughout history as the tailgate. The Grove at Ole Miss is one legendary locale that attracts fans and their festivities before doors open. Frog Alley, the go-to spot for TCU fans prior to all home games, is still going strong during the current season and will expand towards Amon G. Carter's east side when construction wraps up to provide even more fun. Starting three hours before kickoff, some of these amenities include food, drinks, live music by the TCU Marching Band, and the opportunity to welcome the team into the stadium.
Since we are elevating the stadium on the east side, Frog Alley also gets a facelift, says Dennison. [The expansion] will create a better game-day experience and [can] also potentially draw revenue and retain more people at the stadium during the pregame.
Construction Continues: Expansion Injects Atmosphere Sound and Comfort
The new seating area may not be populated unti
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
19/11/2025
Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music HallUltra-immersive system from the singular Las Vegas venue is also ready for sportsBy Dan Daley, Audio Edi...
19/11/2025
The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, a...
19/11/2025
One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video...
19/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital ...
19/11/2025
Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's fan-first media machine By George Bevir
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
Brighton & Hove Albion'...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebu...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video...
19/11/2025
MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Pe...
19/11/2025
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade attends the premiere of Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Pa...
19/11/2025
Awards season is heating up, and the International Documentary Association just ...
19/11/2025
Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfield and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were joined by state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking o...
19/11/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
19/11/2025
Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support in strategic multi-year enterprise partnership New Singapore OB company invests in Calrec technology f...
19/11/2025
October brings a larger audience in front of TV screens. The cooler autumn weather and the continuation of new programming schedules brought increases in both t...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Vitec has acquired Datapath, a developer of real-time video processing for large-scale video walls, AVoIP content distribution and KVM control in mission-critic...
19/11/2025
NEVADA CITY, Calif. Telestream has introduced ARGUS Version 2.3, which introduces Live Look, a feature that lets operators inspect live and on-demand streams vi...
19/11/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK Charter Communications, Inc. has announced a major deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that establishes AWS as one of Charters stra...
19/11/2025
TOKYO Atomos has announced a major firmware update that brings integrated camera control to the Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX its new CFexpress-based monitor-recor...
19/11/2025
Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Col...
19/11/2025
PlayBox Neo departed the NAB Show New York 2025 on a high note. The company's all-new PlayBox Neo Suite made a splash on the show floor, drawing strong inte...
19/11/2025
AAVBR (American Audio Visual Baton Rouge), a leading full-service event production company serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, has enhanced its product...
19/11/2025
In its mission to deliver live event services combining advanced engineering with a creative approach to captivating live sports and entertainment experiences, ...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of c...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage ...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those fil...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK The popularity of NFL games is largely responsible for continued seasonal momentum in TV viewership into October (measured Sept. 29-Oct. 26), according...
19/11/2025
DirecTV has announced that its MyFree DirecTV streaming service has added seven new channels. Those include four sports services, NBA FAST, Red Bull TV, DAZN Ri...
19/11/2025
SURREY, U.K. Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has launched Flair Bridge, a compact device that transforms how operators control the company's motion-contr...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has se...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Martin Freeman, Jessie Buckley, Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, Eddie the Eagle and ...
19/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of n...
19/11/2025
Back to All News
Innato, starring Imanol Arias and Elena Anaya, arrives on Netf...
19/11/2025
Back to All News
Guillermo del Toro Sits Down With Troll 2 Director Roar Uthaug...
19/11/2025
Some projects feel monumental from the moment the first phone call comes in. When BCE, the host broadcaster appointed to coordinate the national coverage, asked...
19/11/2025
November 19 2025, 08:00 (PST) BAY AREA HOST COMMITTEE AND DOLBY PARTNER TO DELIVER IMMERSIVE FAN EXPERIENCES
During the Week of Football's Biggest Game...
19/11/2025
Michael D. Higgins: Ireland's Ninth President features RT Archives footage and interviews across seven decades
Watch Wednesday 19 November at 9:35pm on RT...
19/11/2025
Scripps Research scientists receive $1.1 million to advance AI modeling for HIV vaccine development New AI system helps scientists rapidly pinpoint the most pro...
18/11/2025
Independent media across Central America are operating under intensifying financial pressure, yet there is a clear appetite for models that can sustain both ind...
18/11/2025
NBA Debuts New Comms Infrastructure and Systems for RefereesTwo-phase rollout is intended to improve game flow, enhance officiating accuracyBy Dan Daley, Audio ...
18/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: How Aggreko Delivers Certainty For Broadcasters On The Wor...
18/11/2025
Kiswe Extends DTC Products With Kiswe Core Cloud-Based Tool for Distributing Con...
18/11/2025
Spanish Basketball Federation partners with ScorePlay to power digital transform...
18/11/2025
HBS selects BBright encoders and decoders to connect ST 2110 live production wor...
18/11/2025
Ashes to Ashes: Inside TNT Sports' hybrid and maverick' production plan...
18/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Mimi Fotopoulos, Director, Talent and Production Operations, Tenn...
18/11/2025
SVG LIVE! Conference Explores the Tech Side of Sports and Entertainment ConvergenceLive sports and music productions increasingly share gear and infrastructureB...
Progress on TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium Continues After Streak of Bad Weather The multimillion-dollar expansion will be completed in time for the 2020 season By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
