Adirondack Bank Center Is First North American Venue To Install Permanent Digital Dasherboards Finland's Vepe-Icepro provides 360-degree LED system for Utica Comets, Utica City FC games By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 12:20 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Utica, NY's Adirondack Bank Center, home to the American Hockey League's Utica Comets and the Major Arena Soccer League's Utica City FC, has earned the title of first North American sports venue to install permanent digital dasherboards. The affiliate of the NHL's New Jersey Devils put the 360-degree LED system to the test against the Rochester Americans on Dec. 28, but the new in-venue production tool is already paying off.
Along with the new LED dasherboards, Adirondack Bank Center has a 1,408- x 128-pixel halo board above a static stats centerhung and two videoboards.
For a small-market team, it's a huge honor to be the first to showcase this, says Eric Kowiatek, VP, creative services, Utica Comets. It's such a cool piece of technology, and we're excited to see what we can do with it.
Visit Abroad: Trip to Finland Connects Team President to Vepe-Icepro Near the end of the 2023-24 AHL season, Mohawk Valley Garden/Utica Comets President Robert Esche had an important plane to catch: he was headed to Finland and a meeting with Vepe-Icepro. Located in the town of Tuusula - which is about 45 minutes north of the Finnish capital of Helsinki - the developer of this engaging in-venue technology is heavily involved with professional-hockey venues and competitions across the continent of Europe, including at Nokia Arena and Kivikyl Arena in Finland and the 2021 IIHF World Championship at Arena Riga in Latvia, and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The long experience, technological innovation, and relationship with Vepe-Icepro CEO Riku Kallioniemi and Export Sales Representative Matti Karmala spurred Esche to fly to Finland to see the technology for himself.
The Utica Comets hosted the Toronto Marlies on Star Wars Night on Jan. 11.
He wanted [the digital dasherboards], says Michael Lehr, VP, marketing and content, Utica Comets, and it ended up creating a great partnership with Vepe-Icepro. [The company] wanted to get into the North American market, and Rob was innovative enough to say we could do it.
The only problem was that the time needed to install the massive fixture wouldn't line up with the offseason. To solve the logistics issue, the organization circled a block of time during the 2024-25 regular season when the team would be on a road trip. After hosting the Providence Bruins on Friday, Dec. 6, the team wouldn't return home until three days before New Year's Eve, playing one game in Syracuse, two in Cleveland, and one game in Rochester. While the team was away, the in-venue crew got to work
The LED fixture has full takeovers for Comets' goals.
We had to melt the ice and rebuild the whole arena in that short time, explains Lehr. It would've been a much different experience if these dasherboards came in June and we could play around with them.
With the help of Mohawk Valley Garden COO Rick Redmond and Adirondack Bank Center Facility and Event Manager Chris Burns, the dasherboards were installed and powered up on Dec. 21, a full week before the targeted first game on Dec. 28 and nine days before Utica City FC's home opener on Dec. 29 against the Harrisburg Heat. Given the time crunch, Kowiatek clocked hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to configure the boards.
Guess and Check: Downtime Allows Workflow, Durability Tests The video display also has full goal takeovers for the venue's other tenant, Utica City FC.
To make sure the boards - and the holidays - were merry and bright, the 27,840 128-pixel video display was put through its paces and stress-tested to ensure maximum efficiency. Its main driver is Chyron PRIME Click Effects, but, to deal with any system failure or connectivity issues, Vepe-Icepro built contingency plans into the load-in process.
We have another backup computer that's feeding [graphics] through HDMI. In case something goes wrong, we can flip that switch, Kowiatek notes. There's also a built-in redundancy in the system itself: it shows a default image that's loaded in and can be switched to if it's not getting a source from anything else.
Games during the holiday season were accented with lights.
Since the video display is right next to the field of play, experiments in trying to make the system break were important. In addition, the digital dasherboards are in the field of play. Although most LED displays can't be disturbed by brute force, these fixtures needed to be checked and doublechecked by the NHL's and AHL's player-safety departments.
They had to test curved glass, how the boards interacted with pucks and players, and how the glass gave when the boards shake, Lehr explains. One of the biggest players on the ice went into the boards during the first game, and [the LED] was no more than four frames [off] before it synced again. We haven't had any issues other than that. Whether it's adjusting brightness or resetting panels if we have to, the staff with Vepe-Icepro have been really good about any kind of troubleshooting.
It's Showtime: Crew Adapts Game-Day Script for New Tech Toy For the season's 10 games before the digital dasherboards were installed, Lehr and Director, Game Presentation, Matthew LaRochelle had to create a standard run of show with the knowledge that the video display would soon be ready. Not only has it helped in programming a show for the Comets, but the display's ability to swap to a Utica City FC match has been beneficial as well.
Fan pumpers are taken up a notch wit
Most recent headlines
03/01/2026
A still from OBEX by Albert Birney, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance...
02/01/2026
Freezing Florida: NHL's EVP, Entertainment Bob Chesterman on Taking the Wint...
02/01/2026
NHL Winter Classic 2026: TNT Sports Prepares for First NHL Outdoor Game in Sunsh...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital premieres Wednesday 7 January on RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
RT will debut a powerful new six-part documentary se...
02/01/2026
Friday 2 January 2026
All episodes of Heated Rivalry will be landing on Sky and...
02/01/2026
Sequins, chat shows, live sporting action, ground-breaking docuseries and brand-new Irish drama to kick off 2026
New Year, New Content Coming Soon across RT
...
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
Your live countdown to 2026 with Inhaler, David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone, Sharon...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
RT has unveiled an exclusive first look at the new Dancing with the Stars promo...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
Adirondack Bank Center Is First North American Venue To Install Permanent Digital Dasherboards Finland's Vepe-Icepro provides 360-degree LED system for Utica Comets, Utica City FC games By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
