Old Dominion University Undergoes Massive Overhaul of S.B. Ballard Stadium The $67.5 million project wrapped up just before the first home game By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, September 19, 2019 - 1:21 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
With years of planning, fundraising, and construction in the rearview mirror, the Old Dominion Monarchs have finally opened the doors to their new football kingdom. Formerly known as Foreman Field, Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium underwent a $67.5 million revamp that pushed the seat total to 22,480, the west side of the structure to a 94 ft., and the crown jewel, erected a privately funded video board in the corner of the north end zone.
We also added ribbon boards on both East and West sides [of the stadium] that we didn't have before as well as on top of our suite building in the end zone, says Tina Price, associate athletic director, Old Dominion. We were down to the wire, but we took an 18-month construction project and turned it over in nine months.
Old Dominion received private funding to establish the 31 ft. by 51.5 ft. video board.
Controlling Video in Kornblau: Daktronics Takes the Lead on LED Installation
The 31 ft. by 51.5 ft. monolith with 10mm line spacing (a similar structure being used by the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium) will allow the video production team to project functions that used to not be possible. When the demolition of the old Foreman Field started on Nov. 19, 2018, Old Dominion gave a call to Daktronics to install the structure that runs more efficiently and is much bigger than what used to live inside the stadium
The old board had a lot of static signs, so we ripped all that down and replaced it with all LEDs, says Dwayne Smith, assistant director, classroom and learning space technologies, Old Dominion. [The relationship with Daktronics] has been wonderful. We couldn't have done [this project] without them.
As for the previously mentioned ribbon boards, two ribbon boards will run as long as 300 ft. and the one on top of the building will be 125-ft. long. All three ribbon boards will be 3.5-ft. high and have a 15HD pixel layout. With a mix of the main video board and these different ribbon boards, the philosophy of how they use video has started to change.
We can be more flexible with our graphics, our design, and what we put out there. The big thing we were trying to focus on is giving our fans that same experience they get at home when they watch a game. From our perspective, we have the opportunity to provide fans with a live game environment that they are more accustomed to. [For example], our replays are sharper, we can pull the score out when we're doing some really big sponsorship messaging, and we can put out-of-town scores on the board says Smith. [The setup] makes [our production] more versatile and what we do on the board can grow with ODU and the [overarching] style of the industry.
Do It While You Can: Venue Project Ushers in Full-Campus Connectivity
Eighteen athletic teams are put through their paces throughout the 251-acre campus in six other sporting venues (Bud Metheny Baseball Complex, Soccer Complex, Chartway Arena at The Ted Constant Convocation Center, Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center, Swimming and Diving Facility, and L.R. Hill Sports Complex). With multiple construction cranes, lifts, and bulldozers galore, the timing seemed right to complete a burdensome but necessary task for the sake of capturing the accomplishments of every student-athlete.
We established a video connection back to our central control room in the Jim Jarrett Athletic Administration Building, says Price. That was a big new part of our program that was really important. It was really the final piece in bringing all of our athletic venues [together] for video streaming.
Along with the video board, ODU installed new field turf and 2,362 more seats.
Back in the athletic administration building, the gameday staff on the university-side runs about 12 to 15 individuals deep to produce the gameday video board show in S.B. Ballard Stadium. The control room can become a bit packed, as the ESPN team of six people controlling the live stream utilize the same cameras that power the big screen.
For Price and Paul Briggs, director of video services, Old Dominion, the production team is relying on a NewTek TriCaster TC1 production system as the anchor. Also from NewTek, the 3Play 4800 is running point for instant replay and in-show highlights. Scoreboard animations, as well as player headshots, are being created via Adobe Premiere Pro 2019 and After Effects.
Forging the Next 10 Years and Beyond of ODU Football
Unlike many Division I teams, Old Dominion is still living in its infancy. After a move to the FCS in 2011, they joined the FBS' Conference USA in 2014. Last season, the Monarchs took a bludgeon to the college football Top 25 rankings after an upset victory over then-No. 13 Virginia Tech at home. Coupled with their new domain, the institution is poised for success as it continues to grow as a program.
We've only had football for 10 years here at Old Dominion, concludes Price. This video board takes [our operations] to the next level and to the top of our conference as one of the best facilities.
Old Dominion hosts East Carolina University in their second game at the new Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium next week on Saturday, September 28 at 6 p.m. ET.
North America Stories
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
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
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
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 ...
Old Dominion University Undergoes Massive Overhaul of S.B. Ballard Stadium The $67.5 million project wrapped up just before the first home game By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
