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WP: DC Sports Bog: Redskins to install HD video screens at FedEx


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http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/01/redskins_to_install_massive_hd.html

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Redskins to install HD video screens at FedEx

This week, the Washington Redskins began mailing letters to their general admission and premium club seat ticket holders, informing them of significant changes to the in-game video experience, headlined by two 30 feet tall by 100 feet wide high-definition video boards, one in each end zone.

Now, there are two ways fans could react to this news. (And no, drunken indifference is not an option. It's the offseason.) Some fans will say it's about time, that after living with a scoreboard nicknamed The Lite Brite and a video board that seemed smaller than Albert Haynesworth, the franchise owed season ticket holders this much and more. They'll talk about the lack of out-of-town scores and in-game stats, and the 28-by-28 feet JumboTron that hadn't been updated in 13 years, and the high-def screens in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and the in-game experience at FedEx that Sports Illustrated rated 28th out of 32 teams in 2007.

But because I'm an optimist, I'm choosing to take a different point of view. Redskins fans this fall were as angry as local observers could remember. They demanded change. And whatever the reason, no matter how late the hour, some signs of change have arrived.

Fans wanted a general manager, and they got one in December. They wanted Daniel Snyder to take a step back, and while it's early, at least there are public nods in that direction. And they wanted the game-day experience to leave the 20th century; this is a first step. If you demand something, and then it happens, you can hardly complain that it only happened because you demanded it.

So what does this letter announce? There will be the HD boards in both end zones, replacing the comically small scoreboards, the old JumboTrons, and two end zone billboards. The big screens, which should be in place for the preseason, can be split into a variety of configurations; for example, displaying the same replay from different angles simultaneously, or showing replays and stats at the same time. There will be 10 other new screens in the lower bowl, from the game clocks to the time clocks to the out-of-town scoreboard displays, which will be equipped to also convey game stats and fantasy football totals.

Obviously we need to wait and see how it all looks, but these sound to me like massive upgrades.

"I think Dan Snyder's finally realizing that he doesn't have an endless supply of fans, so the product on the field has to be improved and the amenities have to be improved as well," said Mike Broderick, one of the franchise's most vocal critics during the past fall. "At least they're trying," he added, which is the angle I'm going for.

"It's about time that they actually gave back to the fans as opposed to just taking money from them with nothing to show for it," said Ted Abela, another of my go-to fan voices.

The big boards will compare in size quite favorably to other models in the close vicinity. Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field has two 27-by-96 foot screens. Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium has two 24-by-100 foot screens. Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium has a 31.5-by-77 foot screen.

Of course, that team in Dallas has some sort of 71-by-160 monstrosity, along with the pole dancers and the playoff losses and the kicker that can't make clutch field goals, but they can keep all that.

(And yes, Dave McKenna has been predicting this for weeks. And yes, Brian Murphy gets credit for breaking this one.)

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Thanks Dan for finally caring about this part of the franchise. But this also means we are going to be in Fedex for a long time.

I hope more home fans start attending games to make the stadium more fun now. I personally thought only moving the team back to DC would do that.

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BTW, i'm thinking this 4-12 season was like a true definition of a "blessing in disguise". New GM, New Coach, Jumbo HD Screen, no price hike in ticket prices...:)

Agreed, I remember saying to someone before the season started that this past season was the most important for the Redskins in a long time. Seems to be coming true. A lot of things are changing, hopefully for the better all the way around.

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