Panasonic and NASCAR are one-upping Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys with plans to install the world’s largest HiDef video board at Charlotte Motor Speedway by next April.
Speedway Motorsports Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer O. Bruton Smith and CMS officials announced a partnership with Panasonic today to install a 200-foot-wide, 80-foot tall, 165,000-pound video board that will cover 16,000 square feet between Turns 2 and 3 along the backstretch of the legendary superspeedway.
Panasonic will also become the founding sponsor of the video board and a Speedway Motorsports Inc. alliance partner around its broad portfolio of advanced technologies. Panasonic is now the exclusive audio/video provider of Charlotte Motor Speedway with category exclusivity inclusive of camera, camcorder, television, display, and Blu-ray.
Fans seated throughout the frontstretch from Turn 4 to Turn 1 will have clear viewing angles of the gigantic board that will feature 720P high-definition visuals illuminated by more than nine million light emitting diode, or LED, lamps.
“The fans will feel closer than ever before to the cars and stars of NASCAR at each event,” Smith said.
In addition to the live race coverage, the video board will provide fans with interactive entertainment, continuous leaderboard updates, sponsor information and instant replays.
“Panasonic worked closely with Charlotte Motor Speedway to design the end-to-end system from the control room to this massive HD video board,” said James Doyle, president, Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company.
Construction will begin on the video board following the Oct. 13-16 Bank of America 500 Week at Charlotte Motor Speedway and is scheduled to be complete by April, 2011.
— By Scott Hettrick