"Jungletron" installation begins at Carnie Smith Stadium

It will be a few more weeks before PSU’s new “Jungletron” scoreboard and display is up and running, but installation has already begun.

Crews began drilling a big hole into the ground Tuesday morning at the Jungletron’s location just south of Carnie Smith Stadium. The hole will first be filled with concrete and stabilizing piers before crews set the columns to support the board. Display panels for the board will be installed during the last week of August.

The $1.7 million project is the newest addition to the stadium. With capabilities unlike any other regional institution, PSU Facilities Planning Director Paul Stewart says Jungletron will not only be used during games, but for crisis communication in times of emergency, movie nights on the field, and more.

“The possibilities are endless,” Stewart said. “The board is certainly going to change the game experience for the crowd, but it will also be used in a variety of other applications. We’re excited to explore all the different ways we can use it and to see how the public responds.”

Daktronics, Inc., in Brookings, S.D., is producing the display board, which will be almost 40 feet tall and nearly 70 feet wide. It will also include a new sound system. According to Daktronics, the PSU video board will be the largest at any NCAA D-II stadium in the U.S.

Jungletron will rely on LEDs (light emitting diodes) instead of incandescent bulbs. The new technology makes it possible to display color animation, vivid graphics and both live and pre-recorded video. The size and quality are equal to or superior to that found at many D-I programs, according to officials at Daktronics.

Similar, but smaller video displays can be found at Kansas State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Iowa.The new display will be complete in time for the first home football game at 6 p.m. on Sept. 13 vs. Missouri Southern, which is also Family Day.

---Pitt State---