Texans to install largest video board in sports

Published Dec. 19, 2012 5:23 p.m. ET

foxsports

You can accuse Houston of a lot of things when it comes to Dallas, but a "little scoreboard" complex is no longer among them.

Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, will soon house the widest video board in all of sports, topping that of Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and almost certainly touching off the newest round of Dallas-Houston sniping.

"Our game experience is consistently rated as one of the finest in the world and these spectacular video boards will help us elevate to an even higher level of performance for our fans," said Houston Texans President Jamey Rootes. "Starting next season, the energy, excitement and entertainment we deliver for each home game at Reliant Stadium will be matched with exclusive video content, real-time information and event enhancements to provide an even better experience for our large and loyal fan base."

Construction on the 14,549 square-foot (277 feet by 52 feet) Mitsubishi video screen is expected to be finished by Aug. 1, 2013. The wide sides of the four-sided video board at Cowboys Stadium are 11,520 square feet (160 feet by 72 feet).

One-upping Dallas, however, is not the big idea here. Houston would like to host the Super Bowl in 2017, and the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation — which on Wednesday approved the new scoreboard — believed it was a necessary addition in service of that goal.

"An integral component is the Super Bowl bid," Rootes said. "Their question is, 'What is the experience going to be like? The game experience for the fans when they’re there for the Super Bowl?' When you show that picture and it is the largest stadium installation, 25 percent larger than what they’ve seen before, you can't help but think that will be exciting for the fans.”