Daktronics Improves Game Day Experience for Frisco RoughRiders With LED, Fan Interaction

Daktronics has helped the Frisco RoughRiders bring an extra level of fan engagement to their game-day productions with fan games and races on the team’s field level video displays.

Daktronics helped the Frisco RoughRiders crete interactive games on their LED display, such as “Where’s Teddy?’

This year, through their “Riders Run Series”, the RoughRiders have challenged their fans to outrun a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a sponge from a children’s television show and a well-known fictional pirate. These games were executed using Daktronics Show Control System to trigger the animations across the displays.

The production team drew inspiration from the “Beat the Freeze” promotion of the Atlanta Braves between-inning entertainment. Putting the fans’ opponent on the LED display content gave the team more flexibility to match the races with different themed ideas. It also brings to life a digital space typically reserved for advertising, adding another level of fan engagement to energize the crowd.

“I wanted to create an interactive LED game to match the promotions we were running this season, but with a twist that made it unique to the RoughRiders,” says Garret Young, manager of game entertainment for the Frisco RoughRiders. “The layout of our three Daktronics outfield LED displays gave me the idea to make fan races. We released the biggest promotional schedule in baseball history this season, so I have a lot of material to work with.”

The RoughRiders used their Show Control System to time the content playback to align with contestants on the field. They created buttons to trigger animations at different points during the race including starting the clock, starting animations on individual displays as the contestant advanced further through the race and ending with a moment of exclusivity on all displays when the contestant wins.

With the success of the first few races, Daktronics Creative Services reached out to the RoughRiders with the idea of a searching game similar to “Where’s Waldo?” for their own mascot, Teddy Roosevelt.

“After seeing the races the RoughRiders were doing, we started brainstorming new ideas and landed on the ‘Where’s Teddy?’ idea,” says Brett Hansen, account manager for Daktronics Creative Services. “It involved a contestant running from display to display pointing to Teddy before he disappeared behind a building or off-screen. It was a fun addition to the RoughRiders race series and the crowd enjoyed the entertainment between innings.”

Interactive games such as the LED race series and “Where’s Teddy?” are powered by Daktronics Show Control System help improve the overall fan experience while bringing new ideas to live game-day productions.