Kansas City Royals Upgrade CrownVision with Daktronics HDR Technology

Tallest HDR video board in baseball, HDR Hall of Fame display, fence displays new at Kauffman Stadium for 2021.

Steve Schreiber on 4/1/2021

Categories: Pro Sports and Colleges

2008 Installation

In 2008, the Kansas City Royals installed, at the time, the world’s largest high definition (HD) LED video display. Referred to as the CrownVision, the Royals main video display in centerfield was iconic in shape, size and technology. For 13 seasons the display entertained and informed fans at Kauffman Stadium, included keeping score for the Royals World Series title in 2015.

Image Courtesy: Sports Video Group

Fast forward to 2021 and the video board still has its iconic shape and size, but now with new LED technology. Prior to the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, Daktronics upgraded the CrownVision with new HDR-capable technology. The Royals are the fourth professional baseball team (Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers) to have an HDR-capable main video display, all of which are Daktronics displays.  

Retrofitting into the existing crown-shaped structure, the display will remain the same size at 104 feet high by 84 feet wide, the tallest video board in MLB or the NFL, and the eighth largest video board overall in MLB.

The upgraded technology will bring more than 3.5 million pixels to the CrownVision, an increase of 138% more pixels than the previous display. It would take 789 60-inch televisions to cover the entire display.

Watch the CrownVision installation timelapse video

Artist’s Rendering Hall of Fame Display

In addition to the main display, another highlight in the outfield for 2021 is the new Hall of Fame display in left field which is also HDR-capable. It measures 21 feet high by 108 feet wide for more than 2,200 square feet of digital display space. Together, the CrownVision and Hall of Fame displays combine for the third most total square footage of HDR-capable displays in all of baseball.

Down at field level, Daktronics also upgraded the LED fence displays. Two separate displays each measure seven feet tall by 127 feet wide.

The total of four new LED displays now brings more than 5.1 million additional pixels to The K in 2021 to complement existing displays from previous installations still in use at the ballpark.

We are very excited to bring these new and improved video boards to our fans at Kauffman Stadium. We believe everyone will enjoy the enhanced HDR presentation of CrownVision while the new Hall of Fame board will provide great entertainment possibilities together with dynamic ways for our corporate sponsors to connect with our fans. We can’t wait to welcome our fans back to The K next season to share these new experiences together.-Royals Chairman & CEO John Sherman