Mississippi State can be proud of more than reigning SEC Coach of the Year Sylvester Croom, with a biggest-in-the-SEC (but not as big as Texas) $6.1 million HD video board under construction for its debut October 2008. Nestled in the south end zone of Scott Field the total board measures 152 feet wide x 135.5 feet tall, with a main high definition screen of 111 feet by 47 feet. Packing the usual LED technology, it can split up to show multiple displays and stats as we expect from our scoreboards, and has size that compares nicely with HDTV displays on the way in Minnesota and Arizona. Congratulations Bulldogs, you've got a team able to compete in a tough conference, and now some stadium amenities that are able to measure up as well.

[Via Busted Coverage]

It's been far too long since we heard about the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium w/ accompanying gigantic four-sided HD scoreboard (and far too long before the 2009 season when it opens). Mitsubishi apparently thinks its the one to drop in new details, since it's their Diamond Vision technology (also soon to be seen at the new Yankee Stadium) powering the worlds largest 1080p LED displays, and we're in no position to argue. What can we say, exact specs on HD screens totaling nearly 13,000 sq ft make us weak. Check after the break for the full details before they're scheduled to turn on June 1, 2009.

When the New York Yankees kick off their 2009 MLB season next April in the new Yankee Stadium (hopefully without being rained out Opening Day), they'll do it under a Mitsubishi Diamond Vision high definition video scoreboard. In what it's calling the first HD display in MLB to use its high-density AVL-ODQ8 LED display technology, Mitsubishi is upgrading the Diamond Vision board at the current Yankee Stadium, to a 5,925 square-foot 1080x1920 display measuring 100.79 feet wide and 58.79 feet tall. Sure the Royals might have a few more feet of HD, and the Mets have plenty of HD too, but we think Yankees fans won't have a problem with the team's latest high priced signing.

The University of Minnesota has finally found a way to one-up OSU and the other U of M's football squads by ordering up the first Daktronics HD-16 scoreboard in the Big Ten (Will you be able to watch the Big Ten Network on it?). Second-largest in college football to Texas' Godzillatron, the 108- by 48-foot display takes advantage of all the company's latest technologies, and should be ready for Minnesota's home opener against Air Force in 2009. Some fans may wonder how the big screen will make the football team better, but if top-notch facilities help recruit the next Marion Barber III-Laurence Maroney connection then it should be well worth it.

Daktronics is continuing its quest to slather all available areas in your local MLB stadium with an HD screen of some type, with the latest target Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. Apparently eschewing the bigger/biggest race for a moment, no word on the size of a specific Godzillatron display, but Mets fans can expect 12,000 total square footage of display technology when installation is completed by August, ahead of the stadium's inaugural 2009 season. The main displays feature Daktronics' HD-X technology and will ensure that the best place to watch the game on TV is at the park itself. In other news about 'dat 'tronics, Bloomberg profiles the company's work on the Cowboys' enormous screen, and more than 18,000 sq ft of displays going into the new Giants-Jets stadium.

Update: The Mets also just acquired Johan Santana, so Mets fans can rest assured the next time their team is busy blowing the pennant race, they'll be doing it in a top quality ballpark with one of the game's best pitchers on the mound.

Read - Daktronics to provide 12,000 square feet of integrated scoring and video display technology at Citi Field
Read - Giants, Cowboys Pack Screens Into Stadiums for `Wow,' Revenue

Boy, all these new high-def scoreboards is a trend we can really dig. Next up on the construction list is Camden Yards with their $9 million AV upgrades including a new sound system, control room, upgrades on the ribbon scoreboards and of course, the 16x9 HD screen. The ribbon cutting is expected in time for the '08 Oriole's season and reportedly, right before the 15-year-old Sony JumboTron (pictured) losses its last leg -- and last replacement part. Right now, it seems stadiums aren't concerned about sheer size anymore -- by our records, a Tokyo racetrack still holds the size title at 221-feet diagonal -- but keeping up with the Joneses and simply have a high-def scoreboard to call their own.

Quite frankly, it seems that each professional sports team that installs a fancy new HD scoreboard immediately assumes that it's the world's largest, and this go 'round, it's the Kansas City Royals keeping the trend alive. During the 2008 MLB season, Royals fans can feast their eyes on a 100- by 85-foot Daktronics display that utilizes HD-X LED technology, which the ball club says is "the largest HD LED board in the world." Additionally, Kauffman Stadium will be receiving a number of other Daktronics-sourced upgrades in 2009 / 2010, including an outfield fence display that measures around 8- by 128-feet, a pair of "ribbon boards" measuring in at 4- x 380-feet, and two displays above the stadium's new Hall of Fame that each span 5- by 108-feet. Now, if the Royals themselves prove to be worth watching, taking in a game next season may not be such a bad idea.

We don't know if it's really the world's first true indoor HD LED scoreboard or not, but even if it's not, the quartet of new screens at the Verizon Center are getting pretty glowing early reviews. Mitsubishi Electric and ANC Sports Enterprises teamed up to install the four center hung, 25-foot by 14-foot Diamond Vision systems at the home of the Washington Capitals, along with over 1,000 linear feet of LED fascia to display scrolling info. At only 1,280 by 736 pixels, none of these screens is going to make the most out of your favorite Blu-ray flick, but they do make the arena a perfect venue for your next LAN party.

[Photo courtesy of Flickr member Jessfir]

We're certainly not complaining about yet another professional sports team opting for a svelte HD Jumbotron, but the Diamondbacks' claim to soon have the "largest scoreboard in pro sports" is dodgy at best. Reportedly, the board will cost between $10 and $12 million to erect and will measure in at "144 feet wide and 55 feet high," which the team claims is 900-square feet larger "than the biggest existing board, at Atlanta's Turner Field." Nevertheless, the D-Backs have certainly been trumped already in terms of HD scoreboard planning, as the Dallas Cowboys are slated to treat their fans to a pair of 180 feet wide by 50 feet high displays as part of a four-screen setup in 2009. So if all goes as planned, Arizona's MLB club will indeed be sporting the largest high-definition screen in pro sports for a tick, but those mighty claims will soon be squashed by the sensational installation headed to Texas.

These HD mega-scoreboards are becoming commonplace, but who cares! They're still sweet. Next up is San Fransisco Giants and their 3 million dollar 31 1/2 feet high by 103 feet wide screen made by Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Vision - same peeps that did up the HD screen at that horse track in Japan BTW. Plus, in good 'ol San Fransisco style, this scoreboard is comprised of 3 million low power LEDs and the stadium's power consumption is supplemented by hundreds of solar panels. There are hundreds of flat panels scattered around the park, plus more are going in the dugout seating section making this one high-def loving stadium.

Not to be outdone by the giant scoreboard displays at Dolphin stadium and the University of Texas at Austin, Dallas' Cotton Bowl has contracted with Daktronics to design and build a new mega-HDTV when $50M in renovations are done to the stadium in the next few years. The renovations include increasing capacity and adding amenities to the stadium that was built in 1929 and hosts the Cotton Bowl college football bowl game and the yearly Red River Shootout between 2005 college champion UT Longhorns and the University of Oklahoma Sooners [For shame, thanks Righo for correcting me on the school's name, I should know these things living in Dallas]. The manufacturer will also be installing a new LED-based display and accompanying sound system. The scoreboard / video combination will display a 1280x720 resolution spread out over 3,900 square feet (83 x 47 feet, or 25 by 14 meters).

It was good while it lasted Miami. Daktronics, the same company who built the Dolphin Stadium twin-monster HDTVs has been contracted by the University of Texas to make one even bigger. As a part of renovations to their south end zone they are installing a 134x55-foot scoreboard, 370 square feet bigger than Miami's. As Engadget points out, it's actually slightly narrower and a little taller, bringing some conflict to the question of who is the biggest. All the same, if you want to check it out while everything is still bigger in Texas, you better hurry as a horse track in Tokyo is installing a 197-foot wide display.

If they had announced this last year, maybe Vince Young would have returned to lead them to another National Championship.

[Thanks for the tip Scott M!]

After the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, it seemed doubtful that football would ever be played in the Superdome again, but the NFL announced shortly before Super Bowl XL that the Saints will be playing actual home games starting September 24th next season against the Atlanta Falcons. The league has announced they will be putting in as much as $20 million of the projected $182 million it will cost to repair and renovate the stadium with most of the rest coming from insurance and FEMA.

Part of the renovation will include a huge high definition scoreboard much like the one in New Orleans Arena. They also plan to renovate the luxury boxes, hopefully they will take a look at our buying guide before they make a final decision there.