Detroit Unleashes the Second-Largest Display in Baseball for Tigers Fans
During a recent visit to Detroit, the Daktronics podcast team sat down with the Detroit Tigers’ Stan Fracker and Pete Soto to hear about their game-day productions.
Justin Ochsner on 8/2/2024
Categories: Pro Sports and Colleges
After visiting the Detroit Tigers and sitting down for an on-site podcast, we learned a lot about the team and their vision for game-day productions with the second-largest video board in professional baseball. Stan Fracker, Operational Director of Broadcast and AV Systems, and Pete Soto, Vice President of Game Presentation, both with Illich Sports + Entertainment overseeing the Tigers game-day experience, sat down with Justin and Matt on The Daktronics Experience Podcast.
The following is a quick look at the conversation and some main takeaways about the experience they provide for fans in Detroit.
Pete on creating a fun experience:
"When the team is not doing well, we have to make it a fun experience. And it's a tricky thing because everyone lives and dies by the games, right? But why? We had a good time, right? That's what it's about."
Pete on joining Illich Sports + Entertainment and the contrast between baseball and hockey:
"I came over here to Detroit so I could quadruple my games and oversee the Tigers and the Red Wings. It's the best of both worlds for me now.
"In baseball, you live in fun because the game is slower and you dabble in excitement. Hockey's the opposite; you live in excitement because the game is so fast. It's a fun juxtaposition between the two teams."
Stan the Tigers new video board and the evolving atmosphere:
"We didn't want to simply replace it. We wanted to upgrade and go bigger and better. The Detroit skyline is such an important part of the fan experience and we wanted to keep that in mind when bringing this new technology to the ballpark.
"The displays obviously play a big, big role in the game-day atmosphere. In baseball, you find yourself building towards these moments, taking a little bit more of a long game approach on things."
The duo dive deeper into these aspects and talk more about their history and experiences, how technology plays a role, and the fun things they look forward to seeing on game day. To hear it all, check out the audio version here or the video version here.