University of Michigan Natatorium Gets a New Video Board Ahead of Big Tens

Update: a Freedom of Information Act inquiry reveals that the purchase order price of the new scoreboard was $248,700.

The University of Michigan has installed a new 540 square foot video board ahead of the Big Ten Championships next month.

The new board is a full-color 8-millimeter display that is 15’x36′ in size and capable of running multiple timing systems for multiple pools during large club meets. It replaces the old board, which was 15 years old and was 10′ x 16′ in size.

The new video board becomes one of the largest full-color video displays in the country in a natatorium. That means it can play television, movies, and race replay. Coaches have also been using it for training purposes to allow student-athletes to watch starts, swims, and dives on a delay.

A spokesperson for the swim team says that “the final cost has not yet been determined” and declined to answer how the system was funded.

While large by natatorium standards, the video board is dwarfed by the largest video boards in the world. The largest video board in a sporting stadium is at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, home to the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. That scoreboard measures 360’x40′ for a total of 10,400 square feet and contains 80 million pixels.

The Canham Natatorium was opened in 1988 and has a spectator capacity of 1,200. While it primarily serves as a competitive venue for college and club swimming, diving, and water polo athletes, it has been opened to limited student-body and faculty use during the replacement of the Central Campus Recreation Center, which will include a new pool for the rest of the university community.

The 2023 Big Ten Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships will be held at Michigan from February 15-18 while the men’s meet will be held from February 22-25.