Redskins' owner Dan Snyder unveiled improvements at FedEx Field today
The new video boards at FedEx Field are huge. They are high definition. They have the ability to display 4.4 trillion shades of color. They provide wide angle viewing for a larger number of spectators. But one of the coolest things about these new video boards is that Washington Redskins’ punter Josh Bidwell will NOT have to worry about where he punts the ball on game day.
New video boards at FedEx Field
Redskins’ owner Dan Snyder proudly unveiled the completed improvements he has undertaken at FedEx Field today to a group of the local media. These improvements are amazing. The huge new 100-foot video boards at either end of the field are actually so high-tech that they make the stadium look newer. There are speakers all over the stadium which result in ‘surround’ sound in every sense of the word. My heart started beating in time to the music in the videos and I could feel the bass under my feet. Very professional. Very high tech.
The refurbished control room looks like the cockpit of the space shuttle.
The new control room at FedEx Field looks like the space shuttle cockpit
The video boards are improvements that fans who come to the games will obviously see but there have been other improvements as well that aren’t visible to the naked eye.
There is the new text message traffic alert system that gives fans traffic alerts via text messages. Up until kick-off, these alerts offer information like the best driving routes to the stadium and information on game day traffic bottlenecks. After the game, there will be post-game traffic information. The alerts are available by completing a form on the website at www.redskins.com/trafficalerts. Go to the website for more information on parking and directions as well.
The installation of the late Sean Taylor’s locker for viewing on the club level is a new addition and it is as moving to see today as it was 3 years ago. Left as it was in 2007 when Taylor died of a gunshot wound sustained during a botched robbery in his home, it contains his jersey, a few other items of clothing, a football, his shoes, his helmet, towels, his shoulder pads, some books (a playbook?) and papers… stuff that a football player would have in his locker when planning to return to the training facility.
Sean Taylor's locker has been preserved exactly as it was the day he passed.
It’s an emotional experience to see for fans of Number 21. Sean Taylor slipped into the hearts of many of the burgundy and gold faithful and the fact that his locker is there at FedEx field makes it feel like he’s still here with us in some way. I commend Mr. Snyder for the way he’s kept the beloved safety’s memory alive for the team and the fans.
A few other important improvements are:
- Complete refurbishment of the video control room
- The addition of 1,000 additional cash parking spaces at the intersection of Brightseat and Landover Roads, available on a first-come-first-serve bases to fans attending home games.
- Club level party decks
- New plantings, general maintenance and updates to the irrigation system for the grounds
The improvements to the stadium – much of it the video boards themselves but also the beautiful, healthy grass on the field and the first class cleaning and painting – just make the facility look better. It feels new even though it’s not. The grass on the field is pristine. You want to take off your shoes and wiggle your toes in it. Anyone not a football fan would hate to paint yard lines on it and subject it to the cleats worn by 300 lb. men.
Hopefully fans will appreciate the improvements to the stadium and other enhancements. They will at least know that, while that they’re watching the awesome new video boards, every time a punt is kicked, they can breath freely – unlike the fans in Dallas will be doing.
