Anthony James Partners (AJP) has recently completed videoboard upgrades at Moda Center, home of the NBA's Portland Trailblazers. The project was designed, procured, and managed from concept through construction and commissioning by AJP.
“We’re building on our legacy of innovation with these new dynamic endzone videoboards, designed to bring fans closer to the game than ever before,” said Dewayne Hankins, president of business operations, Portland Trail Blazers. “No matter where you’re sitting in the arena, you’ll now have an incredible view of every play, every highlight and every stat, taking the Moda Center experience to the next level.”
The Moda Center’s center-hung scoreboard has been enhanced, increasing in size by 56% to 2,092 square feet of seamless LED display with more than 13.5 million pixels. The updated design features continuous screens from corner to corner, along with new underbelly displays to enhance visibility for courtside and lower bowl fans.
Massive endzone displays feature nearly 9,000 square feet of immersive canvas to highlight live replay, game prompts, and advertising, enhancing the overall atmosphere and energy within the building. The new displays essentially cover the equivalent square footage of two full NBA basketball courts and are powered by more than eight million pixels.
Additionally, AJP also included next-generation upgrades to the broadcast control room and production space, highlighted by a new venue switcher and replay system for the production team, along with additional venue fiber to support the upgraded center-hung display.
A project of this scale invariably involves navigating complex challenges. AJP supported the Blazers by coordinating the onsite management of multiple integrators, vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors to deliver the improvements without disrupting the arena’s demanding schedule.
The massive endzone corner boards and ribbon required advanced structural engineering and custom rigging, along with new fiber infrastructure to support the displays. Field adjustments during installation triggering redesigns and approvals on compressed timelines. AJP worked with the Trail Blazers to evaluate all options—including rear-facing displays and adjustments to scoreboard elements—to ensure essential content remained visible from all seating positions.
The scoreboard project became more complex with the integration of new centerhung speakers into the existing audio system. Because the original system design did not allow scoreboard audio to operate independently, AJP developed a solution that introduced an auxiliary channel, enabling separate control of scoreboard audio for the first time.