Mets Go Digital, Shea Becomes Arena Media Affiliate

Aging Shea Stadium will get some high-tech glitz with a series of 20 high-definition, 50-inch video screens to serve game information and advertisements. The screens, to be installed by Arena Media Networks, will be in place in time for the New York Mets' season opener against the Houston Astros on April 11.

Arena Media, based in Port St. Lucie, Fla., has already installed screens in seven other stadiums around the country, including the MCI Center in Washington and the Fleet Center in Boston. The company deals primarily in National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and Women's National Basketball Association properties, but has also installed monitors in Pro Player Stadium in Miami, which hosts the National Football League's Dolphins and the Major League Baseball's Marlins. Shea Stadium marks Arena's second baseball stadium deal.

"Shea's one of the older ballparks in the U.S., and that's part of the idea," said Arena's co-CEO and co-founder, Tom Kiernan. "Our displays are going to enhance the fan experience."

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Stadiums usually use the screens to show ads--generally stills, cuts from television ads, and logos--as well as content, like scores from other games, statistics, and team trivia. Kiernan also said that it was possible to brand the content with sponsor's logos.

Kiernan said that two of Shea's building sponsors have already signed up to run ads on the screens. In Arena's other deals, ads tend to be from the stadiums' corporate sponsors.

The sale of the ads is primarily done through the New York Mets' in-house sales team, Kiernan said, but Arena and the Mets are sharing the responsibility of selling the space. He declined to comment on the rates for a spot.

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