MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University will officially break ground on Phase III of the Herb Parker Stadium renovation project Monday, June 10, at 1:30 p.m. at the upper concourse.

The university will have guests from the MISU Athletic Department and Administration, EAPC, Daktronics and the community. The groundbreaking ceremony will be the start of a 14-month build that will establish Herb Parker Stadium as one of the finest facilities in North Dakota.

“We are very excited to be breaking ground on our new press box facility,” said MISU Athletic Director Rick Hedberg. “This will finalize a big portion of the upgrades to Parker Stadium. These improvements have been many years in the making and a lot of people have contributed to make this happen. The amenities that we can add when this building is complete will be great. This is a facility that the community will be proud of.”

Minot State started the renovation of The Herb in 2010 by installing FieldTurf as the playing surface, a state-of-the-art lighting system and a raised berm along the south and west edges. Phase II included a new bleacher section with a chair-back seating section.

Phase III has two parts that include a press box, suites, concessions and merchandise sales included in a new three-story building project and Daktronics video replay scoreboard on the west berm.

“Daktronics is the world leader in scoreboards and video boards,” Hedberg said. “This is the same technology that Target Field and many of the other new stadiums have implemented. We are going to be able to offer so much more in our game day experience for our fans. This can really bring our game day experience to a new level. The addition of the video board is very exciting on many different levels, including the possibility of our broadcasting students getting hands-on experience in production.”    

EAPC will serve as the architect for the press box structure and Daktronics is the designer and installer of the video replay system.

The press box features roughly 16,000 square feet of space and includes 10 suites for spectators to lease and a meeting space with can accommodate approximately 100 guests. There will also be space for sports information, radio and television booths, coaches' boxes and a video replay production room.

The university completed this portion of Phase III with funding from the Minot Community Facility Fund. Minot State expects to have the new press box and suites to be completed by the start of the 2014 season, with construction ongoing throughout this season and into the spring.

The video/scoreboard, which should be installed by mid-August, will feature a 14 x 25 foot LED video display that Minot State will run live video from games as well as instant replay and advertising capabilities. The scoreboard will be 8 x 25 feet, illuminated by LED lights. Funding for this project was secured by private sponsorship.

Daktronics is recognized as the world's leading provider of full-color LED video displays. Since 2001, independent market research conducted by iSuppli Corp., lists Daktronics as the world's leading provider of large screen LED video displays. Daktronics designs, manufactures, markets and services display systems for customers around the world, in sport, business and transportation applications.