Motorists driving at night by the Chattanooga Lookouts stadium along Interstate 24 may have noticed a cube-shaped digital billboard at Erlanger Park has been less bright in recent weeks.
The billboard had previously been “excessively bright” at night due to a software update that had turned off an automatic dimming function, said Derek Markey, chief operating officer at local company PlainView LED.
The company saw posts online about the billboard being too bright at night and a PlainView employee noticed the issue, Markey said. A few weeks ago, the company moved quickly to fix the problem within 36 hours, he said.
“We identified it and made the corrective process to make sure it goes back to our automatic ambient light adjustment,” Markey said in a phone call.
How ‘excessively bright’ Erlanger Park billboard over I-24 got fixed
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The automatic setting allows the billboard to adjust its brightness based on the amount of light around it, similar to how some smartphones automatically change their screen’s brightness.
A software update had made the billboard’s brightness manual, Markey said. PlainView LED has built multiple signs across the city, including at the new Chattanooga Football Club headquarters, the Chattanooga Convention Center and CHI Memorial Stadium, home of the Red Wolves soccer team. The company has also built digital signs across the country.
“If there’s a brightness issue, we take it very seriously,” Markey said.
The billboard’s brightness was not turned down because of any complaints the Lookouts received, said Dan Kopf, spokesperson for the minor league baseball team. Since the opening of the ballpark, the billboard has operated below Federal Highway Administration standards, he said.
“They adhere to the same standards of all their other highway signs,” Kopf said of PlainView. “When there was an issue with the processor, they were able to monitor it and then address it pretty immediately.”
Kopf said he had not heard any complaints regarding the billboard’s brightness.
The sign flashes updates on the Lookouts, as well as advertisements for a series of companies that joined the stadium as major early sponsors. The companies include Rock City, Erlanger Health, Unum and FirstBank. The companies also have their names on various venues at the $115 million ballpark, which opened in April on former foundry land.
Contact business reporter Daniel Dassow at ddassow@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.