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REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. -- The numbers needed to describe video boards in the new U.S. Bank Stadium are impressive: The biggest scoreboard, for instance, is 68 feet tall and 120 feet wide.

More than 19 light emitting diode displays are in or just outside the stadium, providing nearly 31,000 square feet of video boards.

But Amy Barnes, and nearly 200 others who built the video boards in Redwood Falls, summarize all of those figures into one easy-to-understand word: pride.

"It is very rewarding to being able to have a product of that nature that I can be part of," Barnes said with a Minnesota understatement.

Kyle Marlow described a recent visit to the stadium with 100 other Daktronics employees. "I had pride in it because it came from our factory in Redwood."

The boards made their debut to more than 64,000 spectators Wednesday night at the stadium's first event, a soccer game. For many, the real stadium opener comes at the Minnesota Vikings' first home preseason football game Aug. 28, or maybe when the Vikings host the Green Bay Packers for a nationally televised Sept. 18 contest.

The video boards came from the Redwood Falls plant that Brookings, S.D.-based Daktronics has used for nearly a decade to make scoreboards, message boards and other electronic signs for sports teams, businesses, churches and other organizations.

Two years ago, the New York Times called Daktronics a "global giant" in its industry. It has, or soon will have, boards in most National Football League stadiums and in Minnesota's major sports venues, Target Field, Target Center and Xcel Center, as well as at several University of Minnesota sports facilities.

Workers said they are excited to build all boards that go in the state, but they appeared most proud of their work for the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium.

"We signed the inside of these," said Karla Rothmeier, who has worked for Daktronics since it opened in Redwood Falls.

They signed in places most people will not see, the first time workers autographed a board since they shipped out their first one nearly a decade ago.

Rothmeier and other workers had a quick answer to whether she was a Vikings fan: "Oh, yes."

Rothmeier and about 100 other Daktronics workers attended a recent stadium open house to see their work.

"I know we built them for quite a long time," she said, but until they saw the stadium in person, it was hard to comprehend. "We went there and saw how many there were, all the different displays; it was a lot."

The video boards are not the biggest in the National Football League, but that is for a reason.

Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley said largest board is the NFL's 10th largest and it -- like a smaller one on the opposite side of the stadium -- is set at eye level for most fans, making for a better view. "It is ideal because it is lower, right in your line of sight."

The boards are sized to fit the stadium, Bagley said.

In addition to the two main boards, two "ribbon" boards go around the stadium between decks and the big scoreboards have "wings" adjoining them. And outside, Daktronics furnished a video board for the "prow" of the stadium and a curved one that became a "sail" on a ship replica.

"The sail was neat because it was a curved display," Marlow said.

He also said the big inside displays will be good for concert-goers, especially those in distant seats, where performers look small.

Chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen of the state agency that owns the stadium likes to tell people about the Redwood Falls facility and its 30,000-square-foot addition that came in handy when the Vikings boards were built. She often uses it as an example of how the new stadium used Minnesota products, including a massive west wall made of clear glass from Owatonna.

"They should feel very proud," said state Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, who represents Redwood Falls.

He described the video boards the same thing as many Daktronics employees did: "They are really sharp." In a way, the new video boards are like high definition televisions when compared to sets of a couple decades ago.

Barnes said fans who watched the Vikings and other events at the old Metrodome will see a difference.

"The clarity of the signs is much beyond what the dome had," she said. "I would say we are making a tremendous jump. ... Hands down, so much better product than they had in the dome."

Daktronics Plant Manager Tom Quackenbush said when his workers were at the open house, they sat in the stands for quite a while "to take it all in."

"It is like an artist," he said, "they can pick out all the flaws. But, honestly, I didn't see anything."

"Everything seemed to be working perfect," Rothmeier added.

For the workers, front desk worker Sandi Reck perhaps put it best: "It was pretty awesome."