Baseball fans attending Athletics games at O.Co Coliseum this season are in for a much better experience after the club spent $10 million to buy new video boards.

The two new high-definition screens, produced by Daktronics, a leading scoreboard manufacturer, replace some of the oldest video boards in sports — ones dating to 1996, according to team officials.

In fact, the new boards finally introduce LED technology to the 49-year-old stadium about 15 to 20 years after light-emitting diodes first made their way into the production of big screens at sports facilities.

The old boards contained the dot-matrix technology that's been phased out of most major league arenas and stadiums.

In Oakland, the two screens in left and right field both measure 36 feet high and 145 feet wide. Together, the combined square footage of both boards ranks second in MLB behind the mammoth screen at Safeco Field, home of the Mariners.

The new package comes with LED ribbon boards and a new control room to run the system. In addition, it includes a super-slow motion camera positioned behind first base and third base to capture scoring plays.

The A's are funding the upgrades as part of their 10-year lease extension at the coliseum. The extension comes while the A's continue their long journey to find a new stadium solution in the Bay Area.

The Oakland Raiders, the A's co-tenant, will also use the boards during football season. O.Co Coliseum remains the only dual-purpose facility across MLB and the NFL.

Elsewhere in MLB, the Cubs are installing the first video replay board ever at Wrigley Field for the 2015 season. It's also made by Daktronics and is part of the team's $375 million ballpark renovation.

In New York, the Mets are upgrading their video board at Citi Field with a new Daktronics display.

 

Source:http://www.sportingnews.com/

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