Petco Park will get new giant video board
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Installation work on a giant video board at Petco Park will begin next week and should be finished in time for the 2015 home opener, the Padres announced Thursday.
The display, which has long been near the top of fans’ wish lists, will be more than 123 feet wide and more than 61 feet tall, according to the team. That would make it, at nearly 7,600 square feet, the third-largest screen in Major League Baseball and five times larger than the current screen.
Padres President and CEO Mike Dee said the video board is part of a multi-phase plan to improve the 10-year-old ballpark.
“The highlight of this year’s updates will be the new HD video board, the first of its kind here in San Diego,” Dee said. “This will significantly enhance the fan experience, while also providing the opportunity to update the left field seating area.”
The Padres said the entire board can be run full-screen to show live action or video replays, or it can be split into sections for statistical information, graphics and animations.
In addition to the main board, there will be new LED ribbon boards spanning nearly 750 feet along the first and third base lines on the Toyota Terrace level and the left field grandstand fascia.
Sony, which has its U.S. headquarters in Rancho Bernardo, will provide a state-of-the-art control room, which will include in-house production, broadcast and entertainment systems.
Eight smaller scoreboards located under overhangs in the seating bowl on the field level will also receive makeovers. Fans in those seating area will also get new 60-inch Sony televisions.
Some of the seating in left field will be reconfigured to accommodate the new video board. Two rows will be added to the lower section, totaling 171 seats.
More than 100 seats in the back two rows will be removed and replaced with bar stools that can be sold as individual seats or used for social events.
The upper level in left field will also be rearranged, with around 800 seats being removed and almost 200 bar stools added.
Season ticket-holders affected by the seating changes will be offered a chance to relocate to the new seats at the same renewal price, according to the Padres.
The construction will result in changes that could affect the game on the field, too. The fence in left field and left-center will be moved about three feet closer to home plate and lowered from 8 feet high to 7 feet, according to the Padres.
