ACC to unveil new scoreboard this year
Bright lights, big city, big Maple Leaf.
On a day where the literally biggest news in Leaf Nation was overshadowed by some hire, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment also showed off their new scoreboard, that is in the process of being built. At its centre will be a 23-foot-tall aluminum steel Maple Leaf sculpture — looking a bit like a giant Christmas ornament — which will be surrounded by four giant 32 x 18 foot screens, that will be four times as large as the previous scoreboard.
“What we’re doing here is improving our fan experience, it’s part of a multi-year initiative; last year we put in a 3D projection system that put images on the court or rink,” said Jim Steele, director live production & venue technology. “What we’re doing here is improving our scoreboard . . . Within the leaf are LED lighting elements that will change colours to represent whatever colour we need depending on the team that’s playing, but it’s an icon of our country, an icon of our company, the maple leaf and that’s what we’re hoping to represent.”
The new scoreboard will weigh approximately 80,000 lbs. and all the in-arena improvements will cost $10 million, and include new improvements to LED screens and banners that depicts out of town scores and advertisements.
The new scoreboard is following the trend set by other NHL teams with newer, extremely large in-arena screens, likely kicked off by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who still have the largest. Steele said that due to the Air Canada Centre’s size, they had to go a little smaller, so as not to negatively affect sightlines for patrons. The arena improvements and scoreboard will be built throughout the summer and unveiled at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Fan Fest in early September.
As for the old scoreboard, it is being treated as a bit of a hand-me-down, as it is being dismantled and placed at Ricoh Coliseum so that the Marlies and their fans will also get an improved in-arena experience.
Asked if the new, big shiny scoreboard might be part of a larger conspiracy to provide a spectacle to obscure potentially dreadful teams on the actual ice, Steele answered: “I don’t know if that’s the case, but I think no matter what is happening (on the ice), we present a really quality show at every game and that’s what it’s about.”
The new scoreboard will weigh approximately 80,000 lbs. and all the in-arena improvements will cost $10 million.