Scoreboard to Be Ready for Baseball : Anaheim Stadium’s New System Has Color Replay Screen

The $5.4-million scoreboard system scheduled to be in place at Anaheim Stadium by the beginning of baseball season will display color replays that are almost twice as large and much sharper than the replays shown on the current screen.

The screen, a Sony Jumbotron, will be constructed in left field, where the existing scoreboard is. The new 26-foot 3-inch by 35-foot 5-inch board is only slightly larger, but the entire surface will be used for replays. The current system, built in 1980 for $2 million, shows replays on only a portion of the board.

“It’s the absolute latest design with full-blown animation and every replay capacity (slow-motion, stop-action, etc.) available,” said Bill Turner, stadium operations manager. “It’s the newest thing.”

The screen will be used primarily for replays and animation, not to display game information. The usual scoreboard information will be displayed on two new 20-foot by 40-foot black-and-white auxiliary boards and two existing black-and-white auxiliary boards. The new auxiliary boards will be located on the rim of the stadium, one in right field and one behind home plate.

“Just about everyone in the place will have a view of one of those boards, unless they are tucked way back (under a tier),” said Dick Beam, the Rams’ director of operations. “Even then, they should be able to see one of the old boards.”

City officials said the new system will be financed through increased advertising in the stadium, which will include two new “tri-vision” billboards. These billboards are made up of three-sided panels that rotate every few seconds, flashing a different advertisement with each rotation. There currently are two tri-vision boards on each side of the scoreboard. Another will be added to each end after the display screen is installed.

“There’s nothing in any other park that’s going to look like this,” Turner said.

Under the current proposal, the city, the Sony Corp., the Rams (who were the last to agree to the plan because of financial considerations), the Angels and Spencer Sports, the city’s advertising representative, each would receive a percentage of the revenue.

The Anaheim City Council will consider the final contract with Sony in about 60 days, but construction will not begin until after football season and after motor sports events that are scheduled in the stadium in late January.

“There’s no set date on when construction will begin yet,” Turner said. “But let’s put it this way. If it’s not in place by the baseball opener, we’re in big trouble.”