While the Giants roster may not have been subject to a facelift in the offseason, the place they will be playing surely has.
AT&T Park has been hosting construction on a new state-of-the-art scoreboard that Giants CEO Larry Baer compared to "the massive Jumbotron the Dallas Cowboys put up when they built a new stadium."
Baer prefaces that he believes it will be the best scoreboard in baseball. And according to the SF Chronicle, the $10 million project is the most the team has spent on a single capital improvement since the park's opening in 2000.
The new 10,700 square-foot board will be more than three times the original and will be the third largest in Major League Baseball behind Cleveland and Seattle, but the biggest at any California sporting venue.
(old photo of AT&T Park scoreboard) USATSI
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But wait, there's more ...
This unique scoreboard is fit for anyone and everyone. Baer said it was designed to serve different audiences with features for kids that are attending games and still presenting advanced analytics.
The construction comes on the heels of a season that, to say the least, was not a successful one -- at least not one the Giants organization is used to being a part of. The new addition plans to produce more fan engagement for those in attendance, no matter what type of baseball fan they happen to be.
Giants senior vice president Bill Schlough spoke to Henry Schulman for the article and he talked on the competition for the team. No, it wasn't a National League West conversation about power arms or who has the better lineup, but simply the fact that the games are competing with the household.
"Our biggest battle is with the couch," Schlough said. "We need to give fans another reason to come to the park when they've got an 80-inch TV on their wall. We've got to continue to rival that experience at the ballpark as well."
(Current construction on new scoreboard at AT&T Park) SF Chronicle
It's true. It's unbelievably easy to do nothing but press a button and BAM! -- there's the game. It appears this will be about making sure the park is catered to even those who don't struggle with the fear of missing out which creates an entire baseball-driven experience. Not that AT&T has struggled with this in the past, but any additions to making it easier on those watching the game will always be welcomed.
The combination of clear video, advanced displays of metrics and kid-friendly media will be the perfect excuse to skip a night at home and take advantage of what's happening in San Francisco.
It's a very lucrative investment, but the ROI appears to be on its way to working in the Giants' favor.
