Safeco Gets Super-Sized Scoreboard

Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Are you tired of craning your neck to follow the hydro races? Do you struggle to keep your eye on the ball during the hat trick? Do the creative crayon colorings of various Mariners appear faded and dull on Little League Sundays?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, hang on to your baseball cap.

In addition to bringing in the fences, the Mariners are investing in a new HD screen for the 2013 season. With an impressive display visible not only from the centerfield bleachers, but also from space, the Mariners’ new screen figures to be the largest in MLB at 57 ft by 201.5 ft—nearly 30 ft wider than the Daktronics screen in Cleveland’s Progressive Field.

Although the screen will function as a standard scoreboard, it can be converted to a 11,425-square foot video screen for special occasions or watching road games or movie nights. (Just throwing that out there.)

Can’t wait until April for a glimpse of the jumbo Jumbotron? The Mariners offered this mock-up of the new board, resplendent with King Felix on the mound. If the rendering is any indication, Dave Curry isn’t far off when he says that fans will be able to see “details like blades of grass and the texture of the infield dirt.” From the official report by Greg Johns:

"The new video screen fills the same location and space as the old scoreboard above the center-field bleachers, but because the entire board is a high-definition screen, the video space itself is nearly 10 times the size of the current video screen. The Mariners say the video board will be equal to about 2,182 42-inch flat-screen TVs.The Panasonic HD video board will employ the latest high-resolution technology, with longtime Mariners partner ANC Sports unveiling a “VisionSOFT” operating system that will use a 64-bit operating system for the first time in such a large format. The Mariners say the screen will have image quality that is superior to broadcast HD signals."

Now, if only we had a couple new faces to feature on that screen. Your move, Jack Zduriencik.