Apr 6, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; The new Oakland Athletics video board after the win at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Texas Rangers 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Last week I finally had the chance to make it out to the bay area to catch an A’s game. It felt good to get out there and see my boys in green and gold playing ball again, and I love going to the O.co Coliseum. No, it’s not as nice as that yuppie stadium across the bay. Instead of a giant Coke bottle slide we have giant sewage problems. It’s old, ugly, and it’s a football stadium, but it’s home to Oakland fans.
This season A’s fans will enjoy it even more thanks to the A’s spending $10 million dollars in the off season to upgrade the scoreboards and video ribbon in the stadium. According to the Daktronics website, the company that designed and built the new video boards, the new LED screens are 36 feet high and 145 feet wide. The two new ribbon displays are 3.5 feet high, and 415 feet wide. All video displays are high definition, and will be bright enough to clearly cut through glaring bay area sunlight.
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The A’s obviously invested in the right company, because they look fantastic. When I first exited the concourse and entered the seating area I was shocked. The old O.co looked young again. The new displays add some real pizzazz to the old gray lady. The environment felt more electric and alive than before, and it added a sense of pride knowing that our stadium felt this way. When other teams, or fans of other teams, come to Oakland they will be impressed by something other than the talent of our team. To me at least, that feels good.
The video boards are clear and vibrant, and the ribbon display rivals any like it in the majors. They clearly display a ton of information including player stats, game information, as well as, of course, advertisements. The quality of video is excellent. The replays were as clear as if I was on the field myself. The ribbons are constantly active, meaning that they are frequently changing what they display, and it adds a whole new vibe to the fan experience.
Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed my experience in the O.co more than usual this time around. The fans deserved this, and I’m happy to see a loyal fan base get something back from the team. Oakland fans are a one of a kind breed. There’s no one else like us. We’re loyal, we’re educated about baseball, and we stand by our team every year even though at the beginning of the year we don’t even know who anyone is. We’re put through a lot as a fan base, and we endure because we love baseball and we love our Athletics.
Like I said, we may not have a fancy stadium on a waterfront that provides free Wifi and lobster bisque in sourdough bread bowls, but we have the loudest craziest fans in baseball, cheap tickets, and new score boards! I feel like I speak for most A’s fans when I say we’ll take that any day of the week.