EVERETT — Dan Todoroff has to feel like a kid in a toy store.
For the past month the Everett Silvertips’ game operations and events manager has had the newest Xfinity Arena addition at his disposal. That addition is a state-of-the-art scoreboard high above center ice that will be officially unveiled when the Tips play their home opener Oct. 10 against Spokane.
“Nobody in this building has ever used anything like this before, so we are all learning at the same time,” Todoroff said. “I’ve learned more about scoreboards in the last six months than I have ever known in my life.”
No longer will fans glance up to the rafters looking for an instant replay and be disappointed. The old board was able to show replays from only one angle in real time. The new board will be synced with all five arena cameras and the replay can be slowed down, sped up and run backward.
“The technology that we had didn’t support (that kind of replay),” Silvertips assistant general manager Zoran Rajcic said. “I think … as important as the clarity is the things we can now do with this new scoreboard are probably 180 degrees ahead of where we were the last 12 seasons.”
The scoreboard features six-millimeter technology, which is the distance between each LED bulb. In comparison, the old video board used 22-millimeter technology. And unlike the old scoreboard, which had to be lowered and manually reconfigured for each event, the new board is essentially a giant blank TV screen that can be easily changed from the control room depending on the needs of the event.
The board cost “just north of $775,000” according to Xfinity Arena general manager Rick Comeau, and was paid for primarily through a $665,000 loan from the City of Everett to the Everett Public Utilities District that runs the arena. Grants and capital reserve funds made up the remainder of the funding.
Comeau is the man responsible for spearheading the project.
“The conversation had already started — I just picked that conversation up probably about a year ago,” said Comeau, who took over as the arena’s GM in 2013. “I expressed my urgency to the board on the project and just made sure that the aging scoreboard wasn’t going to fail in the middle of the season, which was a huge issue.”
While the Silvertips will be the biggest beneficiaries, the board can be used for other events and purposes. Xfinity played host to 18 local high school graduations last June and attendees will be able to see the board in action during next year’s round of commencement ceremonies.
In April, the arena will play host to the Pacific Rim Gymnastic Championships for the first time since 2012. Installing the new board was integral to the arena winning the bid.
But in the meantime, Silvertips fans will enjoy the increased picture clarity and multiple camera angles from what the organization said is the best scoreboard in the Western Hockey League.
“I think with the scoreboard and what it does and what it can do will really enhance the experience people have,” Rajcic said. “Silvertips fans coming to the arena are really going to notice the difference and the investment in the facility when it’s done.”
Follow Silvertips writer Jesse Geleynse on Twitter
@jessegeleynse.
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