Reds seek new LED screen outside stadium
The Reds will be adding a second LED video board inside Great American Ball Park. The new board will be finished before the All-Star Game on July 14.
Meanwhile, the team also hopes to install a smaller LED video screen on the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, outside the stadium.
A new Daktronics LED video board, which will measure 90 feet by 30 feet, will be above the sun deck/moon deck in right field. It allow about 7,500 fans (roughly 1 of every 6 in the park when it's full) who currently cannot see the main score board in left field a chance to see video in the stands, according to a Reds news release.
The board will be installed thanks to a partnership between the Reds and Procter & Gamble, which is providing financial support. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, nor was the cost of the new video board.
"We are proud to partner with P&G on this project and excited to showcase the extensive brand portfolio of this iconic global company," Bob Castellini, Reds President and CEO, said in the release. "We are grateful P&G continues to honor its local roots by supporting projects such as this."
Construction on the new board inside the ball park began this week.
The smaller screen needs approval from city officials.
If approved by the City Planning Commission, the screen on the hall of fame and museum's facade would be used to promote the Reds, the Hall of Fame, the Reds Community Fund, the All-Star Game and establishments within The Banks.
Reds Chief Financial Officer Douglas Healy sent a letter May 19 to the city's Department of Planning & Buildings asking a special city ordinance approving the screen be passed.
"We believe that in order to have a robust entertainment district at the Banks, it is imperative to purchase this type of technology," Healy said in the letter. "As technological innovations continue to accelerate, the Reds and the Banks Entertainment District need to remain as current as possible in these matters. Without this type of investment, it is our concern that the Banks Entertainment District will lag the competition, which in turn could hurt the economic development and continued growth of this important, vibrant area."
If approved, the sign would be installed on the museum's facade along Joe Nuxhall Way and face west toward Freedom Way. The screen, which would remain at the museum permanently, would weigh 6,900 pounds and be 18.9 feet high and 31.5 feet wide.
The screen would be used during events and block parties at The Banks. It would display static images or words in a rotation of 30 seconds at all times, except when Freedom Way and part of Joe Nuxhall Way in front of the video screen are closed to traffic.
When the streets are closed to traffic, the screen could show moving images, such as baseball games or highlights.
City zoning laws do not permit "outdoor advertising signs" or "flashing signs" within Downtown. The proposed screen is considered an outdoor advertising and flashing sign.
The code defines an outdoor advertising sign as "a sign or graphic image painted on or affixed to the ground or structure, visible from any street, highway or other public way or park, displaying a message or promoting goods, products, services, events, activities, ideas, opinions and candidates for public office."
It defines a flashing sign as "a sign that changes in intensity, color and pattern of illumination at less than 10-second intervals when the sign is activated."
The sign would operate during normal business hours. If used at night, the screen would be dimmed to avoid annoying people living in apartments at The Banks. Otherwise, the sign would be turned off. Sound speakers that are part of the display would only be used during Reds games, events at The Banks and other special events.
City planners recommended the planning commission deny the ordinance, a routine step since the planners never support ordinances that don't comply with the zoning laws the department is charged with enforcing.