The Salem Red Sox (High A; Carolina League) are moving forward with a ballpark upgrade, as the team has announced plans for a new videoboard. The display will be installed at LewisGale Field at Salem Memorial Stadium in time for the 2017 season.
The LED video-board will measure 36 feet wide by 31 feet 6 inches tall, with the full scoreboard stretching to 56 feet wide by 31 feet 6 inches tall. Fans will be able to see everything in vivid clarity with the 15 HD panels, each beaming brightly with 7,000 Nits (or “candelas per square meter”) to make the board roughly equivalent to the brightness of a clear Virginia sky.
“The new board is going to dramatically improve the in-game experience for our guests at the ballpark,” Red Sox president and general manager Ryan Shelton said. “We are so thankful to our partners with the City of Salem for working with us to make this possible.”
Salem mayor Randy Foley and city manager Jay Taliaferro both expressed their enthusiasm for the new addition to LewisGale Field.
“Many of the improvements we have made in recent years haven’t always been visible to our fans, but this new first-rate HD scoreboard is going to take the fan experience to another level,” Foley said. “We are celebrating 50 years of Carolina League baseball in Salem this year and this is certainly a tremendous way to get the party started.”
“It was a pleasure working with the Red Sox on this project, and I can’t wait for our fans to see the state-of-the-art scoreboard this season,” Taliaferro said.
The board will be constructed by industry leader Daktronics, which is based in Brookings, South Dakota. Comparable Daktronics displays are visible at the stadiums of the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers and fellow Red Sox affiliate the Greenville Drive.