New Oakland Coliseum scoreboard installation underway ahead of Athletics home opener

Removal of the old scoreboard and Diamond Vision displays are well underway at the Oakland Coliseum, the Athletics write at their Clubhouse Confidential blog, and the stadium is on schedule to complete the installation of new Daktronics LED displays ahead of the annual exhibition game between the A's and Giants scheduled for Saturday, April 4.

Get ready to enjoy improved #Athletics scoreboards and ribbon displays at the Coliseum to start the 2015 season. Demolition on the old scoreboards is underway. Get a sneak peek of the progress at #AsFANFEST on February 8 and learn more at clubhouseconfidential.mlblogs.com. #GreenCollar

A photo posted by Oakland Athletics (@athletics) on Jan 28, 2015 at 10:00am PST

The A's agreed to install the new displays as part of the lease negotiated with the Coliseum Joint Powers Authority. The new boards will take up the entirety of the rectangular frame used for the previous displays and static advertisements, according to this rendering:

These video boards are 36 feet tall by 145 feet wide, making them each larger than the scoreboard at AT&T Park (albeit further away). A giant compared to the previous 727 square foot Diamond Vision, the 5,220 square foot display will rank 12th in Major League Baseball, and third in the American League West behind the king Seattle Mariners at 11,425 square feet and Houston Astros at 6,696 square feet, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Additionally, ribbon LED displays will replace the previous auxiliary scoreboard:

The new ribbons will not wrap around the stadium, but will be limited to the outfield areas according to the A's rendering. The right field ribbon appears to extend to the start of Section 212, and the two ribbons together stretch 415 feet wide:

Newballpark.org's Marine Layer plots the pixel count of the main displays at 854 x 3400, not quite enough for 1080p HD, but notes, "Considering that most people will be at least 150 feet away from a clear view of either scoreboard, I doubt anyone could tell the difference."

Let us take one last look at the old Diamond Vision:

Grid View

• Taken by Jeremy F. Koo on May 18, 2013 in a game against the Kansas City Royals.
• Taken by Jeremy F. Koo on May 18, 2013 during the 7th inning stretch in a game against the Kansas City Royals.
• Taken by Jeremy F. Koo on June 16, 2013 in a game against the Seattle Mariners.
• Taken by Jeremy F. Koo on September 22, 2014, in a game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Happy trails.