They need the mid-bowl fascia screens because you won't be able to see the main scoreboard from the upper bowl thanks to those damn "luxury" boxes.
That's too bad. The new million dollar plus scoreboard at the Avenir Centre is a big part of the "NHL experience" when going to hockey games there. Big screen high res replays of goals for example add a lot to the game experience. It would be a bummer going to a game at the ScotiaBank Centre and not be able to see the scoreboard.
Yes, the gray seats are the Fast Freddy section, named for former Metro Centre impresario Fred MacGillivray who put the boxes in and removed the view of anything other than the arena floor for those patrons. It is like watching something through a mail slot.
The arena looks better with all the sky-boxes now though than it did originally without them.
It does make you wonder why they didn't put the suites just on both ends instead of the upper bowl sides and one end. At least every seat now is a very comfortable cushioned seat with cup holders. I have no problem sitting in the upper bowl for a sold-out game.
Iconic Madison Square Garden in New York has the same problem as Scotiabank Centre.
Its would be hard to imagine Halifax hosting all of the events they have in the past without the corporate suites. Although I do agree, I wonder if it could have been planned better. Obviously, this isn't ideal.
Here is a (blurry) photo I found on Google map images of Scotiabank Centre.
It's says it's taken from Section 41 Row J. This is half way up the upper-bowl and would be in the grey section of the map.
Not a bad view at all.
The new Scoreboard will have the score displayed much lower than the current scoreboard which will help seats in the upper bowl see the score. It may even hang lower and closer to the ice.
What I find even more encouraging about the scoreboard tender call is that it accompanies tenders for the replacement of Scotiabank Centre video production control centre as well as for associated broadcast cabling and electrical work. That appears to confirm that with the long overdue scoreboard replacement will come a badly needed upgrade of the whole video system at the facility. The quality of the video images on the current system is abysmal, as this screen cap (of the Mooseheads blowing past a couple of prone Moncton defencemen two nights ago) attests. It's like watching the game on a vintage 1975 Zenith TV.
Interesting nugget: Scotiabank Centre seats roughly 10,500 for hockey but I was told that number doesn’t include luxury boxes. Attendance for the Memorial Cup in-game has been considerably higher than the nightly reported number.
Had to chuckle at the photos above from a few months ago showing the view from higher level seats. That was basically what I dealt with the one and only game I saw at the Montreal Forum on a school trip back in 1986. We were seated maybe 2 rows from the top and because of the angle of the roof, which sloped upwards from centre ice to the sides, I couldn't see the scoreboard and I had to slouch down to see the players benches on the far side of the rink.
I haven't been to this arena in a long time. Has anything been done in the last 20 years to mitigate the terrible sight lines for basketball behind the basket? If memory serves me right the front row is way back where the front row for hockey is. They just add floor seating which I had assumed was only a temporary fix.
__________________
World's First Documented Baseball Game: Beachville, Ontario, June 4th, 1838.
World's First Documented Gridiron Game: University College, Toronto, November 9th, 1861.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats since 1869 & Toronto Argonauts since 1873: North America's 2 oldest pro football teams
I haven't been to this arena in a long time. Has anything been done in the last 20 years to mitigate the terrible sight lines for basketball behind the basket? If memory serves me right the front row is way back where the front row for hockey is. They just add floor seating which I had assumed was only a temporary fix.
The Hurricanes (interesting name given Dorians recent impact) average less than 2000 fans per game. They aren't going to invest any funds in changing the seating behind the net to retrofit for basketball. The floor seats probably have less than 100 people in them each game. Not really sure what you are suggesting they do given if they setup the end bleachers like an NBA only arena like the Toyota Centre in Houston there would thousands of empty seats in them.
The average length of a hockey stick is 5 ½ - 6 ½ feet. Our new high definition scoreboard can fit just over 5 hockey sticks stacked from bottom to top at 26 feet tall! Just 4 days until the big reveal!
Prev
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/halifax/2018/11/30/halifax-looks-to-replace-scotiabank-centres-16-year-old-scoreboard/photo_2_scoreboard.jpg)
Linear Mode
