New Scoreboard?

Shortly after posting last night’s grab bag, Bruce Garrioch threw up a short little piece that featured a conversation that he had with Eugene Melnyk. In it, Bruce discussed the prospect of the team investing in new scoreboard before the start of the 2011-12 season. Here’s what was said on Off the Posts:

I did this for you Don.
The first question I asked once the dust settled and the microphones were gone, I took Senators owner Eugene Melnyk aside on the stage to see if the club would have a brand new scoreboard for the 2012 NHL all-star game.
I mean what a perfect way to welcome the best players to town. You know, with a brand new scoreboard and HD screen. The best one I’ve seen is in Montreal. To be honest, Buffalo has a pretty nice one as well. I’m sure Pittsburgh’s will be grand.
Don, here is the answer I got when I asked if there’d be a new scoreboard by Jan. 26-to-29, 2012.
“I couldn’t comment on that right now,” said Melnyk. “I don’t know the timelines.”
Is it something you are looking at?
“We are looking at it, but a lot of it has to do with the economics of it and what the fans are saying,” said Melnyk. “We poll our fans all the time and we ask the question, ‘Here’s your menu of what we can afford to do, what takes priority? The big priority over the last couple of years and going forward is food and beverage.”
So, there you go Don, I tried. I really did. Better food then better vision.
That doesn’t sound promising for the new scoreboard you so badly want.
I did what I could to get you an answer.

At first glace, it doesn’t sound overly optimistic. Although, and maybe this is me reading way too much, nowhere in his comments does The Euge write off the possibility that a new scoreboard can’t be in place by 2012. If anything, it looks as though the owner is playing coy and if he is, rightfully so. It’s far easier to deal with the fans and media if promises of a new scoreboard by a certain timeframe go unfulfilled.

After re-Tweeting Garrioch’s link last night, our friends over at Sens Nation passed along the link to a thread that they have on their messageboards. In it, they ask fans to vote on which NHL scoreboard they would like to see the Senators invest in, if the opportunity arose to replace the current version. The technological eye candy is worth the visit alone, so be sure to check it out.

Personally, this is what I’d love to see in Scotiabank Place, I hear it doesn’t cost that much coin…