marinersscreen7There’s a short line at the bottom of the handout I received about the Mariners new HD video board that said “the details such as blades of grass and uniform stains on the video screen at Safeco Field will be as clear and crisp as the fans’ TVs at home.”

They’re not kidding.

Take your 42-inch high-def TV at home and multiply that by 2,182 — then you’ll have what is the biggest video display in all of baseball. 

The Mariners pulled the curtains off the gigantic screen today, and boy is it big — like, 11,425 square-feet big.

“This will transform Safeco Field into the most interactive, fan-focused venue is all of sports,” said Kevin Martinez, Mariners director of marketing.

It’s certainly a huge change from the tiny, 14-year-old 1,196 square-foot video board that had been installed since Safeco Field was built in 1999.

“I think we’ve been through three or four generations of technology since then,” said Randy Adamack, Mariners senior vice president of communications.

The new board, which is the fifth largest video screen in the world of sports, will be used to show the scoreboard, high-definition replays, more statistical information, as well as more social media like fan Tweets and Instagram photos.

Here are some geeky facts:

  • The screen’s resolution is 1080p x 3840p, which is more pixels than the Cowboys Stadium display
  • There are 1,200 panels and each panel has 24 lighting components
  • 3,000 feet of power cables, 3,000 feet of video coax cables, 3,000 feet of data cat5e cables for a grand total of 1.7 miles of cabling

As for those wondering if they can play video games on the screen, Martinez told us a few months ago that it’s certainly possible for special events.

The team didn’t say how much the video board cost, but did add that it’s part of a $15 million maintenance and capital improvement plan for Safeco Field that the Mariners completed this offseason.

Seattle opens up the MLB season on Monday at Oakland and will host its home-opener on Monday, April 8 against Houston.

Check out more photos below, including a few from the new-and-improved production center.

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