If you’re like me, you probably thought that the giant center hung arena scoreboards that most teams have came shipped in a great big cardboard box. Well, as it turns out, they don’t. Somebody has to build them out of a bunch of pieces. Other people take pictures of people that are building them.
Despite my constant requests to build the new scoreboard solely out of legos, the powers decided to go with one consisting of three LED score rings stacked on top of four 25-foot by 13-foot high definition video displays. Here’s the basic steps necessary to create a giant scoreboard, in case anyone wants to make one at home.
Click on any of the pictures to see a bigger one that looks the same.
September 19, 2006
The first step is a giant tic-tac-toe board. The game is just much more fun to play when you have real people instead of X’s and O’s.
Of course, you’ll need some curvy LED lights to put on it to make it sparkly. The Big Dig guys called and offered to let us use their hot glue guns to hang them, but we opted for bolts instead.
Also going on was the construction of a big support system. When this is completed it will look like the Zigaliganagin Bridge which is on I-93 just outside of the arena. Don’t call it a triangle. It’s a pyramid.
Strap the LED pieces onto the tic-tac-toe board and you’ve got a big, bright donut…
A big, bright donut that can fly.
The pyramid support structure is getting a frame on it to support the large HD video screens and also a catwalk in case a tiger gets loose during the circus and wants to see the inside of the scoreboard.
September 20, 2006
A big, bright donut that can fly and its newly created friend, an even bigger and potentially brighter donut that will soon fly. The bigger ring will show the score and player stats during Celtics games. During hockey games it’ll probably just flash bright neon colors to keep people awake.
If this ever happens during a game, we likely have a problem. For now though, they’re just waiting to get wired together. It’s kind of an introduction between the two. The one on the right is saying, “Hi. I’ll be sitting on your right for a while. When you’re done scrolling a letter or picture, just pass it on to me!”
Both of the rings are created, and now both of them can fly.
Almost ready to start taking the big HD screen out of the boxes and start putting it together.
September 21, 2006
The support posing with the rings before construction of the large HD screens takes place. The rings will soon be lifted up to the rafters so that parts can be put into place.
Using a crane, the pieces are lifted into place and bolted in. The big dig guys are really getting antsy that we’re not using any glue at all on this project. I was excited to see that the same pink plastic foam wrapping that ships on a 25 by 13 foot video board also came with my 38″ LCD TV.
These boards also have to get wired and introduced to their neighbors. If you can’t play nice, you can’t play at all.
Using a crane to move one of the sections into place. One guy thought he could steal one and take it home, but fortunately, he was trapped in a cage.
More wiring. Apparently there’s a lot of that in an HD screen this size. Go figure.
September 22, 2006
The board before the last panels are put into place to complete the screen. It’s starting to look like a spaceship, which I think was the goal.
Cables from the ceiling to bring power and signal to the boards… Or else someone is fishing in the wrong location. They’ll be surprised when they find out what they caught.
As we suspected, the cables are, in fact, coming from the ceiling. We’re still looking into finding the person who authorized the Canadian flag to hang in the arena, but we are hopeful it will be removed promptly.
September 26, 2006
Adding the fixed sign at the top of the structure. According to Cassandra, “That top part with the words and lights is really pretty. I like it.” I think they should have left it just like it is in the photo, and called the arena the TD Ban Garknorth Den. That’s so much cooler.
The bottom ring still needs to be added, but before it could be attached, they had to pain the screen red.
So it can handle displaying two different colors. Only about 18 million more to test before we are 100% sure it is capable of running high definition video.
The best way I can describe this is that it’s a shiny, spinny, swirly, roboty, spot light thingy. It’s attached to the bottom of the structure.
And one of the many speakers also being installed for an all new sound system. An NBA memo about new sound meters says, “Do not place the device next to a PA system.” I guess that means this is one of the many locations we can’t put it, but since those were the extent of the details and they also said the device has to be able to “see the court”, who really knows. Hi, NBA, I’m communication. Let’s get to know each other.
Remember those machines in “War of the Worlds” with the tripod legs that vaporized people with its laser beams? This is looking suspiciously like one of those. Believe me, if it turns out we end up with one, I’ll be the first one to figure out how to control it, then I’m having a PETA convention at the Garden.
I know I wasn’t there when this picture was taken, but in my mind, this guy changed it to this color before he started working on it to make a statement to the rest of the union guys on site.
September 27, 2006
You’ll notice that the last ring was added on the bottom and the whole thing is in the air, or else resting in sections 17-19, depending on whether you are capable of depth perception. As an added bonus, you can see the beginnings of making ice for an upcoming hockey game. A couple of the guys on the floor complained of “frozen tootsies.”
Still hasn’t crashed down from the ceiling yet, so that’s good. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, there’s a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in place regarding Local 103.