The Florida Panthers unveiled their new scoreboard Friday night, which they’ve named “Big Red”. The Panthers received funding from Broward county during the off-season to purchase a brand new scoreboard to replace one that had been in the arena since it opened in 1998. The $4.5 million board resembles ones they have in Pittsburgh and Columbus with full HD screens that wrap around, with separate HD LED banners above and below the main screen.

With the upgrade, the Panthers will now be more capable of providing fans in attendance up to date replays throughout the game, which they were previously limited on with older technology. It could also help the team with a more interactive environment during game presentations or during intermissions between periods or stoppages of play. This could help get the crowd more involved in the game and be more vocal, something the south Florida fan-base has been criticized for in the past.

You may ask how something as small as a scoreboard could help improve these aspects of a game? As stated previously, Florida has been limited in the past when it comes to replays and other in-game presentations with the out-dated technology they had to work with. With providing more replays and at a faster pace, fans will be able to keep up with the game. Miss a big hit on the opposing teams star player? The new system has you covered! Questionable call by a referee on the home team? A replay will let you see it more clearly so that you can shower the ref with boos, increasing fan interactions at the game and getting them more in to it.

Prior to the game, in arena PA announcer Bill Murphy announced that the team apologizes for the inconvenience that they would not be able to unveil the new scoreboard due to technical difficulties. Fans who had eagerly been awaiting this big day began to let him and the rest of the organization know their thoughts on this by showering them with loud boos. The arena then came alive to speak to the scoreboard and bring it to life, in a rather close encounter if you will.

Overall the home town fans, and even Pittsburgh Penguins fans who had made the trip from Pittsburgh to attend the game on Friday, were impressed at the BB&T Center’s newest addition. “Big Red” made a very good first impression and will be around to provide fans with a good game experience for many years to come.