Edmonton – City Council has approved to finance the entire purchase of a new, multi-million dollar scoreboard and sound system for Commonwealth Stadium.
The estimate for a new speaker cluster and scoreboard is about $5.2 million, which is less than the $6 million paid for the existing system 13 years ago.
“According to all the information we received from administration and from the Eskimos – that this particular facility is way out of date and they haven’t got materials to fix it – If it goes down, it could be be down for weeks on end,” says Mayor Stephen Mandel.
The director of Commonwealth Stadium, Evelyn Ehrman, says the current Jumbotron and speaker system has reached the end of its lifecycle. She adds, there has been one incident this year when the matrix board failed for an entire Eskimos pre-season game.
Prior to city council’s approval, the Edmonton Eskimos organization said it could not contribute to the cost of the Jumbotron because it was financially impacted by the FIFA Cup at Commonwealth, which is forcing the team to go on the road during the event.
The Jumbotron isn’t the only structure being upgraded at Commonwealth Stadium. The newly-installed green and gold seats are being paid for through a 5 per cent ticket tax. The tax will be in place for the next 16 years, or until the $8 million loan is paid off.
Comments