MLS Crew Chair Anthony Precourt on Friday announced that Crew Stadium's video board "will be replaced as part of multimillion dollar renovations" to the 15-year-old facility, according to Adam Jardy of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. The new HD videoboard will be "more than double the size of the one that survived a fire that started inside the speaker cabinets before a game" against DC United on March 23. The new video board "will fit within the structure of the current system and will measure nearly 17 feet by 66 feet." Video ribbons "will be added around the stadium, and improvements will be made to the home team’s locker room." The Crew also has "begun upgrading three sections of seating on the East side of the stadium," and all renovations "are scheduled to be completed before the Crew’s home opener" on March 22 against the Union. Crew President Mark McCullers said that one of the hopes is that the new scoreboard will "help the team find a naming-rights partner for Crew Stadium." He said, "There’s continued steady progress with a couple of prospects that have come along." McCullers said that to make the improvements, the team "worked with official sponsor Heartland Bank on a capital-financing package to reduce the effect on the team's cash flow" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 1/25).
