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Fans score new board
'Dome gets Christmas gift
By
STEVE MACFARLANE -- Calgary Sun
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Merry Christmas, Flames fans.
No longer will you have to grab the binoculars to watch a replay on the Saddledome scoreboard, or fill in the blanks to make up for burnt-out bulbs spelling team names.
The Calgary Flames will unveil their new multi-million-dollar Enmax Energy Board just in time for the Boxing Day game with the Vancouver Canucks.
The process started last night with the old board taken down after the tilt with the Minnesota Wild, but the time frame will give new meaning to the Christmas rush as the team heads to Vancouver today for a six-game road trip.
The command centre has already begun its time-consuming overhaul, with wires strewn all over event level at the 'Dome and workers armed with sledgehammers knocking down walls for the expansion.
A 10-day process will be condensed into five for the final stage of installation.
"If we don't do it in this window, it doesn't happen," said Flames president and CEO Ken King. "This was the only window of opportunity.
"We have great confidence in our suppliers, we have great confidence in our staff and mechanical people to get it done."
According to King, cost of the Enmax Energy Board built by South Dakota company Daktronics was "somewhere north of 3 1/2-million dollars."
The 16,300-kg board boasts two power rings, and 50% more video room than the previous clock.
Enmax already supplies the famed balls of flame after each Calgary goal and now adds its name and dollars to the scoreboard.
Enmax CEO Gary Holden announced yesterday his company will also donate $1,000 to the Flames Foundation for every powerplay goal the Flames score at the 'Dome the rest of the season.
