There was a new beacon in the Kent night skies Jan. 7,as the Seattle-Thunderbirds vanquished Kelowna in Western Hockey League action at the ShoWare Center.
The center’s brand-new video marquee was a veritable light show to drivers passing the center on West James Street, with pictures of the T-Birds in action as well as other events coming up for the center.
Crews from The Sign Factory of Kirkland installed the video display board Jan. 6. The full-color display is 9 feet high by 17 feet wide. Crews last month installed the 20-foot high base to hold the video display board.
“All the passengers and drivers in vehicles driving by will have a whole new awareness of what’s happening in the building,” said Beth Sylves, ShoWare marketing director. “Whether it’s hockey, a concert or a Disney show they won’t be able to miss what excitement is happening.”
The $190,000 marquee will run messages 24 hours a day to promote the 2-year-old arena. The Kent City Council voted 6-0 in August to spend up to $225,000 from the city’s lodging tax reserve fund to pay for the sign.
Kent receives about $150,000 per year from the lodging tax. The Legislature approved in 1997 a lodging tax that directs 1 percent of city taxes collected on hotel room sales to be used to promote tourism.
The sign in front of the center will display messages with video whenever possible.
“We have great hockey footage we can put up,” Sylves said. “And we have video from the Globetrotters that we can put up there.”
“It’s going to be very illuminating,” Sylves said. “The signs are angled so that you can see it while traveling east or west. It’s capable of crisp, life-like video imaging. You’ll get great visibility from far away and also when walking on the plaza you can see the messages from close up.”
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