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On a recent Saturday night, I took my family to Coors Field to see the Rockies play the Braves—and to check out the giant new scoreboard in left field. The scoreboard, the team’s largest acquisition of this past offseason, features an 8,369 square-foot video screen, roughly the size of 784 60-inch TVs, with an image as clear as that of any HDTV at Blake Street Tavern up the street.
And though the Rockies are bit late to the video-upgrade game—the Broncos, Nuggets and Avalanche got new screens in 2013—Coors Field’s new attraction adds a unique touch: the top is shaped like the Rocky Mountains. Several innings into the game, however, I realized something was missing: the 2007 National League pennant, which was part of the old scoreboard.
I looked around the ballpark to see where the team moved the banner, which had proudly marked the Rockies’ late-season run in 2007, when they won 21 of 22 games before bowing out in the World Series. (Curse you, Red Sox.) But I couldn’t find it anywhere. Nor could a fan seated behind me, as well as several stadium ushers and a beer vendor.
I spoke to a newspaper reporter who was covering the game and asked if he knew where the pennant went. His reply: Nope, but hopefully they’ll replace it with one that looks less chintzy. (When the team unveiled the pennant in 2008, the response was underwhelming. The Daily Camera in Boulder described it as “actually just a sign sandwiched between the scoreboard in left-center field and the Rockies logo above it.”)
I struck out in my search for the pennant that night, but did enjoy the game—a 3-2, extra-inning win by the Rockies—as well as the new scoreboard. Between the massive TV screen, the ballpark’s Rooftop deck, and its on-site brewery, Coors Field could very well be considered Denver’s best sports bar.
Finding myself back at the ballpark for a day game the following week, I asked several ushers what happened to the pennant. One told me it’s sitting somewhere in the bowels of the ballpark and the team might hang it next to the retired numbers on the façade of the second deck in right field, above the bullpens.
Unsatisfied with that answer, I returned a couple days later for an official Coors Field tour. When the tour guide showed off the new scoreboard to our group of mostly out-of-towners, I asked her what happened to the pennant. She said it was destined for a new Rockies hall of fame, which will be the main attraction in a massive entertainment center that will break ground this year just west of the ballpark.
I later contacted the Rockies’ front office, and a spokesperson confirmed that’s the plan for the old pennant—maybe not the exact sign that was on the old scoreboard, but at least a representation of it.
I also asked whether the team will be hanging a new pennant in the ballpark, and was told “absolutely” yes, there will be a new one. It’s currently in the design stages, and may possibly be located next to the retired numbers in right field.
I look forward to it. One of my favorite things about going to the ballpark is seeing that 2007 National League pennant and reminiscing about the wild Rocktober ride that took the Rockies—and the whole city—nearly to baseball’s peak. And while I love Coors Field’s new scoreboard, the ballpark just isn’t complete without the pennant.
Also, because hope springs eternal in April, I’m hoping the stadium designers will make room for a bigger banner next to the pennant—one that reads “2018 World Series champions.”