For a baseball scoreboard, 10 years is ancient.

The scoreboard at Great American Ball Park doesn't shine as bright as it did 10 years ago when it was installed.

And spare parts are hard to come by since some are no longer made.

So Hamilton County taxpayers and the Cincinnati Reds will shop for a new one.

Hamilton County Board of Commissioners Thursday night approved the purchase of a new scoreboard and control room for $12.8 million. The county will pay for $5 million of it. The Reds will pay for the rest.

The county's money will come from the proceeds of the half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 1996.

"Technology on the boards, after a decade or so, needs upgrades just like your computer," said Joe Feldkamp, director of stadia and parking for Hamilton County.

The Reds a decade earlier with the current scoreboard agreed to pay 63 percent of the costs, plus expenses for additional "bells and whistles." That deal remained in place for this current one, Feldkamp said.

Bengals vs. Reds scoreboard deals

This differs from the Bengals' high-definition scoreboard in Paul Brown Stadium, for which taxpayers paid $7.5 million of the $10 million price tag in 2014.

But it's difficult to compare the Reds and the Bengals scoreboard deals given the maze of lease agreements and developments winding throughout Cincinnati's riverfront.

The Bengals' scoreboard was part of a broader, $16 million agreement on stadium improvements and riverfront development. As part of that deal, the Bengals agreed to pay for about $4 million toward improvements the team's lease would have required taxpayers to cover.

So what will the Reds new scoreboard look like? Reds spokesman Rob Butcher referred all questions to county officials. It's going to look similar to the current scoreboard but brighter, Feldkamp said.

You can tell a difference in brightness already between the rightfield video board and the other scoreboards.

The Reds added the video board in the right-field stands for the All-Star Game in 2015. The other scoreboards, including the main one in left field and the two "ribbon" scoreboards that extend along the baselines, date to 2009 and are much dimmer, Feldkamp said.

"It was more gray, not as vibrant as it was a decade ago," Feldkamp said.

The new ribbon boards will be a little longer and accommodate more baseball stats. The new main scoreboard will be about the same size as the current one.

The main need for the change, though, is spare parts. The current scoreboard is obsolete, Feldkamp said.

The new scoreboard will be installed in the off-season, Feldkamp said. The Reds will be responsible for any upgrades.