New scoreboard up, running

0

They say all good things are worth waiting for, and the wait for the new scoreboard at Big Walnut High School’s football stadium has been a long one.

The scoreboard was scheduled to go online several weeks ago, and then again last week, but technical problems with the video screen’s fiber-optic cable caused delays.

On Wednesday, OES Scoreboards sales representative Mike Holliday was at the stadium to tweak the unit’s PrismView 2 software and hand the controls over to Big Walnut High School athletic director Brian Shelton.

Holliday said OES Scoreboards are not only popular with high schools, many colleges and universities use the brand. All varsity scoreboards at The Ohio State University are OES boards; and the list of pro NFL and NBA team using the brand is impressive – including the Cavaliers, the Pacers, the Packers and the Cowboys.

“We just finished the Chicago Bears,” Holliday said. “We’ve done the Penguins. The point is, we’ve done scoreboards at a lot of really nice places.”

Holliday said OES scoreboards are a North American product from the ground up. The LED numerical portion is manufactured in Ontario; the video screen in Logan, Utah.

“Almost every other manufacturer has their video screens made in China, or use Chinese parts assembled in the United States,” Holliday said. “Our screens and all components are 100 percent American-made.”

Holliday said the $120,000 scoreboard could have cost more, but the school district ran the cables and fiber in-house, saving $18,000 to $20,000, and saved additional dollars by sizing the scoreboard to fit the old scoreboard’s footers and beams.

Shelton said the new scoreboard would generate $28,000 per year in advertising revenue, paying for itself in a little over four years. After the scoreboard is paid for, advertising dollars will go to the school’s athletic fund.

Vinyl advertising on the scoreboard would cost $2,900 per year, per panel. Shelton said potential advertisers can contact him, but space is selling faster than he anticipated.

“It’s not just the ad panel advertisers will pay for, there’s plenty of extras,” Shelton said. “Each advertiser will get recognition with a Game of the Week designation, they’ll be able to make a Player of the Week nomination for any sport, they’ll receive free season tickets to all sports, and team pictures for their office updated every year. It’s a pretty neat package.”

Shelton said the state-of-the-art video screen on the scoreboard is capable of showing live game action, interviews, and additional paid commercials.

“If we sell out of vinyl panels for the year and somebody is interested in an advertisement for just one game only, we can still give them advertising space on the video screen,” Shelton said.

Basketball, softball and soccer scoreboards are on the distant radar, each with earning potential from advertising, paying for the units and bringing additional advertising dollars into the athletic fund. Shelton said that when all new scoreboards are finally installed, they would generate an additional $50,000 per year.

To see the new OES scoreboard in action, attend Big Walnut High School’s varsity football home opening game on Friday, Sept. 4, when the Golden Eagles host Canal Winchester. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/08/web1_Scoreboard.01.c.jpg
Big Walnut ready for Sept. 4 home opener

By Lenny C. Lepola

For The Gazette

Lenny C. Lepola can be reached at 614-266-6093. Email: [email protected].

No posts to display