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Poland school officials say new $115,000 scoreboard is a win for the community
POLAND
Though $115,000 might seem like a steep price for a scoreboard, Poland school officials say the new one at Dave Pavlansky Field is nothing but a win for the community.
“The vision for this is very large,” said Superintendent David Janofa.
Janofa said the scoreboard, which was installed before the start of the school year, does a lot more than keep score.
“You’ve got a brand-new piece of equipment you’re integrating into your curriculum, and you’re highlighting the students,” he said.
For example, he said students are producing content such as commercials that are played on the board during games.
“It allows the kids to work on projects in the classroom, and the final product gets put on the screen,” said Athletic Director Brian Banfield.
“It allows us to promote our golf team, our tennis team. It’s not just for football,” he said.
Banfield said the scoreboard has been used to show photos from athletic events from across the district.
“It enhances how we can promote all of our students athletes — not just the ones who use the stadium,” Janofa said.
The scoreboard includes a video LED board with a live telecast, instant-replay capability, commercials and real-time track updates.
The district got approval from the board of education earlier this year to purchase the scoreboard at a cost of $115,000 using general-fund dollars.
Some parents raised concerns about it at the last board of education meeting in September, saying that school officials seem more focused on athletics than academics.
Concerned parents cited the new scoreboard, the refinished gym floor in the high-school’s field house and the re-paving of the stadium’s parking lot as evidence.
“I think one of the things creating some issues is that we put up the money [for the scoreboard], but we’ll get that money back,” Janofa said.
Janofa and Banfield said the old scoreboard needed to be replaced, saying it sometimes blacked out in the middle of games. Buying a regular scoreboard would have cost $54,000, Janofa said.
“However, there was no potential return on investment,” he said.
With this scoreboard, the district was able to get local businesses to sign five-year advertising contracts.
“We believe based on our contracts, at the end of the five-year period, we’ll have a return on our investment, as well as $30,000 in
revenue — and, a 5-year-old scoreboard,” Janofa said.
Advertisers on the scoreboard itself include Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Windsor House Inc., Poland Medical Center and Southwoods, all of which will pay $12,000 each year for the next five years.
The school district also secured contracts for advertising on end-zone signs and press-box banners.
School officials expect to make $22,500 this year from advertising, and then $30,500 each year for the next four years. After that, they can re-negotiate advertising contracts. Janofa said they hope the scoreboard will last for at least 10 years, and that it probably will last much longer than that.
Banfield said the scoreboard fits in nicely at Dave Pavlansky Field, the $2 million stadium that was built in 2009. The facility also has artificial turf, installed in 2008 at a cost of $685,000, which came from private funds.
“It really caps off the whole complex out there,” he said.