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05-22-2007, 10:42 AM
Shotwell to get high-def scoreboard
By Sidney Levesque (Contact)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Shotwell Stadium's new, nearly half-million dollar scoreboard will have a high-definition video screen and instant replay capabilities - and will put an end to a problem-plagued scoreboard installed only four years ago.
This summer, the Abilene Independent School District plans to replace a 4-year-old scoreboard that cost $300,000 and has experienced numerous problems with a $479,080 scoreboard on the north end of Shotwell Stadium, where Abilene and Cooper high school teams play games.
That current scoreboard, bought from Spectrum Corp. in Houston by selling sponsorships, had problems from the beginning. It was one of many enhancements recommended by the Shotwell Stadium Renovation Committee.
The current scoreboard can display dot matrix graphics but not video. Among the problems with the scoreboard is that random lights come on.
Moisture got into the scoreboard's circuit boards when vent fans were installed incorrectly, sucking in water instead of blowing it out. Spectrum fixed that, but the problems continued, said Joe Humphrey, AISD's building coordinator.
The company then blamed problems on power surges, cable, computers and lightning.
''We never knew we had four or five lighting strikes a week that hit it,'' Humphrey said.
Spectrum attempted to repair each problem at no cost to the district. The district has a five year-warranty for workmanship and materials, a 10-year warranty for the porcelain finish and a 10-year warranty for the digital display.
After so many problems, the district wanted Spectrum to replace the scoreboard. Spectrum spent six months refurbishing the wiring and cable work inside the scoreboard. When it was put back together, the scoreboard worked for a while, then starting having problems again, Humphrey said.
The school district decided legal action against Spectrum wasn't worth the cost and effort, he said. The Shotwell renovation committee finally recommended the school district get a new scoreboard. Again, the scoreboard is being funded with advertising sales.
The district took bids for the new scoreboard and awarded the project to Fair-Play Scoreboards, purchased from Olen Williams Sales & Service in Oklahoma City.
Fair-Play's Web site says its scoreboards go through a three-step waterproofing process and that it's the only digital display in the industry with a 100-degree horizontal viewing angle, which makes it easily readable.
The school district has ordered a 40-foot-wide scoreboard - about 10 inches wider than the current scoreboard. The new scoreboard will be about the same height as the old one, said Gary Grubbs, a Shotwell committee member.
The new display screen will be more than twice as big as the old one and will have a 10 mm high-definition screen that can play video. It will be similar to watching high-def television.
''You will be amazed when you see it,'' said Stan Lambert, a Shotwell committee member and school board trustee.
Abilene school officials saw a similar scoreboard in action at the ballpark used by the Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team.
Lambert said the new display screen will be able to show video and pictures and broadcast a game from another city - which might come in handy during a rain delay. And the district will have a five-year warranty for it.
Because sponsors of the original scoreboard had signed up for five years and had one year left on their contract, school officials went back to them to negotiate for a new scoreboard, plus honor the remaining year of their sponsorships. Sponsors agreed to help out, Lambert said.
The school district still needs sponsors for a $24,000 marquee planned along Highway 36 in front of Shotwell to replace the smaller one there. It will be similar to the marquee for the Taylor County Expo Center, which has a digital screen underneath with scrolling messages.
The district will be able to plug in a phone line to the new marquee and control it from the administration building. The current marquee must be changed manually.
Shotwell Stadium improvements to date:
• Artificial turf
• New drain system
• New access ramps
• New goal posts
• New scoreboard
• New fencing
• New landscaping
• Paved parking lot
• Concrete walkways
• Renovated dressing rooms
• New restrooms
By Sidney Levesque (Contact)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Shotwell Stadium's new, nearly half-million dollar scoreboard will have a high-definition video screen and instant replay capabilities - and will put an end to a problem-plagued scoreboard installed only four years ago.
This summer, the Abilene Independent School District plans to replace a 4-year-old scoreboard that cost $300,000 and has experienced numerous problems with a $479,080 scoreboard on the north end of Shotwell Stadium, where Abilene and Cooper high school teams play games.
That current scoreboard, bought from Spectrum Corp. in Houston by selling sponsorships, had problems from the beginning. It was one of many enhancements recommended by the Shotwell Stadium Renovation Committee.
The current scoreboard can display dot matrix graphics but not video. Among the problems with the scoreboard is that random lights come on.
Moisture got into the scoreboard's circuit boards when vent fans were installed incorrectly, sucking in water instead of blowing it out. Spectrum fixed that, but the problems continued, said Joe Humphrey, AISD's building coordinator.
The company then blamed problems on power surges, cable, computers and lightning.
''We never knew we had four or five lighting strikes a week that hit it,'' Humphrey said.
Spectrum attempted to repair each problem at no cost to the district. The district has a five year-warranty for workmanship and materials, a 10-year warranty for the porcelain finish and a 10-year warranty for the digital display.
After so many problems, the district wanted Spectrum to replace the scoreboard. Spectrum spent six months refurbishing the wiring and cable work inside the scoreboard. When it was put back together, the scoreboard worked for a while, then starting having problems again, Humphrey said.
The school district decided legal action against Spectrum wasn't worth the cost and effort, he said. The Shotwell renovation committee finally recommended the school district get a new scoreboard. Again, the scoreboard is being funded with advertising sales.
The district took bids for the new scoreboard and awarded the project to Fair-Play Scoreboards, purchased from Olen Williams Sales & Service in Oklahoma City.
Fair-Play's Web site says its scoreboards go through a three-step waterproofing process and that it's the only digital display in the industry with a 100-degree horizontal viewing angle, which makes it easily readable.
The school district has ordered a 40-foot-wide scoreboard - about 10 inches wider than the current scoreboard. The new scoreboard will be about the same height as the old one, said Gary Grubbs, a Shotwell committee member.
The new display screen will be more than twice as big as the old one and will have a 10 mm high-definition screen that can play video. It will be similar to watching high-def television.
''You will be amazed when you see it,'' said Stan Lambert, a Shotwell committee member and school board trustee.
Abilene school officials saw a similar scoreboard in action at the ballpark used by the Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team.
Lambert said the new display screen will be able to show video and pictures and broadcast a game from another city - which might come in handy during a rain delay. And the district will have a five-year warranty for it.
Because sponsors of the original scoreboard had signed up for five years and had one year left on their contract, school officials went back to them to negotiate for a new scoreboard, plus honor the remaining year of their sponsorships. Sponsors agreed to help out, Lambert said.
The school district still needs sponsors for a $24,000 marquee planned along Highway 36 in front of Shotwell to replace the smaller one there. It will be similar to the marquee for the Taylor County Expo Center, which has a digital screen underneath with scrolling messages.
The district will be able to plug in a phone line to the new marquee and control it from the administration building. The current marquee must be changed manually.
Shotwell Stadium improvements to date:
• Artificial turf
• New drain system
• New access ramps
• New goal posts
• New scoreboard
• New fencing
• New landscaping
• Paved parking lot
• Concrete walkways
• Renovated dressing rooms
• New restrooms