Brownwood ISD officials are continuing their research into the possibility of purchasing a new scoreboard for Gordon Wood Stadium. BISD Superintendent Dr. Reece Blincoe gave an updated report to school board members on Monday about the possibility of purchasing the new scoreboard and funding the project by selling advertising. Blincoe said that he has had initial talks with several potential advertisers looking to support the project.
“We have had a number of meetings with different people that might be interested in the scoreboard,” Blincoe said. “We have put together different proposal packages that I wanted to lay out and show them and get some ideas and feedback from them on these different proposals.”
Blincoe said that based on feedback from some initial meetings with potential sponsors, he has been encouraged to make the sponsorship opportunities more than just about the scoreboard.
“What we have done is put together packages that would contain some radio spots during the football games,” Blincoe said. “The top packet would also get them on the baseball and softball scoreboards and also get radio time during baseball and softball games. We are also looking at revamping how we use our channel on Harris Broadband and including them in the commercials.”
Blincoe said that they have developed three different possible packages for sponsorship so far. Officials are still finalizing specific cost for these packages.
“We are trying to gather a complete packet and make it a little bit more palatable during these tough times,” Blincoe said. “We have gotten a lot of positive feedback.”
Blincoe said that the district has been looking at three different scoreboard options from the company Daktronics which offers the boards with three possible video screen sizes. The initial price of these options would cost somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000. BISD will also look at the need for the video screen or other options to possibly save more money on the project.
“A key issue you are going to see come up is the difference in a message board and a video board,” Blincoe said. “That difference can be between $40,000 and $100,000.”
The district will continue to see feedback from potential sponsors and the public and has scheduled a meeting for more input.
“Our next meeting is going to be on November 29th and we are going to invite people that will consider getting these ads on our football scoreboard,” Blincoe said. “We want to continue discussions; it’s not going to be a deal where we just say ‘this is how it is and this is how much it will cost’. I want a little more feedback on the video versus a message board.”
Blincoe said that if a scoreboard proposal is ultimately approved, the district will be able to pay for it up-front and be reimbursed for it over the years through the sponsorships. The district would also have the opportunity to generate revenue to pay for other possible stadium improvements over the life of the scoreboard through these sponsorships.
“We would be able to pay for this board in five years,” Blincoe said. “Daktronics will tell you that it should last a minimum of ten years. We think the next five years; the money that we would generate would easily offset the cost to replace the field and could possibly offset the cost to replace the track.”
Officials said that they will continue to research the project and keep the school board trustees updated on any progress made.
