Scoreboards

There is a new wind that is blowing in sports fields and stadiums around the country. Gone are the hushed attitudes and shaking heads when it came to the topic of sponsorship for the team or school scoreboard. An era of marketing savvy has entered the fray, along with a high tech look and sound.

By definition, an LED is actually a light emitting diode. This means that it is a small electronic semiconductor that actually converts energy from electricity into light of the visible spectrum. Colors, as well as power efficiency and brightness in an LED are determined by the actual chemical compound used inside the LED. If you look at a standard light bulb, you will see a small filament inside. This filament is the cause of high electrical use and when it goes bad, the light is useless. LED lights don’t have that filament, and therefore are longer lasting and take less electricity.

The word modem is actually a shorted version of the original words: modular demodulator and was originally designed to send digital data (information) over a telephone line. During those days, the data was converted to analog, sent over the telephone line, then reconverted back to a digital format by hardware on the receiving end. For those that may remember the old/original computer modems as well as fax modems, they used a land-line phone line connection, with notoriously slow connection speeds Today’s wireless modems send digital data via radio signals.

The beauty of the 250 acres that is often called the ‘field of dreams’ in Hoke County, North Carolina. Surrounded by soft long needle pine trees and gently rolling hills, Southern Pines is home to a number of equestrian competitions and shows as well as dog shows, county festivals, Boy Scout meetings and cross country runs. In a nutshell, everyone loves Southern Pines, simply because it is so beautiful. The location itself is a preservation of everything that represents North Carolina, and the people of the area support the many activities through attendance and sponsorship.

Shibe Park opened in 1909 and was the perfect example of the kind of baseball parks that represented that era. Major League baseball in the early twentieth century had set precedence for the kind of parks that were being designed. The reinforced concrete, large bleacher areas and underground garage was accented with a domed tower. Shibe Park was not only a place to go, but over the years was an icon of Philadelphia. The fans, the summer, the park and the scoreboards reflected the times as they were at that moment.

As with any technology, the longer it remains on the market, the lower the cost becomes. The same thing is true with electronic scoreboards. The LED technologies are replacing the old bulbs and many of the recreational facilities, large and small, are switching out their old boards for the new ones. The latest trends also include some of the features that we have almost come to depend upon. Wireless is a hot requirement, along with smaller control panels for the people in charge of the updates.

Clemens Field is named after Samuel Clemens, which was Mark Twain’s real name. For years it has had the old style manual scoreboard that supported the fans that attended the Hannibal Cavemen games. Someone actually had to sit there and manually change the numbers, in the hot sun. The new electronic scoreboard is twenty seven feet long and the attendees will now be able to see the actual names of the teams, instead of the old ‘home and visitor’ that was viewed on the old board. The new addition for the fans will also display the important aspects of the game, such as each team’s number of balls, strikes and the number of outs. Every baseball fan knows that this is the crucial info at every game. The old board was small and the information difficult to see with the light bulb lights. The team and fans will now have no trouble seeing everything on the scoreboard, thanks to the LED lighting and the large lettering and number sizes.

Ghana is part of the area known as the Gold Coast, a well known area of Africa. The location was originally named for the Empire of Ghana, which reflected back into the ancient past and once encompassed much of West Africa. Ghana takes great pride in being a member of a number of international and national organizations. These include everything from The United Nations, to the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, and other well renowned organizations as the Commonwealth of Nations, the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union.

Venice Florida is a working class town, nestled in what is often called ‘the pretty side of the state’. Located on the Gulf Coast, about an hour south of Tampa, Florida, Venice is a small town with a lot of spirit. When the Venice Florida Middle School decided to add an electronic scoreboard, it was quite a big deal in the area.

A trip to Venice Florida is something that many people actually do for their vacation. Some of the loveliest beaches in the country are in Sarasota County and the area is renowned for the beaches that are filled with shark’s teeth. Unlike some other areas of the country, it’s quite easy to find a parking spot near the beach for your outing, barbecue or to just lay a towel down in a large expanse and take in the beauty of the area. Like other smaller towns, Venice attempts to keep the kids occupied with educational, artistic and sports related focus. The parents, teachers and booster clubs of Venice Middle School know and understand that the age of their kids is the beginning of keeping them on the right path, and sports is often the one event that can bond everyone together. It’s not uncommon to see a two parent working household take the time off from their day to attend the sports games of the kids. Teachers and staff at Venice Middle School are also major participants in supporting the kids. This is a town where everyone tries to make the time because they know their kids are the priority.

Planning the addition to any school program can often be a daunting task. Tax payers don’t want to be burdened and yet schools want the best they can get. When the Thomas High School Patriots Boosters in Maryland decided to get an electronic scoreboard, they did an imaginative outreach to help pay for it.

The Thomas Johnson High School has a wonderful history for education, the arts and music. They are one of the National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, with around ninety percent of their graduates continuing on to higher education. The lineup of awards for both the arts, music and sports, is quite impressive. The community supports their local teams and the sports events encompass a variety: tennis, swimming, volleyball, basketball, baseball, cross country, football, gymnastics and soccer. The teams themselves have proven a level of incredible excellence and this can be seen by the number of attendees to every type of game.

There are trade shows for everything and this includes electronic scoreboards. If you are thinking about a new scoreboard or shopping around, you might want to consider attending one of the tradeshows so that you can see and touch the scoreboards and talk to the vendors. Attending a tradeshow will also give you some additional options that you may not have thought of, such as conferences and presentations from industry experts.

The Athletic Business Conference & Expo is one of the better electronic scoreboard shows. As with most trade shows you can register for just the trade show itself (usually a free one day pass) or go ahead and attend the entire exposition. The benefits of the exposition itself is attendance of the speakers. These are often experts on a number of levels that include marketing, branding, types of scoreboards, etc. The best part is that they are usually supposed to offer information that is knowledge based without the prejudice of suggesting a particular company or product.