Batavia High‘s Bulldog Stadium adding digital scoreboard

Batavia High School’s Bulldog Stadium is getting an upgrade that includes a video scoreboard that will not only enhance events for spectators, but further open doors for students studying media production and broadcasting.

The digital scoreboard was made possible by a $250,000 pledge by the Batavia Athletic Boosters that was accepted by the Batavia School District 101 board. The booster nonprofit organization supports athletics at the high school and Rotolo Middle School.

“The new scoreboard is a visible symbol of what we can accomplish together when we rally around our kids,” Mike Morman, president of the Batavia Athletic Boosters, said in an announcement from the district.

The current scoreboard is more than 25 years old and has experienced malfunctions and outages in recent years. The new digital scoreboard offers modern technological features that can be utilized by the school’s Bulldog Sports Media team that has 45 active student members.

The new scoreboard, by Fair-Play, costs $171,325, with the rest of the boosters’ pledge going to installation costs. To ensure completion before the start of the fall sports season, the district will perform infrastructure upgrades this summer so it can be ready to install the scoreboard when it arrives in 14-16 weeks.

The digital scoreboard will be capable of displaying real-time game statistics, and showing instant replays and highlights. It also will generate more money for the district through digital sponsorships and advertising.

The Bulldog Sports Media Team partners with the high school video production class. Experiences the students participate in include leading and managing live broadcasts, working hands-on with media professionals and creating primary digital content for the video board.

The experience is designed to prepare the students for future careers in communications, sports marketing, broadcasting and video production.