Barrington High stadium sponsorships would help pay for scoreboard, field renovations

An estimated $920,000 in potential scoreboard and field renovation costs for Barrington High School's outdoor stadium could be defrayed by another round of private contributions, including advertising and naming-rights deals, officials said Tuesday.

Roughly $765,000 was gained from 10-year deals that involved naming rights to the field, track and stadium, plus scoreboard advertising, said Tim Neubauer, assistant superintendent of business services at Barrington Area Unit District 220. Those contracts expire in August 2018.

At a nonvoting finance committee session, District 220 Superintendent Brian Harris said he wants the full school board to discuss the idea of seeking new long-term agreements that would provide funding toward the projected stadium expenses. That discussion is expected Oct. 16.

"We want to certainly work with our current (sponsorship) people that have been great partners of ours for the last 10 years," Harris said.

Wickstrom Auto Group's name is part of Barrington Community Stadium and Cancer Treatment Centers of America has sponsored the playing surface, called Celebrate Life Field. Officials said a Barrington family sponsored the track, but their name was removed after the father expressed appreciation for what the high school did for his children and declined further public recognition.

School board member Gavin Newman, who sits on the advisory finance committee, said he'd prefer the district not try to seek every "last dollar" from sponsors for the new agreements.

"My whole thing is, I'd rather have good partnerships with the community," Newman said.

District 220 estimates reviewed at Tuesday's meeting show it could cost $710,000 to remove the current field fabric and refresh a sand and rubber mix for the proposed renovation. It might run $210,000 to renovate the main stadium scoreboard, advertising panels and video board, replace two play clocks and upgrade another scoreboard.

Barrington High School Athletic Director Mike Obsuszt said the field surface, which came with a 7-year guarantee, receives heavy use but replacement doesn't have to occur immediately. He said the 9-year-old field passed a safety test last spring.

Potential replacement and renovations for scoreboards in Barrington High's gymnasium, at a projected $54,000, were included with the $920,000 in outdoor stadium cost estimates.

In August 2008, Barrington High received a new stadium with an eight-lane track and a larger field surface through a $4.4 million borrowing plan approved by voters a year earlier. The money was not authorized to cover stadium enhancements, such as the synthetic turf and upgraded main scoreboard.