A new LED scoreboard has replaced the almost 15-year-old original at Penn-Trafford High School’s Warrior Stadium. The new screen, funded solely by advertisements, will be able to show sports graphics, videos and livestreams.

     While some broken panels and digits could be replaced throughout its lifetime, the previous scoreboard’s message center, which cycles through advertisements and names during senior graduation, struggled to perform.

     “The message center could no longer be updated. It was running on a Windows Program from 2010, and there was no update,” said Kerry Hetrick, the athletic director at P-T.

       The $150,000 scoreboard was funded entirely through advertisements and sponsorships.

      “Over a month’s time, I was able to secure six sponsors at $25,000 a piece,” Hetrick said.

     These sponsors each have a spot on the scoreboard for the next five years.

     The revenue gained from additional future advertisements and sponsors will help pay for the officials, police, security, and other employees at any of the P-T sporting events from seventh to twelfth grade. Hetrick said that football ticket sales currently make up 75 percent or more of revenue, but that more scoreboard advertisements will help to produce more revenue.

     Hetrick plans to involve TV and video classes and students from the school to create videos and live feeds, such as livestreaming senior nights and other school events.

     “There’s endless opportunities,” Hetrick added.

     The company that installed the scoreboard was Institutional Specialties, a local business working with Daktronics.

     “They do a majority of schools in WPIAL,” Hetrick said.

     Video boards by Daktronics are also used in Acrisure Stadium, PNC Park and other Pittsburgh sports teams’ arenas.

Annabelle Aquino, Managing Editor