New Scoreboards
Above is an example of what the two new scoreboards for Cecil Smith Field will look like.
Cecil Smith Field to be getting
two new electronic scoreboards
By Ted Pennekamp
Cecil Smith Field in Prairie du Chien will soon be getting two new electronic (LED) scoreboards.
Jami Quick of the Prairie du Chien Independent Little League said that there will be a scoreboard for each of the two fields at Cecil Smith. The scoreboards have been ordered from Electro-Mech of Georgia and are expected to arrive in about three weeks. Quick said that Wolf Machine of Prairie du Chien will put in the metal poles and help with the installation of the scoreboards. The goal is to have the scoreboards up and running in time for the first game on May 23.
The total cost of the scoreboard project is approximately $8,000. The Prairie du Chien Common Council has voted to have the city pay for $4,000 of the project. The city has naming rights to the top panels of each scoreboard and the maintenance costs will be split equally between the Little League and the city.
“The local businesses have been really generous,” said Quick, who noted that eight businesses each donated $500 towards the purchase of the scoreboards. Each business will have their names or logos on sponsor panels on the scoreboards for the next five to seven years or until the panels need to be replaced, said Quick.
Each scoreboard will be run by remote control by volunteers sitting in the stands and watching each game.
Each scoreboard will be 10 feet wide including the sponsor panels on each side. Each scoreboard will be about 5 feet high.
“These scoreboards will be a very nice addition to have,” said Quick, who noted that the new concession stand with restrooms opened just last year.
““When Jami approached me with the idea of the new scoreboards, it just seemed like a perfect, natural fit for the park, a ‘home run’ if you will,” said City Administrator Aaron Kramer. “Equally important was the approval of the council to approve what essentially was the seed money to make the project a reality. I appreciate their commitment to making the complex more and more appealing and attractive, and I think this project bodes well for future joint ventures. The partnership of public funding and private contributions is what I think is the most exciting part of the project, though I am sure when our future major leaguers see the scoreboards, their excitement level will be even higher than mine, Jami’s, and the other Little League supporters.”
