Norcross’s new video display board is billed as the largest in high school football nationwide.
Completed this week, it measures 29 feet, 5 inches high, 51 feet, 5 inches wide. There is 1,513 feet of video space.
Credit: Brian O'Shea (AJC)
Credit: Brian O'Shea (AJC)
That’s about the typial size of a video scoreboard in major college football, although significantly larger than the one at Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium (about 1,060 square feet), to name one.
‘’It’s a great rallying point for our community,’’ said Norcross football coach Keith Maloof. ‘’It’s going to change the atmosphere of a Friday night game. We’re going to have live action, the band performing on it, our Blue Crew [student section]. It’s going to be a neat experience for fans coming.’’
Another big attraction for the high school and the athletics department, of course, is commercials. Maloof wouldn’t disclose the cost of the scoreboard except to say it was purchased for less than the retail price of about $750,000.
It was made by Formetco, which recently installed LED screens at Jacksonville University and the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Maloof said the board was funded privately with four main contributors – Piedmont Bank, NSTA (Norcross Sports Training Academy), the City of Norcross and Akins Ford.
‘’This thing will pay for itself because it’s unlimited in what it can do for advertisers,’’ Maloof said. “It’s going to help us tremendously financially to help program.’’
Maloof said he got the idea for a larger scoreboard after playing in last season’s Corky Kell Classic, which was held at McEachern’s Cantrell Stadium. McEachern’s board is about two-thirds the size of the Norcross board.
‘’I thought it was time for us to change because our old matrix board was 16- or 17-years-old, and I knew we had to do something new,’’ he said. “I got with some parents. We built an athletic building about 15 years ago. What’s our next step? What do we need to do to make it better?”
The board also will be an educational experience for those running it. It will be a student staff of about eight supervised by a video broadcasting teacher. There will be cameras in the stands and on field, press box and scoreboard itself, each run by a student. The director also will be a student.
Maloof said the board isn't just for football only. It has scoreboard layouts for lacrosse and soccer. The board also can show movies for the student body or community.
As for size, the Norcross board, at 50 by 29 feet, is the new standard, larger than those built at Carthage High in Texas (44 x 26) in 2012 and West Monroe High in Louisiana (48 by 27) in 2014.
The official unveiling will take place Aug. 19 during a pep rally for the Aug. 22 season opener against Valdosta in the Georgia Dome. Norcross’ first home game is Sept. 4 against Milton.
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