HURON — It doesn’t seem possible, not really, that the current scoreboard set up in Huron Arena is nearly 20 years old.

However, it is.

“We did the scoreboard agreement with Daktronics Sports Marketing at the same time we went forward with the Huron Arena locker rooms addition,” said Huron School District Business Manager Kelly Christopherson. “And that would have been in 2005.”

The school board approved including new video scoreboards in a Capitol Outlay Certificates resolution at its Oct. 28 meeting, meaning that there is something new and visually exciting on the horizon for those attending events or activities at Huron Arena and Tiger Stadium beginning later this winter if all goes to plan.

It wasn’t a subject of conversation when it was brand spanking new, but the lifetime of the scoreboards installed then at Huron Arena and at Tiger Field, was expected to be around 10 years.

“For the past couple of years,” school Activities Director Scott DeBoer told the school board when he presented the scoreboard proposal, I understand that Mike Dramstad has been finding repair parts at auction sites online, because the components aren’t available anymore.”

Plus, DeBoer said, a portion of the scoreboard at Tiger Stadium quit working just prior to the start of the football and soccer seasons and attempts to fix it have been unsuccessful.

The plan that DeBoer presented has been on the drawing board since 2021, according to Christopherson, but with parts of the existing system failing and the possibility of adding it to Capitol Outlay Certificates for additions, repairs and other updates within the district, plus getting the package for a discount, seemed to make it the time to move.

DeBoer, who is a 2006 HHS graduate and was thus among the first Tiger athletes to experience the new scoreboards, led the committee that examined what had been on the table before, refined the project and created the proposal, which will cost $1.535,751 for components and installation.

Where it started
In 2005, Daktronics Sports Marketing was involved in a program in the upper Midwest that brought new, state-of-the-art scoreboards to school districts. Those scoreboards cost the school districts nothing, other than the electricity to operate them.

“Daktronics Sports Marketing basically came and installed the scoreboards here in the Arena and at the football field,” Christopherson said. “They went to local businesses and sold the advertising that paid for the scoreboards over a 10-year period.” After 10 years, the scoreboard were paid for and the advertising revenue reverted to the school district, which continues the practice. Advertisers renew contracts with the school district, that places their names in front of attendees at each event.

Unfortunately, Daktronics doesn’t have the sports marketing arm any longer. The advertising sales falls to the district, although with the new video boards going up, the opportunity to upgrade the presentation is two-fold. More on that in a bit.

What is to be installed
In Huron Arena, a four-sided video board with 12-foot by 7-foot panels will hang above the center of the playing area. On the south wall there will be a large (40x11.5) video board and along the north wall, on the facing of the balcony, there will be a video “ribbon” board that will include another clock and scoreboard.

Video display boards are to be installed on both the outside and inside of the short stairways from the upper concourse to the balcony seating, with four other monitors upstairs. Two large displays are set for the main concourse and two more will grace the ticket windows.

And the front of the scorer’s table will also have a video screen – much like what you see at college and professional basketball games on television.

“One of the things that I think is interesting is the panels above the balcony stairwells,” Christopherson said, as he walked along the upper concourse. “As it is now, when someone goes up this stairwell, for instance, he sees the sign for this advertiser and this one alone. He never sees the signage for any of the other advertisers.

“With the new system, the same display appears on all the screens at the same time. So, all the advertisers will have the same exposure to everyone in attendance, as the video cycles.”

That is a two-fold presentation.

At Tiger Stadium, a 12x21.5 video board will be at the south end of the field, with a 32x8 scoreboard integrated. New is the addition of play clocks at the end of each field, taking the mystery out of how much time is left to snap the ball for each team.

Why now and why video
“Now is for a couple reasons,” DeBoer said. “The old system has been and continues to have problems. It has far outlived its expected life. But second, upgrading now and doing a video system is a commitment to the community of our partnership.”

DeBoer said that upgraded boards can help Huron attract state athletic events, which, while they don’t boost the school district bottom line, definitely effect businesses in town. “We are partners with the community and not just for Huron High School events. We host the 281 Conference basketball tournaments, we are a popular venue for SoDak 16 games each spring and the Huron Holiday Classic is an important part of the equation as well. Upgrading keeps us in line with other venues in the state.”

Video also allows more flexibility with the advertisers. With the static signs used now, changing involves completely redoing and rehanging a sign. With video, five minutes of re-programming can change a color, logo or message.

Huron is set to host the 2025 Class “B” State Girls’ basketball tournament in March and DeBoer said the goal is to have the new equipment installed with enough time to get those who will be running it familiar with the process.

Educational benefits
Huron High School offers a class in video production. While it is still in the planning stages, DeBoer sees where curriculum could be developed for students to ‘try it and see if it fits. “It could very well be that a student may find that he or she really enjoys that type of activity and decides to pursue it after high school.”

Currently, Huron High School offers two video classes - Introduction to A/V technology and Multi-Media Design, both taught by Mike Carda.

“My thinking, before I see the curriculum, is to incorporate it into the Multi Media Design class,” said Carda.  “I have done a little research on the software,  FrameWrx, which is the software that Daktronics uses for all their scoreboards. For the students, that means if they learn how to operate that software for the Huron scoreboard, they will be able to take their skills to bigger venues that operate Daktronics boards pretty much everywhere.” 

Currently, in the classes, Carda said the students learn a lot about editing techniques and creating a wide range of videos. 

He added that he beleives that the Daktronics curriculum will be incorporating a lot of chromakeying and graphic design techniques.

“One other thing that I think that will see it be a benefit is graduation,” Christopherson said. “With a 40-foot screen above and behind the stage, now every student walking across for a diploma can be easily seen from anywhere in Huron Arena.”

The components have been ordered, with installation set to begin as soon as they are ready, with the goal of being operational prior to the girl’s Class “B” State Tournament in March.