No matter the sport that you play or proctor for, stadiums are a pretty big deal. Whether it’s rugby, baseball, American football, or anything in between, there’s a good chance that the audience wants to know what’s going on! Unfortunately, this is kind of easier said than done.
Sure, we can have the announcers over the loudspeakers or on a local radio station, but what about the guests who are hearing impaired? Signs also need to be accessible and visible to everyone, which is why the ones as pictured above typically won’t suffice. More information on those specific requirements can be found here: https://archive.ada.gov/stadium.txt.
This brings us to a pretty simple conclusion: getting digital signs and scoreboards. The trouble is that it can be hard to pick the best one out of the market. There are tons available, after all, and depending on our sport and specific stadium, the needs can be different. Keep reading to get an idea of how to pick!
Types of Signs
Source: fair-play.com
Naturally, one of the most important things to consider is that there are a few different types of digital scoreboards. For instance, one designed for an ice hockey rink will probably look quite different than one intended to be used on a football or soccer field. The ones for hockey and basketball often hang from the ceiling and have the score displayed on all sides so that it’s always visible to the audience.
In contrast, the ones on football or soccer fields tend to be huge signs that are displayed at each end of the field – at least, if the stadium is a smaller one designed for a high school or college. These sorts of cases lend themselves to digital stadium scoreboards because of the shape of the fields. The tall ones with big lettering and numbering that are visible to all of the seats tend to be ideal in regard to these smaller sports ventures.
With that said, no matter what sort of stadium you’re working with or trying to install a sign-in, you can likely find a type of scoreboard that will fit. Just keep those accessibility laws in mind to ensure that you are handling it properly since that’s quite important. It’s no secret that we all want to be able to enjoy the sport that we pay to watch, so it’s a big deal to ensure that all of the visitors are able to have that experience!
Why Digital?
Source: varsityscoreboards.com
The other aspect of this that we’d like to discuss is why you might want to go with digital scoreboards over traditional ones. There are a ton of reasons, as you can probably imagine, but the accessibility is something that we’ve already covered. That said, let’s discuss the other reasons.
The weather is a huge one. Think about it – tons of sports still get played even when it’s raining or even snowing. Paper or similar materials to keep score simply don’t hold up. It’s not efficient to have a person standing around to flip over the cards on a big sign that they’re holding, either.
Having a wooden scoreboard has its own set of problems as well, as you can learn more about in this article. The main issue is that the blocks can easily get corroded, and having someone trying to keep up with the score with those types of boards can be quite difficult. In contrast, the digital ones can really be adjusted and fine-tuned with the touch of a button.
Inclement conditions also tend not to impact them nearly as much, so generally speaking, they’re much more convenient. Are they worth it, though?
Are Digital Scoreboards Worth it?
Source: formetcosports.com
Finally, let’s examine some of the costs involved here. It’s easy to assume that these signs are incredibly expensive, but thankfully, this really isn’t the case. We can find plenty online for reasonable prices, including if we’re going to get them customized. If you’re unsure about how expensive it would be to get a custom sign made, you can usually get a quote from the company to see what the cost would be.
Are they worth the investment, though? Well, it’s hard to say that they’re not when you take all of the reasons that we discussed above into account. Especially when it comes to something like accessibility and visibility in our stadiums. We all would like all of our guests to have an enjoyable and equal experience.
It’s even something that can benefit the players. Having visible scoreboards with important messages on the screen is a nice thing to provide for them since it helps them keep track of time and what they should be doing. So, overall, you can probably see why so many stadiums are making the switch over to digital!