Breckenridge ISD board of trustees approved over $300,000 for the purchase of a new scoreboard for Buckaroo Stadium during a special meeting last Wednesday, May 18.
Breckenridge Athletic Director Casey Pearce addressed the board about sponsorship and advertising revenue which could be generated from the new scoreboard.
“Being able to generate revenue with this scoreboard to pay back the initial note, there’s always going to be some wiggle room that we can capture additional funding, and channel that into other athletic programs, or projects, through donations. And so we need to set our criteria for our levels of sponsorship and donation, and we need to lock that in so that those people are not hit up by our athletic department every year. Now, they can plan on a yearly basis, especially like a financial institution, or a hospital. They can say, ‘this amount is allotted to these sponsorships in these communities.’ So that they can have a plan, but they are not hit up every sports season by basketball, cheer, etcetera,” he said. “So I think that helps us as an athletic booster organization, and it allows us to channel that through our booster club back to the school as a donation to fund the scoreboard. But it also allows us to separate the excess and channel it into girls’ sports, a sports project, whether it be a multipurpose facility, scoreboards in other facilities, or renovations. It gives us an opportunity to have some facility upgrades across the board that we might not have.”
Pearce said that if the district were to purchase another “simple” scoreboard, the return on investment would be less due to the missed revenue opportunities.
“If we go out and we purchase just a simple scoreboard, we’re fixing to have to do a complete renovation of our construction piece, because none of what we have right now structurally will be covered. That’s drill pipe, that’s six-inch pipe, you cannot hang any kind of structure on that anymore. The proximity to the junior high gym (is) against code. So we’re gonna have to completely restructure if we just go back with a basic (scoreboard), and we’re going to be out something that will not help us generate back what we could with this (scoreboard). The advertising possibilities for this community are endless. Whatever criteria we put on it, what amount we put on it to give people the opportunity to showcase their business or their booster for this district. Not just football, not just athletics, but whenever somebody comes in that stadium that board comes on and it showcases this district.”
Pearce also recommended that the board allocate a portion of the revenue specifically for girls’ sports, due to the discrepancy of funding between boys’ and girls’ sports in the district. Pearce did an analysis of how much the district spent on each athlete over the last two years.
“When you’re comparing boys and girls, 275 boys in the program, 108 girls in the program. Safety equipment is part of that supplies piece. (With) female athletes, the only safety equipment that is purchased by the district are knee pads and batting helmets for softball. (On the) male side, football, which forces you to have to purchase, and update and recondition equipment. The bottom end on a helmet right now is about $300, and the bottom end on a pair of shoulder pads is $150 to $175,” Pearce said. “So, you see the discrepancy? It’s about a $50 discrepancy, and there’s no comparison in safety and the liabilities you (incur). So there’s where the biggest difference is in those line items. And you look at meals and travel and then contracted services. Your contracted services are your officials. You know, over the course of the last two fiscal years we’ve increased our budget on contracted services. We’re expecting another 20% increase in official pay in 2022, so that’s going to go up again. That’s pretty even across the board. UIL sets that amount, and that is not negotiable by the district (for their) meals, mileage, and their fee. (On) travel, that number looks higher for the girls, less numbers the same amount of money that is expended.”
The initial funding will come from a finance agreement with Government Capital Corporation on a five-year annual note, which could be paid back by donations and revenue from advertising on the scoreboard.
