By Emily Coughlin
Contributing Writer
The new jumbotron in the Reilly Center was not an easy decision. There were many things that went into the planning of the video board such as: which board would have the best visuals, which board would fit the budget best, and most importantly, which board would best suit the fans.
Tim Kenney, Director of Athletics, Phil Winger, associate vice president for Facilities, and Steve Campbell, Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations, spent many hours talking to various companies, listening to why each company offered the best option.
After deciding on ANC Sports Enterprises’ proposal, they began the actual process of installing the video board starting in September of 2016, said Kenney.
When actually deciding on which company to choose to purchase the board from, and work with integrating the digital sides of the game, Kenney, Winger, and Campbell listened to four different company’s proposals of cost, time efficiency, and service.
They decided on ANC Sports Enterprises because it has a lot of experience with digital displays, control platforms, and scoring systems with major league stadiums, and is beginning to extend its services to college campuses, said Kenney.
ANC Sports Enterprises was able to work out payment plans, and the company gave a competitive price that fit with the budget of the private donations, said Kenney.
When initially deciding to install a video board, Kenney, Winger, and Campbell wanted to purchase a four-sided jumbotron to place in the center of the basketball court. They thought that would be the most useful and universal way for fans to be involved in the game and experience the atmosphere of the Reilly Center more thoroughly.
Unfortunately, that was not in the budget. St. Bonaventure received private donations for the video board, and the funds were not able to cover the four-sided jumbotron, said Kenney.
The four-sided board was also a lot more work to install because it is twice as heavy as a two-sided video board, and there would have to be roof maintenance to hold it up, which was just not practical at the time, said Kenney.
In order to install the video board on budget and on time for the 2016-2017 season, they needed a new plan, said Kenney.
The new video board plan consisted of two phases. Kenny explained how phase one, which was completed in the fall, was installing a two sided video board facing both side lines. Phase two, which should be expected in the near future, is the installation of two other video boards on either side of the end lines.
“These will be one sided video boards facing both ends of the end line, so the fans sitting on the end lines will be able to see the same things as the fans sitting on the sidelines,” said Kenney.
Phase two, when installed, will be integrated into the existing jumbotron and other systems so the new one sided video boards will display the same things as the two sided jumbotron. This way all fans will be able to see the score, fouls, and time left from everywhere in the Reilly Center, said Kenney.
The company was able to connect the new two-sided video board with the control panels and the score board with no trouble, and will be able to integrate the future video boards with the rest of the systems, said Kenney.
Kenney is very excited about the second phase of the video board planning and is “very confident [to see] the installation in the near future.” This will enable all four sides of the Reilly Center to be able to view the score, playbacks, and video viewing of the fans. The installation of the video board has already enhanced the fans’ experience at the game, and engages them more in the game and during time outs or halftimes.
Kenny emphasized that “St. Bonaventure plans to continue working with ANC Sports Enterprises on other projects in the future, but are especially excited for phase two.”
coughleg16@bonaventure.edu
