An old scoreboard is an embarrassment to Patriot Center

A university will often invest a lot of money into their stadium. The stadium represents not only a location where everyone can gather, but also added revenue for the various sporting events and entertainment that can be held there. In an era of high tech, it’s not enough to have a classy stadium, you must also have an electronic scoreboard that will wow the crowds. This isn’t the case at the Patriot Center at George Mason University; and no one is very happy about it.

If you take a look at the kind of entertainment that appears at the Patriot Center, one will be incredibly impressed. Well known stars of stage, screen, comedy, music and drama. The list is a who’s who of the entertainment world. The sports events that are held at the Patriot Center are also an array that would knock your socks off. With all of money invested in the art of getting these shows, why in the world do they have a 1980’s electronic scoreboard that is an embarrassment to both teams and school?

While the story is a bit complicated, it all boils down (as it usually does) to money. Budget funds were allocated for a number of upgrades all around the campus, but, everyone in charge of the purse strings seemed to ignore the antiquated scoreboard. The students and sports teams however, did try to bring the problem to the attention of those making the plans. As loudly as they screamed, it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Every team player knows how important a well placed, visually pleasing, high tech scoreboard is. Statistics prove higher attendance occurs when there is a good scoreboard with more special effects and graphics; and higher attendance to any event means more money coming into the coffers.

At one point, there was a slightly older scoreboard at the Verizon Center that was up for replacement. Even this older version was an incredible upgrade for the Patriot Center. Turns out, the Verizon Center is the same ownership as the Patriot Center, so there was a glimmer of hope that this might be a way to get a new scoreboard. The light of hope soon fell dormant when it was discovered that the size and weight would require ceiling and roof reinforcement at the Patriot Center. When the costs were compared, they were actually more than a brand new electronic scoreboard of a smaller weight and size.

And so, the topic of budgets comes into play again and a new electronic scoreboard has been placed on a lower priority. Attendees to any sports game will continue to look up and view an old fashioned scoreboard that often displays burned out lights. Fans will squint to try to figure out the scores and overall, attendance will be affected. One has to wonder what the digit-crunchers are thinking when they refuse to acknowledge the important role and electronic scoreboard can play in an overall stadium effect. It will probably take a statistics expert to show some comparison return-on-investment and maybe, just maybe Patriot Stadium will get the type of scoreboard that they need.