Six buses. Forty-two king-size beds. Four two-car garages. A Starbucks. A lot, it turns out, can fit into 1,800 square feet, the footprint of Linfield’s new digital display board at Maxwell Field.
The screen, measuring 60 feet by 30 feet, is the second largest in NCAA Division III athletics. Located at the northeast corner of the field, it has already enhanced the experience at spring track meets and been used for campus-wide events.
In addition to showing essential scoreboard information on gamedays, the display is capable of presenting live video and replays, real-time statistics, sponsor messages and fan-favorite features. At track meets, the display shows live attempt-by-attempt results for field events as well as instant results at the completion of timed races. The board will be used during home tennis events to show live scoring, providing the men’s and women’s tennis programs their first electronic scoreboard.
The display board was funded entirely through private contributions, the largest of which came from Jim and Sondra Wright. Farnham Electric, led by CEO and former Linfield football player Mike Davis ’96, made significant in-kind contributions to the project by providing electrical and fiber connectivity.
From community movie nights to youth sports competitions, rivalry games to Cat Camp, the uses for the new video board are as big as the display itself.
“It really is a game-changer for us,” said Garry Killgore, Linfield’s athletic director. “That’s true for athletic events, of course. But it’s more than that. This will become a centerpiece for a whole lot of non-athletic events on campus, as well.
“I’m thinking of it as a physical manifestation of Linfield’s bright – and ambitious – future.”
– Kelly Bird
