March 12, 2012 at 5:14 p.m.
New scoreboard installed at Stafford Field
­Hodag Diamond Club, Rhinelander GM and Toyota spearhead project
New scoreboard installed at Stafford Field
The Hodag Diamond Club had a new scoreboard installed this past weekend in the position where the old scoreboard stood.
"We wanted the new board because the other one became obsolete and we weren't going to be able to get parts for it," Diamond Club president Gary Kellen said. "The Diamond Club got together and talked about businesses that we could approach to possibly make donations toward it."
Rhinelander GM and Toyota stepped to the plate and funded the project, which after installation, will have a price tag of roughly $20,000.
"We're just real happy to have Mike Aus and Rhinelander GM and Toyota step up," Kellen said. "They are sponsoring the whole board. They came up with all the money and we're excited to get the new board up."
Kellen added that the board is an All-American Scoreboard product, installed by Cleveland Signs with an in-kind donation by Gaber Electric for electrical work. The city of Rhinelander assisted by plowing a path through the snow to right field to give workers access to take down the old scoreboard and install the new board.
Spectators will not notice many changes with the new scoreboard, which will display a line score for up to 10 innings as well as runs, hits, errors, balls, strikes, outs and the player at bat, just like the old scoreboard. The new scoreboard has the functionality to display runners on base, a feature the old board did not have.
Above the scoreboard is a sign that reads, "Home of the Hodags." A sign displaying the Rhinelander GM and Toyota logos sits below the scoreboard. Netting has been installed to protect the board from any home runs balls that head toward its perch, roughly 340 feet beyond home plate.
The new board has LED lights, which Kellen says will be much more energy efficient and last longer than the previous board's incandescent bulbs. The new board also has a wireless control panel, which the scorekeeper will operate from the pavillion behind home plate. The previous board had wiring that ran underground from the pavilion to the scoreboard.
"We're just happy to have a new board and excited about it," Kellen said.
The first game for the new board is scheduled for April 3 when the RHS baseball teams hosts Lakeland.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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