Five local businesses have committed a total of $90,000 in advertisement space on the new Kahok athletic stadium scoreboard, according to Collinsville school Superintendent Bob Green.
The money will be used to reimburse the district for the $94,000 cost to install the new scoreboard and sound system, Green said. The Collinsville school board awarded the bid to South Dakota-based Daktronics Inc. at its Jan. 23 meeting.
"(Athletic Director) Chris Kusnerick has signed commitments to pay for the board over five years," Green said. "So the board agreed to use district funds to pay for the board and be reimbursed."
According to bid specifications, the scoreboard will include an 8-foot high, 25-foot wide football scoreboard on one side and a electronic video display on the other side. The video display will be capable of displaying text, graphics and animation. The project will also include a set of two portable timers and an audio system with speakers mounted directly above the video display.
The scoreboard will have a total of 10 available slots on the front and back of the scoreboard for sponsor ads.
All five of the companies have signed agreements with the school district; all for five-year long advertising rights and all are effective on Aug. 1. The cost of the ads vary depending on the location of the slots. The agreement also provides for the display of a minimum of two video commercials per game on the scoreboard. The companies are responsible for providing their own advertisement designs and commercials.
As of January, the district also raised $5,700 in its "Buy a Kahok Brick" campaign. Proceeds from the sale of the memorial bricks will be used toward the $34,100 cost to install the Kahok logo in the center of the field and lettering in the end zones, Green said.
According to documents submitted by Kusnerick, the fundraising campaign has sold 75 bricks. The cost of a 4-by-8-inch brick is $50 and allows for three lines of text with 18 characters per line and the cost of a 8-by-8-inch brick is $100 and allows for six lines with 21 characters per line. The memorial bricks will begin to be installed at the stadium entrance this spring.
Contact reporter Ramona C. Sanders at 618-344-0264, ext. 136
