Watching the Wildcats play football will be a little more exciting for fans sitting in Ray Stadium this fall after the Meridian school board voted to accept the low bid on a new jumbotron-style scoreboard during a special-called meeting on Monday.
Board members voted 4-0 to accept the lowest bid of $536,500 from Mitchell Signs Inc. on the recommendation of M&P Design Group for the Ray Stadium scoreboard replacement project, which is being funded through the district’s budget.
“This is a total replacement of the existing scoreboard with all of the amenities that a modern scoreboard brings,” said Clay Sims, the school district’s Director of Operations.
Sims said the new state-of-the-art, LED scoreboard, with its giant video board, will be similar to those at other 7A schools in the state and will also have a sound component.
Board member Kim Houston asked if the school will sell sponsorships for the scoreboard’s ad panels.
“One of Dr. (Cheyenne) Trussell’s first questions was ‘What size are my ad panels?’ because he wanted to go ahead and start talking to the community about those prestigious (sponsorship) positions in Ray Stadium and getting them on board and building some excitement in the community for the project,” Sims said.
The new scoreboard will be ready for football season this fall, Sims said.
Also at Monday’s special-called meeting, the school board approved a recommendation from the district’s administration to hire the new MHS football coach, Shelton Gandy, as a consultant for football for five days a week through June 30 at a cost of $260 per day. Gray currently works under contract in another school district.
The total expense for retaining Gandy is not to exceed $30,000, and funding will come from the district’s athletic budget.
In other business, the school board approved the construction contract with Chris Albritton Construction for the MHS addition and baseball/softball complex announced last week. The total cost of the project is more than $8.9 million and is being funded from the August 2022 school bond approved by voters.
In a separate action, the school board approved the construction contract with J&J Construction, which was also announced at last week’s regular board meeting. J&J was the low bider on a two-classroom addition to Crestwood Elementary School. The project, expected to cost more than $2.6 million, is being funded through federal pandemic relief funds.