By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
TRUSSVILLE-Hewitt-Trussville High School unveiled a new addition at Husky Stadium Friday night.
A new state of the art video scoreboard was installed by Boostr Digital Displays of Northport ahead of the 2023 football season. The video board is situated on the interstate side of the stadium and is fully visible from the home and visitors’ bleachers.
There is nothing like this in the state,” said Boostr owner Greg Crowe. “It is a six-millimeter board.”
The LED lights are spaced six millimeters apart whereas other boards are spaced 10 to 16 millimeters apart. The spacing results in the board having hundreds of thousands of more lights than standard boards and produces incredible video quality.
“The clarity is better than anything that is up in Alabama,” Crowe said.
The massive structure is the second largest video board in the state. “Mountain Brook’s is a foot or two wider,” Crowe said.
The board is 54 ft. high by 44 ft. wide. It features an arched truss with backlit channel lettering above the screen that is five ft. high by 44 in. wide.
The main video display is 44.2 feet by 25.2 feet and will accommodate a 44.2 feet by 8 feet main sponsor panel above the central display screen. Ten 8.84 feet by 4 feet sponsor panels will be displayed below the main video screen.
“We are excited about kicking off the 2023 seasons next week,” said Hewitt AD Lance Walker. “Our new video scoreboard will enhance our already strong game day environment.
“I am excited we will be able to highlight our football team, cheer squad, band, and other student groups on the scoreboard.
“Our creative media team has worked hard this summer building great content for the board.
“With Dr. Martin’s leadership, I sense a lot of excitement in our district and within our community,” Walker said. “My hope is the new board will be able to highlight students and create lasting memories.”
Head Coach Josh Floyd is excited about the board and what it will bring to the Friday night atmosphere.
“We are fired up about the new video board,” said Floyd. “It is going to be the best one in all of Alabama high school football and will add so much to our atmosphere on Friday nights. It makes the gameday experience even better for our fans and spirit groups.
“We really appreciate Courtesy Birmingham Buick GMC for their support, and we really appreciate Lance Walker for all the work he has done and the rest of our administration to get it up in time for the season. Now it’s time to light up that scoreboard!”
Trussville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Martin understands the importance of athletics and what it does for the overall health of a school and city.
“Friday nights have always been about the gameday experience for students and the community,” said Martin.
“I am a sports guy, have always loved athletics and our football stadium is the “front porch” of our school home,” he said.
“It is a chance for all of our groups to show off our talents, our character, and our Husky Pride.
“The new scoreboard that the Athletic Foundation, Courtesy GMC, and Coach Walker have put together highlights this,” he said. “It is big time and serves as a great example of the wonderful community partnerships Trussville has.
Most screens of this size and quality cost in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. The fundraising efforts by Walker to make the board a reality was substantial. “I’ve never heard of anyone, except for maybe Mountain Brook, that has done a better of job raising funds than Lance Walker has,” said Crowe. “Of all the ADs we have worked with, he’s the best we have seen. He is dynamite.”
“The new big screen scoreboard is a game changer for the Hewitt Trussville community, and it was great to see it lit up celebrating our kids,” said Hewitt Principal Aaron King. “We are thankful for Courtesy Buick-GMC and all of the sponsors who made this vision a reality.
“Last night was my first Husky Night, but I could sense the excitement of the atmosphere, the season ahead, and the bright future of Trussville City Schools!”
“I would like to encourage everyone in the community to support the Huskies in the season opener at home on August 25 as we host Central Phenix City,” said Walker.