How much could new shot clocks, video board and scoreboards cost Seaman High School?

TOPEKA — Seaman High School is exploring upgrades to the scoreboards in its main and north gymnasiums as athletics director Steve Bushnell and activities director Travis Brown spoke to USD 345 School Board on Monday.

They proposed a new project that would include new scoreboards on the north and south walls of the main gym along with a video board. The scoreboards in the current main gym would be repurposed for the north gym’s usage.

The scoreboards in the main gymnasium have been in use since 2004. It has been almost 28 years since the scoreboards in the north gym have been replaced.

The project also includes the installation of shot clocks in the main gym. In January, the Kansas State High School Activities Association announced a one-year shot clock trial that would begin in the 2024-25 season.

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Any school can opt into the program and with the athletic department’s proposed installation of shot clocks, Seaman is a step closer to making that a reality for varsity girls and boys basketball.

The estimated overall cost of the scoreboards, video board and shot clocks is $101,613, according to Bushnell and Brown’s presentation. An estimated installation cost of $14,000-$20,000 would also be added to the total.

“There has been district allocation in our capital outlay that is $20,000 per year over the last four years that we have not used or utilized to fund any of our scoreboards over the last four years,” Brown said to the school board. “$80,000 that we have not used at this point out of the last four years that we think we could put into this particular project.”

Bushnell suggested that more advertising opportunities around the scoreboard and on the video board would allow the department to pay back the capital outlay.

This project will not be just for athletic purposes. Bushnell shared his excitement for academics with the video board, saying efforts in video production and photography could show students' work on the screens during games.

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“Four years ago, we had a video production class that students were involved with that did our live streaming and provided broadcast opportunities for those students in videography and photography. It had a really good outreach to a lot of students,” Bushnell said. “We think that we can tap back into that and make that part of our career platform again with the use of a video board.”

Bushnell told the Capital-Journal he is unsure of the timetable for a vote on the proposal.

“It’s my understanding, once we provided the BOE the requested information, they would add the project to the June BOE agenda,” Bushnell said.

Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com.