Scoreboard to be installed further south of current model
Feb. 18—H.A. Lynn Stadium's new state-of-the-art scoreboard should arrive any minute, but the Newton Community School District is working with contractors to better accommodate the board's new location, which will be about 50 feet south of the current model in the south endzone of the football field.
Jack Suttek, maintenance and grounds supervisor, said the scoreboard's new home will get it off the playing field and artificial turf, but it will still be inside the stadium. Although there were no safety issues with the past scoreboard, it was recommended to move the new model further away as a precaution.
In October 2022, activities director Ryan Rump told school board members that his department was considering a new location, to move it off the infield and behind the fence behind the track next to the concession stand. Rump said it was recommended to move it just for the sheer size of the scoreboard.
Additional electrical work by local contractor Van Maanen Electric will likely be kept to a minimum as a result of the change, Suttek said.
"We're going to come off of the existing concession stand or locker room; we haven't decided which yet," he added. "Van Maanen has already got a box in the ground from a previous job coming from the locker rooms. So we'll probably just trench it from that box over to the new scoreboard."
MediaQuest Signs is the contractor that will install the scoreboard. Suttek said the company already has the steel I-beams and could be ready to drill the holes in the ground for the beams by next week. When the scoreboard is finally installed, it will be a huge improvement to the field.
"Our (current) scoreboard is an old, classic scoreboard. But everybody's got 'jumbotrons' now, you know what I mean? If you want to keep families moving to Newton, you gotta keep up with the times," Suttek said, noting he hopes the scoreboard gets use outside of athletics.
