Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Athletics topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Athletic director warns scoreboard aging; district weighing streaming, sponsorships and UIL classification timing
Summary
Laredo ISD athletic director reported major maintenance needs for the Shirley Field jumbotron, preliminary replacement quotes between $500,000 and $750,000, and described trade-offs between live streaming games and in-person attendance. Athletic staff also reviewed UIL enrollment snapshot timing for reclassification.
Laredo ISD athletic director Luis Escamilla told trustees Sept. 2 that the district’s Shirley Field jumbotron, installed in February 2013, is past its typical life span and requires ongoing repairs; he reported past replacement quotes of roughly $500,000 and a more recent estimate of $750,000.
"This picture right here, 2025, that's 2 weeks ago," Escamilla said, pointing to images of failing modules and damaged fiber-optic cables. He said vendors that service the board are based out of San Antonio and that some replacement parts are expected to become obsolete in about two years. Escamilla said sponsorship revenue has been used for maintenance and that sponsorship packages include on-screen logos, commercials and replays.
Escamilla said current primary sponsors are Texas Community Bank and McDonald's, and that other sponsors are in discussion; he also noted the district must follow conflict-of-interest rules when choosing sponsors, which limits adding direct competitors for major sponsor categories.
On live streaming, Escamilla said the district has struggled with equipment and staffing and cited UIL rules requiring both teams to agree to live streaming. He presented four-year data comparing YouTube unique viewers to ticket sales for marquee games and said that for some matchups the number of online viewers exceeded in-person attendance. "We recommend that if you could please delay it and show it later for our community," Escamilla said, describing options such as delaying posting until later the same night or the next working day to preserve gate sales. Trustees discussed whether delayed posting should be applied uniformly to all streamed games.
Escamilla also described UIL reclassification timing: the district must submit the snapshot in October to UIL; decisions on classification are expected in February 2026. He provided current enrollment figures used for the snapshot: Martin High at about 1,955 students, Nixon at about 2,108, and Sigaroa described as borderline between 4A and 5A depending on small year-to-year changes.
Trustees asked about grants and payment options for a scoreboard replacement; Escamilla said staff will explore grant possibilities but expressed uncertainty whether grants would cover a large capital cost. No formal action or vote occurred on these items during the committee meeting.
