Board weighs PowerAds proposal to monetize new stadium scoreboards; counsel to review contract

The East Stroudsburg Area School District’s finance committee discussed a proposal from PowerAds to sell advertising space on digital scoreboards installed at the North and South stadiums and split revenues with the district. District staff said the boards are already paid for and that PowerAds would take on marketing and sales without initial cost to the district.

A staff member described the proposal’s low‑risk structure: PowerAds would market and sell ad inventory on the boards and share proceeds; if PowerAds could not sell any ads the district would continue to receive zero revenue and would have paid nothing to test the arrangement. "If PowerAd can't get in anywhere, we're still receiving $0 and we paid them nothing," a staff presenter said.

Board members asked practical questions about exclusivity, local‑versus‑national advertisers, and whether local groups could still place signage or buy space directly. Staff said PowerAds suggested limiting local category duplicates (for example choosing one local bank rather than multiple local banks on the boards) but that other local signage (t-shirts, play programs) would remain separate and not be controlled by PowerAds. The presenter agreed to have district counsel (Chris Brown) review the proposed contract language to confirm exclusivity terms and any limits on direct local sales.

The committee agreed to route the contract to counsel and to return the item to the finance committee in February for further discussion and possible board action. No contract was approved at this meeting.