State College Area School District’s Memorial Field is getting a new scoreboard, mostly funded by a gift from a State High alumnus.
The school board voted unanimously on Monday to accept the $125,000 donation from 1962 graduate Larry Beans and to approve the purchase and installation of the scoreboard.
The gift, made through the SCASD Education Foundation, comes after Beans made an $875,000 donation in 2021 to support various aspects of the Memorial Field renovations. The new press box was named in his honor and the concession stand was named for the Class of ’62.
Beans — who played football, basketball and baseball while at State High — also committed the $125,000 for the scoreboard, which at the time covered the cost and installation.
The total cost for purchase and installation is now $136,000. Fiber optic cable also will need to be run from the scoreboard to the press box at an estimated cost of $28,000. Randy Brown, district finance and operations officer, said money is available in the Memorial Field capital fund to cover the balance.
It will have a 7-foot by 13-foot full-color live video display and LED scoreboard with clock, scores, timeouts left, ball on, down and distance.
Board members thanked Beans, as well as Brown, Athletic Director Chris Weakland and the foundation board for working to develop a scoreboard that meets State College Borough requirements and what Beans envisioned.
“I know Mr. Brown and Mr. Weakland and some members of the foundation worked quite hard going back and forth with the borough to get the needs met of what the desire was for the scoreboard and to honor what Mr. Beans was hoping to see happen and also meet borough requirements,” board member Amy Bader said. “That was a little bit of a dance to get all those things to come together so we appreciate that hard work.”
Added Brown, “The foundation has been pivotal and we thank Mr. Beans and the foundation, their directors and their executive director.”
