June 29, 2009

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman University football's home game experience will receive a visual boost this fall with the installation of a new scoreboard in Paladin Stadium in time for Furman's Sept. 5 season opener against Presbyterian.

The new scoreboard http://www.furmanstadium.com/ will replace the existing structure below the south end zone and will include a new video board, full color ribbon, and static scoreboard equipped to display a wide variety of statistics, information, graphics, animation, and live and recorded video.

"This is a great start to building a Furman home field advantage," said former Furman All-American linebacker Jeff Blankenship `89, who along with former teammate Kennet Goldsmith `89 initiated and secured funding for the project.

"We are excited to offer our fans this kind of game day experience and are very appreciative of the effort of Jeff and Kennet, and many other fans of Paladin football, who made this effort possible," said Furman athletics director Gary Clark.

"We're thrilled with this improvement in Paladin Stadium and the positive impact it will have on Furman fans and our program," said head football coach Bobby Lamb.

The video board will measure 13 feet high by 32 feet wide, and the ribbon board is 4 feet by 32 feet. The new light emitting diode (LED) static scoreboard will be 8 feet by 32 feet. Capturion Network, based in Laurel, Miss., whose recent clients include Mississippi State (football), Rice (baseball), Southern Mississippi (football), and Tulane (football), is the manufacturer. Furman has hired Mark-It productions from Boling Springs, S.C., to operate the board this year.

Originally constructed in 1981 when Paladin Stadium opened, the facility's scoreboard underwent its first upgrade in the late 1980s. The latest effort will mark the second display improvement in the stadium's 28-year history.