Council supports digital displays in sports centres
Provides $7,500 to help purchase three digital displays that will show sports stars
Trent Hills council has agreed to donate $7,500 to help the Sports Wall of Honour advisory board purchase three large touchscreens that will display information about sports stars and much more.
At their meeting on Feb. 13, council had deferred a decision on the request from Jim Peeling, chair of the advisory board, and asked for more information. On Tuesday, Feb. 27 Peeling and Scott Newman returned to explain their plan in more detail.
Newman said the request had referred to kiosks, but actually the information will be displayed on large touchscreens that will be able to provide a wide range of information.
“It’s really more like a giant iPad,” he explained. “It has links to many other pages on the homepage.”
Newman said arenas like the Jack Burger Sports Complex in Port Hope have similar units that show videos and tributes to sports honourees as well as information about local teams and schedules.
He said the supplier Smartek was offering three interactive kiosks for $16,000, which includes a year of software updates. The plan is to locate the screens at the new Sunny Life Recreation Wellness Centre, the Warkworth Arena and the Hastings Field House. The units will be updated and managed by the advisory board.
Councillors had asked about how the plan would be financed. Peeling said that the Campbellford Kinettes have donated $5,000 to cover the board’s expenses, the advisory board has applied for a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Campbellford/Seymour and Northumberland, and it is approaching several local businesses for advertising support.
Also, the board is planning a fundraising gala on May 11 at Warkworth Arena to formally acknowledge the first 12 inductees. You can see videos about the inductees on the board’s YouTube channel. Read more on its Facebook page.