.png)
Give teams a reason to book your rink over others. Based on feedback from parents, players, and hockey fans, a venue's ability to support a great fan experience is a major factor. Parents and teams are looking for venues that invest in facilities and make player experiences memorable. For most venues, the best investment is your scoreboard.
North Shore Ice Arena in Illinois saw the effect directly. “The scoreboard changed the narrative. It helps with fundraising, scheduling more high school games, and making kids want to play here,” said Pete Cecil, President of North Shore Ice Arena.
What Do Coaches and Club Directors Look For in a Home Rink?
Coaches and club directors look for a rink that helps them recruit players, attract visitors, and present their program as an elite team. A modern video scoreboard gives club teams a unique opportunity to showcase media and create an energetic atmosphere for players.
At Dassel-Cokato High School in Minnesota, staff turns off the arena lights after the visiting team finishes warmups and plays a hype video on the digital scoreboard. “The crowd really enjoys that,” said Byron Westrich, Dassel-Cokato's Activities Director.
Visiting teams see that presentation too. “It’s just so different from what you see at the non-professional level. When people visit and see it, they want it,” Cecil said. Investing in technology makes your venue more desirable for hosting future games and tournaments. It gives the teams using the facility a leg up on the competition.
What’s the best scoreboard for hockey?
ScoreVision has proven to be a great option for rink owners—it's easy to manage and doesn’t require a large staff. It is also one of the most affordable options. Unlike other solutions, ScoreVision works with any LED or TV display, giving you more budget-friendly alternatives.
The software includes scoring, production, and advertising. Each team can have its own account to manage schedules, teams, and media. The rink owner can also access these accounts from a single login. All scoring and production happens in apps downloaded to an iPad, so volunteers don’t have to deal with clunky hardware they aren’t familiar with. It was designed to make it easier for people who haven't run a game-day production or kept score.
But ScoreVision is a game changer for ice rinks for another reason—its advertising platform.
What’s the Best Way to Increase Ice Rink Revenue?
Scoreboard advertising has become one of the best ways for teams and rink owners to increase their revenue. Overall, club and youth sports have seen a major increase in brand and business sponsorship. The return on investment is much higher. Parents and sports fans love seeing brands and businesses support what they care about most—their children.
Ice rinks, in particular, are great because they're used for more than competition and tournaments; public skating hours bring in more community visitors throughout the winter months. Venues can earn enough in the first year to cover the full cost of an upgraded scoreboard. It’s a strong revenue source.
Using a sequence builder, you can upload and organize ads into rotations for different ad spots. We standardize these ad spots to make it easier for facilities that want a low-maintenance solution, but you can also customize them. These spots appear based on key moments. For example, when the game is in motion and players are on the rink, ads rotate at the bottom of the screen. When a period ends and players have 1:00 minute to reset, the scoreboard automatically switches to a different layout that emphasizes the sponsor ads as the clock ticks down.
To add another layer of value, we offer what’s called a Media Representative Portal. This lets the ice rink owner split the time the venue shows ads and gives the team a small percentage back. So you're not only generating revenue as an owner, but you're also making your facility even more valuable by giving teams the same opportunity.
Is Scoreboard Advertising Worth More Than Dasher Board Ads?
Scoreboard advertising and dasher board ads work best together, but scoreboard ads are digital and can rotate. They carry more value because they let you feature more sponsors, and on-screen motion tends to draw more attention than static placements. As a result, the cost per ad is much higher, which brings in more revenue. A dasher board panel holds one sponsor for the season, and changing it means printing and installing a new sign. It's still highly visible, but it draws less attention.
Another advantage of scoreboard advertising is running ads during non-prime sessions. During sessions like public skate, learn-to-skate, and figure skating, you can create an event and run full-screen ads.
Make Your Rink the First Choice for Teams and Sponsors
Teams choose rinks based on more than price and distance. Parents look for facilities that create a valuable experience for their players, and rink owners can expand their advertising capabilities. Scoreboards are a great investment because they provide both.
For more information on how ScoreVision works with hockey, visit scorevision.com/scoring/hockey.