What's new at Tuscaloosa County High Football? Check out the biggest scoreboard in the area

As Tuscaloosa County high school prepares for the upcoming football season, one thing will look noticeably different this year at Wildcat Stadium.

The Wildcats will have a new video screen, which they will debut in their home opener on Sept. 1 against Bessemer City. The new 32-by-25-foot screen is the newest and biggest in Tuscaloosa.

"(The new video screen) is very exciting," TCHS football player Isaac Boulger said. "It is fun to watch yourself on a big screen after a good play."

Aside from bringing excitement to the Wildcat student body and community, the new video screen also brings something else to TCHS. It brings a handful of opportunities to promote the local community through sponsorships and advertisements displayed on the screen.

Those sponsorships and advertisements will ultimately be what ends up paying for the video screen, which cost a total of $325,000. The Tuscaloosa County board of education did give funds to help start the project, but through the sponsorships and advertisements, TCHS will pay the board of education back over time.

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Aside from the funds from the school board, TCHS also received a $25,000 donation from the Northport City Council for the new video screen.

"It brings us two things," TCHS coach Adam Winegarden said. "One, it brings excitement within the atmosphere for students and the community. It also brings a great opportunity to promote businesses and local community members through the video board. It's a great way to promote everything that goes on in the community."

Students in Mrs. Candace Carden's Advanced Television class, also referred to as CATS-TV, are responsible for the production of what goes on the video screen. Last week, the football team gathered in Mrs. Carden's class in preparation to get their behind-the-scenes footage to display on the screen.

Carden, the TV Production teacher at TCHS, said that the video screen will be more than just a flashy gadget at a football game, but that it will enhance the experience for students and the community as a whole.

"It helps bring in advertising revenue we wouldn't otherwise have and for my students in particular they are learning all sorts of new things because of it," Carden said. "It's giving them a chance to be creative and giving them a chance to interact with the community. It's such a great learning tool for us which makes it a sound investment."

Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa County High football debuts new video scoreboard