9 Investigates: Scoreboards in Apopka sitting in storage

APOPKA, Fla. — 9 Investigates investigative reporter Karla Ray uncovered four state-of-the-art scoreboards that the city of Apopka hoped to have up in time for the busy summer baseball season, are instead sitting in storage 500 miles away.

No one will promise an exact delivery date of those scoreboards, even though the city of Apopka dipped into its reserves for tens of thousands of dollars to pay for the equipment.

Maintaining 180 acres of land, including six baseball fields, and as many softball fields, is no small task. But one thing some ballfields at Apopka’s Northwest Recreation Complex lack are scoreboards.

“The city has invested a lot of money in that facility, and fields are used every weekend, just about,” Little League coach Jon DeClue said. “Scoreboards would definitely be a huge benefit for our facility, definitely.”

Apopka spent $46,500 to partner with North Carolina scoreboard manufacturer Major Display through a sports marketing agreement. Major Display will sell advertising space on the boards, and once ad revenue covered the additional $85,000 cost for the equipment, Apopka would receive 70 percent of all future ad revenue. Major Display estimates that Apopka has the potential to make around $430,000 over the course of seven years through the partnership.

“Spend a little, make a lot,” Mayor Joe Kilsheimer said during the March 1 city council meeting, where the spending was approved. The budget amendment was originally on the consent agenda, meaning it wouldn’t have been discussed, but another member of city council pulled it for public discussion.

During that discussion, a representative from Major Display indicated the boards would be up in time for summer ball.

“We can have these in the ground in a month or two, it doesn’t take very long,” Major Display representative Shorty Robbins said.

However, in email after email obtained by 9 Investigates through a records request, that timeline continued to change. There is no contracted deadline forcing Major Display to install the boards.

A representative from Major Display told 9 Investigates by phone that one of the issues was the height of the fences at the Apopka fields. They measure over 9 feet tall, and Major Display typically manufactures scoreboards for fences that are 6 feet high.

Apopka spent an additional $10,000 to wire the boards. That work was completed in the spring.

“If the city put the money into it, and they're invested to do that, we need to follow through and get to the bottom of it,” DeClue said.

Apopka hasn’t taken any legal action against the scoreboard company, and a spokesperson told 9 Investigates they just want the issue resolved. The only timeline Major Display could give for when the scoreboards would be installed is sometime “this quarter.”

Cox Media Group