Although the field at the Cranston Stadium has been updated, the old scoreboard was old and outdated with constant electrical problems and blown out bulbs.

“I was holding my breath every time there was an event when we hit the power button,” said Anthony Liberatore, director of Cranston Parks & Recreation Department. “I requested a meeting with Mayor [Allan] Fung, which is protocol for any projects within my department so that we could discuss this issue and of course his first question was, what is this going to cost, and do we have money in the department’s budget to do it?”

Liberatore informed the mayor that it would not cost anything because they were going to solicit sponsorships for the payment of the scoreboard, which in total is $9750, he said.

He said that $2,000 of that has already been given back through sponsorships, which include WJAR-TV, Stop & Shop and BankRI.

He said that organizations could renew their sponsorships on a yearly basis, with a starting point of this August.

Once the scoreboard is paid off through the sponsorships, he said all future payments will be shared 50-50 with the scoreboard company and the city, which will increase revenue.

Through a company called Site Solutions, the new scoreboard is all LED lighting, which will cut the electrical cost down by a minimum of 30 percent.

Sponsors include: Dr. Matrullo & Associates Dental Office, Bank Rhode Island, Stop & Shop, Tasca Automotive Group, Alpha Physical Therapy and WJAR-TV. Sponsors for the windscreen were Texas Roadhouse and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.

The stadium will soon be used for a variety of fall events, starting with the football injury fund games next Friday night between Cranston East and LaSalle, Cranston West and Hendricken, and Coventry and Moses Brown, Liberatore said.  scoreboard jpg