Jumbotron managers Delvrisha Keyes, left, and Charletha Fuqua will train Meridian High School's media arts students on how to operate the new video scoreboard during home games.

Meridian Public School District administrators, city officials and community business leaders gathered Thursday to cut the ribbon on Meridian High School’s new video scoreboard at Ray Stadium.

The new Jumbotron-style videoboard — near the top of athletic administrators’ wishlist for years — replaces the old scoreboard that had been used at the stadium for more than three decades.

MPSD Athletic Director Cheyenne Trussell said the new scoreboard will make home games more exciting.

“It’s going to bring the crowd closer. It’s going to get the crowd more involved,” he said.

At a cost of more than $500,000, the new scoreboard is a state-of-the-art, LED video board that will be used not only for football but also for soccer and track, Trussell said. The board has a sound component and features most modern amenities. The new scoreboard was installed by Mitchell Signs over the summer.

The cameras used with the board will be able to zoom in to get close-up shots of players, band members, cheerleaders and fans or zoom out to crowd shots and plays on the field. Because every play is recorded, the new videoboard offers instant replay for fans in the stadium during games.

“When we are fully operational, we’ll have four cameras. One from the homestand, one from each endzone, and one that will kind of float around,” Trussell said.

“The replays will be played instantly after big plays and after touchdowns,” he added. “At halftime, we will be able to include the band and get what you call hero shots, or in-your-face shots. Our sponsors will be able to talk about their product or company.”

More importantly, he said, the new video scoreboard puts Meridian High on equal footing with all of the other bigger schools in Region 3, Class 7A, which includes Brandon, Northwest Rankin, Oak Grove, Petal and Pearl high schools.

“We are the last school in our district to get a Jumbotron, so when you talk about all of the other schools that we play, now our student-athletes can come back home and see we have the same quality facilities as everyone else,” he said.

Superintendent Amy Carter, who wasn’t present for the ribbon cutting but addressed attendees via video on the scoreboard, said cutting the ribbon on the new Jumbotron was a dream realized for the district.

“I want to personally welcome each of you to Ray Stadium as we celebrate the ribbon cutting of our Jumbotron,” she said. “You may not realize it, but this is such an exciting occasion for us because the Jumbotron will be operated by our students. We want to thank the community for making this opportunity possible, and we’re so excited, once again, for the doors and the opportunities this will open for our Wildcats.”

Serving as the district’s Jumbotron manager is Delvrisha Keyes, who leads the high school’s new media arts program, with Charletha Fuqua assigned as assistant Jumbotron manager. Keyes said the 20 students in her media arts class will be trained in how to operate the videoboard during games, including the instant replay, and how to build sponsors’ commercials and load them into the system to play on the screen.

“We have been running them through the system, telling them how it works. Tonight, I actually have four students who are coming to the game and will be shadowing us,” she said. “Then over the next coming weeks, they will be hands on before the next home games. They will be running everything, and we will just be directing.”

She said it will be good experience for her media arts students.

“I’ve been telling them that they can go further than high school with this,” Keyes said. “There are different career options and career paths they can pursue from media arts, so I have a bunch of them that are excited about it.”