After nearly two years of planning, the Shaler Area Athletic Department unveiled a digital touchscreen Hall of Fame console at the entrance to gym A.
One of the factors that led to this new feature was the deterioration of some of the Hall of Fame plaques currently on display.
“We’re going to remove some of the plaques because they’re yellowed and look bad,” Mr. Rauscher said.
Mr. Rauscher still plans on recognizing anyone whose plaque is being removed with another plaque in the display case, but it may look a little different than the original.
“Our plan is just to have a single plaque that has each of them so you can actually see who it is. Maybe not as much detail, maybe just their names, but we’re definitely going to have something that still gives them their recognition.”
The total cost for the new addition to the gym lobby was $10,000, but that cost was covered by funds generated from the scoreboard advertisements at Biles Field as well as the ads displayed on scorers’ table in Gym A during varsity events.
The Hall of Fame station is located right outside of Gym A, where fans can interact with it before heading into the gym. As of right now, the console only displays the profiles of the Hall of Famers, but Mr. Rauscher said that in the near future, it will display events and schedules for Shaler Area sports teams.
Additionally, there are also plans to make the that area more noticeable.
“The plan for certain is to have a wall wrap and that (area) to have a background behind it, but that’s something down the road due to its labor intensive nature.”
Another feature related to this electronic version of the Hall of Fame is that can be visited virtually as well. If you are unable to attend a sporting event or be present in the building, you will still be able to access the Hall of Fame online in the coming future by visiting https://shalerareatitans.com/.
“There’s still some things we need to fix, but that will be able to be published soon. You’ll be able to go in and as if you were touching the screen (in the gym A lobby), but you could do it at home the same way,” Mr. Rauscher said.
