State-of-the-art scoreboard
to be installed by next year
For longtime Bothell resident George Selg, who graduated from the Bothell High class of 1963, the Pop Keeney Field surroundings have always been home to him.
Nowadays, the facility looks a bit different than it did when he suited up for the football team in Bothell’s blue and white some 45 years ago. What used to be an old grass-and-dirt field is now one of the finest high-school sports stadiums in the state, but Selg vividly remembers the old days when there were no such things as grandstands — the fans were quite literally on the field.
Early in his junior year, Selg, who played wide receiver, ran into the end zone to catch a pass from his quarterback. The throw was high, and in an effort to leap and make the play, he ended up falling right on top of four people.
“I thought I killed them,” Selg recalled. “These guys jumped up almost as fast as I did and said, ‘Get back in and score a touchdown!’ I ran back to huddle, they called the same play again, and that time I got it for what may have been my first touchdown.”
Back in the 1960s, Bothell had a truly small-town feel. To put it in perspective, Pop Keeney Field today could hold more than three times the population of Bothell, which was about 1,250 at the time Selg went to school. And being at the field on Friday nights, in Selg’s words, “Was just like ‘Friday Night Lights.’” Everybody knew each other and the football team, which put extra pressure on players to do their community proud.
“I had to hike home through Bothell after practice, and the merchants, the guys that owned the stores, would invite you in and pat you on the back or kick you in the rear depending on how you did,” Selg said. “You just had a ton of support from the community, and it left a (great) memory for me that stays there.”
It’s memories like these that urged Selg to do something in an effort to give back to the Northshore high-school sports community that has given him so much.
Screen pass, big screen
Selg is the fund-raising head for an alumni group seeking to raise money to purchase a new, state-of-the-art scoreboard to be installed at Pop Keeney Field by the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. The plan is to replace the current scoreboard, which is 23 years old, with an 18-foot-by-25-foot full sports media display, which will also include a 7-foot-by-13-foot live high-resolution screen with graphical and instant-replay features.
Selg hopes that the planned upgrade will enhance community pride in the Bothell area, as well as the schools that use the stadium as their home turf.
“This upgrade will continue to elevate the image of the Northshore School District as a district,” Selg said.
“This is not just for the football players — we’re trying to capture a broad range of appeal … and heighten the pride of the three schools (Bothell, Inglemoor and Woodinville) that play there.”
The 63-year-old believes that academics should always take precedence over athletics, and he is excited that the new scoreboard will be able to allow students to feature the other activities and accomplishments that take place at their respective schools. He wants to make sure that kids that do extraordinary things academically get the recognition they deserve.
Selg cited that if someone wanted to show highlights from a science fair, clips from a band concert or a preview of Bothell’s upcoming drama production, all students would have to do is “put it on a DVD, slam it into the computer, hit ‘go,’ and it’s on the screen.” Student-made productions could be shown pregame or during halftime.
“It’s up to their own imagination, with no limitations. It’s got animation, it’s got written, totally programmable. It’s a full media display with full capabilities,” he said.
Generally, systems like this are reserved for colleges and professional teams — the same company is also doing the scoreboard for the new Yankee Stadium — but Selg and the other alumni want only the best for the Northshore schools and students that play at Pop Keeney.
Raising funds
Selg was adamant about the fact that 100 percent of the money for the new scoreboard and its installation, of which the price tag is approximately $140,000, will come from private donations through the alumni group and local businesses. Though the schools will oversee the project to ensure it meets their standards, not a penny, he says, will be coming out of the school’s budget.
“We’re not intending to take away from, or reduce the contributions to other very important fund-raising activities,” Selg said. “This is a special fund — we’re hoping to hit people that are not funding other things, like booster clubs, or that they continue to do that plus this. It’s not our intent to hit up the parents, either, they got enough financial obligations already to get their kids in band and sports.”
Though Selg is currently in the process of setting up the 503-C nonprofit fund to ensure that donors’ contributions are tax-deductible, he has already received donations and a positive response from other alumni.
“These guys that are the main contributors are from my era, that all played, all have their own memories of running out onto the mud at Pop Keeney as it was. I walked around there yesterday with a couple of alumni and it’s a different feeling out on that field now,” he said.
Public fund-raisers will begin next month and run through the end of December, and if everything goes as planned, the scoreboard will be delivered by April and be fully installed and ready to use by the end of summer 2009.
He says that he’s proud to see the resurgence of the Northshore football programs in recent years, particularly at Bothell High.
“That’s part of what makes us feel like we want to do something with a little bit of discretionary funds, because you see good kids, good students and you just want to support them anyway you can,” Selg said.
“If we can elevate the ‘bubble,’ if you will, for the students of these three schools just a few degrees, we’ve done our part, and every penny was well spent.”
• The Reporter will continue to provide regular updates on the status of the Pop Keeney scoreboard project, as well as upcoming fund-raiser dates. For information on the project or how to donate, contact Selg at (425) 481-1475 or gselg@selg.us.
