MELKSHAM Town FC are now the proud owners of a giant state-of-the-art LED display screen – one of the largest outside of the Premier League.
The screen, worth £50,000, has been donated to the club by local electronics manufacturer infiLED EM International Ltd, who moved to Melksham last year.
The donation will also give the club the opportunity to build ties with one of the fastest growing cities in the world, Shenzhen in China, the electronics manufacturing capital of the world and the home of infiLED’s parent company.
CEO of infiLED, David DaCosta said, “This screen is 120-square feet, which is almost twice the size of the screen at Bath Rugby Club. It’s also probably the size of the screen at Old Trafford. There aren’t that many bigger than this one in the Premier League and certainly not outside of it.
“I think what Darren and the committee [at Melksham Town FC] have done for the community is extraordinary and as a local business we have a responsibility to support the community.
“This is not necessarily for the adults or for the first team, it’s about the youngsters in the town, making them feel special. I want this to be inspirational and aspirational. And what this will hopefully do is inspire the kids in the town, I want them to be motivated to see their name up in lights.
“I would love to bring over a youth team from Shenzhen to play against Melksham at Oakfields. This is a real chance to bring communities together and build ties.
“China is the fastest growing football nation and to have this connection is a fantastic opportunity for Melksham. Football is a sport that can cross borders and boundaries, so what better way to twin Melksham with Shenzhen.”
As well as displaying the score during matches, the new LED screen opens up a number of other opportunities for the club.
David explained, “This screen offers video replay, which could be used to film training drills – it can even play video back in real-time. Oakfields could be the first facility outside of the football league to offer VAR (video assistant referee). This could help attract more big games to Oakfields.
“It can also display advertising and could be used to show films, and maybe even World Cup matches, with people watching from the bar.
“This is a top quality stadium display, there is nothing else like this with the technological capabilities.”
The screen will be officially switched on next week at Oakfields, with representatives from the board of directors of infiLED EM International flying over from China to attend. The visit also coincides with the official opening of the UK base of the company at Bowerhill industrial estate.
