As the spring season rolls on, the end of the fiscal year is just around the corner. As current budgets come to a close, it’s a great time to take a critical look at your facilities and develop a plan for the coming year. While a new gymnasium or stadium may not be in the cards, you can refresh the look of your facilities for a fraction of the cost by updating your athletic signage, banners, and other graphics.
Having a plan in place early can allow time for new signage and graphics to be designed and installed in time for the start of the new school year. Here is a list of the most popular athletic signage products that are commonly purchased over the summer.
ATHLETIC PROGRAM STAPLES
These products are the most recognizable types of athletic graphics. You may already have one or more of these in your own school. Spring is a good time to evaluate the condition of the graphics currently installed and decide if it’s time for an updated look.
Championship Banners: Championship banners are fixture in most gymnasiums and even some outdoor facilities. There are two main types to consider including individual championship banners and add-a-year banners. Individual champ banners are usually reserved for elite accomplishments such as a player or team state championship.
Add-a-year banners are perfect for consolidating several championships onto a single banner. Future updates are adhesive backed and pre-spaced to allow your staff to easily add years, generally without having to remove the banners from the wall.
Record Boards: Starting a record board from scratch can seem like a daunting task, but it’s worthwhile. Record boards not only honor the efforts of your top athletes, they set the benchmark for the younger athletes to go after the top spots. There are a few different styles of record boards depending on the desired viewing distance and whether or it will be installed indoors or outdoors. A Team Fitz sales rep would be happy to help you pick the style that would work best for your facility.
Calendar Dry Erase Boards: Keeping coaches and athletes organized is no small task. Having a calendar board up on your wall can offer a constant reminder of gym times, game locations, and meeting schedules.
Weight Room Record Boards: Nothing gets the competitive juices flowing in the weight room like a strength record board. While there are other options available, we typically recommend a dry erase record board for the weight room. This is due to how often strength records are broken. It can be very motivating to know that your record can be updated the moment you break it.
NEW OR UPDATED PRODUCTS
Our best product ideas typically come from the athletic directors and coaches we work with every day. Taking this input, we have developed some new products that show off a program’s success in new and unique ways.
Next-Level Record Boards: In addition to highlighting your programs history, a next-level record board can also help motivate and inspire the next generation of college athletes. Whether it be from high school to college or from your university to the pros, these popular boards recognize the hard work it takes to take that next step.
Boulevard Banners: Boulevard banners are not necessarily new products, but we have recently seen them used in non-traditional ways. Traditionally, pole banners showed off a school logo or value statement. Increasingly, we get requests for displaying team championships and directional signs for those hard-to-find fields or parking areas.
Picture Boards: Individual picture frames hung throughout the hallway often end up looking mismatched and disjointed after a few years. Picture boards allow you to hang one large board and keep all your team photos in one specific area.
While team photos are what we see most often, picture boards have also been used to show off 3-sport athletes, academic all-Americans, division 1 athletes, and even pictures of coaches and athletics staff. Updating one of these boards is as simple as sliding the old picture out and replacing it with a new one.
Fabric Wall Graphics: Traditional wall graphics are made of rigid material that needs to be seamed together. A newer solution is printed fabric that is stretched over a sturdy aluminum frame. These fabric graphics offer more flexibility, easier installation, and a high-end look.
After the simple process of hanging the aluminum frame, a custom printed fabric insert is added to give you a durable wall mural that is free of seams. The other great thing is that when your needs change, you can easily swap out the graphic while keeping the existing frame.
Does your athletic facility need an updated look? Reach out to one of the Team Fitz representatives today. They would be happy to answer any questions and get started on a free quote and design mock up for your project.