A STATE-OF-THE-ART scoreboard will be unveiled at Bradford City’s next match after being paid for through a £150,000 crowdfunding appeal.

The new LED video scoreboard at the Bantams’ Valley Parade home will be located between the TL Dallas and Midland Road stands and replaces an older version.

It was funded through Upgrade the Parade, which raised more than £150,000 earlier this year, private sponsors and money directly from the club.

Fans will be given a sneak preview of the scoreboard during City’s FA Cup first round tie with Accrington Stanley tomorrow.

But it will be in full operation for the first time for the Bantams’ League One clash against Rochdale seven days later.

A group of sponsors and supporters will also be given a special look on Thursday.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: James Mason, Bradford City’s chief executive, stands in front of the club’s new LED scoreboard at Valley Parade

James Mason, Bradford City’s chief executive, stands in front of the club’s new LED scoreboard at Valley Parade

The scoreboard will feature pre-match entertainment an hour before kick-off, including videos of some of the club’s best moments from history, highlights of previous matches, adverts and sponsors’ messages. It will also show social media messages from fans.

During the match it will screen the team line-ups, goalscorer information and a match clock.

There are also plans for the scoreboard to show live video footage of fans in the crowd during matches.

James Mason, Bradford City chief executive, said the new facility would help enhance the matchday experience for fans and take the claret and amber side to the next level.

He said: “It has been a long time in coming but I am delighted the new scoreboard is here. This was something that the fans wanted. We asked them what were the big-ticket items that they wanted to see at the stadium and they resoundingly said it was a scoreboard.

“It started out as a pipe dream and now we have this wonderful feature at the stadium.

“It is a landmark development and it fills a corner of the stadium and is part of the next chapter in the Valley Parade story.

“This simply would not have happened without the Bantams family.

“I have to also thank Adam Baker and Carl Smith, of the Bradford City Supporters’ Board, who came to me in the early days of the appeal.

“It will transform what we do as a club on a matchday.

“We are limited to what we show. Due to regulations we can’t show any live action during the game.

“Fans will see the scoreboard working first for our home game against Accrington Stanley tomorrow, but only on a limited capacity.

“This is just the start of where the club is going.”

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