How North Shore Ice Arena Turned a Scoreboard Upgrade Into a Competitive Edge

A Community Rink in One of the Country's Most Competitive Ice Markets

North Shore Ice Arena is a community-owned nonprofit rink in Northbrook, Illinois. Home to four North Shore hockey programs and one of the busiest sheets of ice in a market where ice time is at a premium.

On any given week, the arena hosts practices and games for New Trier Hockey Club — one of the most successful high school programs in Illinois — along with the North Shore Warhawks, Wilmette Jr. Trevians Hockey, and Winnetka Hockey Club. Between them, they run practices, games, and league play year-round, sharing ice with travel programs, camps, and community skating on top of that.

That community-owned model is what makes North Shore special. It's also what made a scoreboard upgrade challenging. Community rinks don't have deep capital reserves, so major purchases get weighed against ice time, equipment, coaching, and the dozens of other things that keep a rink running.

By early 2025, the board knew the arena needed a new scoreboard. They were looking for something that would actually elevate the experience rather than settling for a basic digital board that would just keep score.

"We needed a new scoreboard. This was a way to bring a state-of-the-art scoreboard into the arena where we, otherwise, probably couldn't pay for it."
— Pete Cecil, Board President, North Shore Ice Arena

Making the Decision

The Scoreboard Media model made the board's decision straightforward.

Scoreboard Media would fund the install and handle the sponsorship sales that would turn the board into an ongoing revenue source, taking on the operational work that a volunteer board wouldn't have had bandwidth to run internally.  

North Shore Ice Arena wouldn’t have to choose between a basic scoreboard the arena could afford and a top-tier system that would strain the budget. Now they could bring in the full LED video system with no upfront capital cost and hand off the sponsorship program that would turn the board into a revenue source over time.

The scoreboard went live May 2025, bringing in a system that would actually change how it felt to play and watch hockey at the rink.

What the New Scoreboard Unlocked at North Shore

The new board brought the arena a full set of capabilities it never had before: high-definition graphics, video replays, dynamic content for all their programs, player introductions, and hype videos.

"The kids love it. Anytime there's a big moment, they stop watching, they watch the screen. You can tell they're really into it. And the fans have been super into it. It's added something that's unique."
— Pete Cecil, Board President, North Shore Ice Arena

The New Trier program has taken to the board especially quickly. New Trier's games are broadcast on the SHL Network via YouTube, and the students producing the broadcast have leaned into what the board can do — using the graphics, the replays, and the on-board content to bring the broadcast experience closer to what college and pro programs run.

"For high school games, there's the SHL Network, which is the league the team's playing, and they put the games on YouTube. The guys are super into it. They love all the capabilities."

— Pete Cecil, Board President, North Shore Ice Arena

But the strongest signal that the upgrade has landed isn't the content itself. It's the reaction from people walking into the rink for the first time.

"You just hear people coming in all the time saying, 'wow, this is crazy that we have this.' People from out of town saying, 'this is so nice.'"
— Pete Cecil, Board President, North Shore Ice Arena

One of the concerns on the table when the board evaluated the partnership was durability. Ice arenas are hard on equipment. A new LED video board taking direct puck traffic during warm-ups and games is a legitimate thing to be worried about.

A year in, that concern has been fully answered.

"One big thing in the beginning was — are they gonna break? Are pucks gonna be flying? But nothing's even come close to breaking."
— Pete Cecil, Board President, North Shore Ice Arena

The Business Impact, On and Off the Ice

Beyond the change in atmosphere and game-day experience the new scoreboards have brought, there's already been a real business impact felt by the arena. Scoreboard Media has taken over sponsorship sales and management for North Shore — bringing in advertisers, handling contracts, running the ad creative, and building the sponsor base that funds the board over time.

The level of sponsorship program Scoreboard Media is able to run simply wasn't feasible for North Shore to do on its own. What would have been a volunteer-driven effort limited by time is now a fully managed program with real room to grow. Major sponsors have already signed on with multi-year contracts, including Belmont Bank, Raising Cane's, and Chick-fil-A, a caliber of brand presence that elevates the arena's profile alongside much larger venues.

"Scoreboard Media is well-equipped to just sell advertising. Everything was professional — the contracts, the process. They've taken over finding the advertisers."
— Pete Cecil, Board President, North Shore Ice Arena

Beyond the sponsorship program, the rink has seen a significant impact on the day-to-day business itself. Teams want to schedule more games there, the community keeps coming back, and the facility has maintained its competitive edge in a market with several other rinks within a short drive.

"The scoreboard has had a pretty big effect on where teams want to play. Players and parents want to play at the rink. That's a big deal."

— Pete Cecil, Board President, North Shore Ice Arena

‍A Year In: Was It Worth It?

A year into the partnership, we asked: was it worth it?

Pete answered:

"Yes, 100%. We would have had a way lesser scoreboard otherwise. Not even close to what we could’ve done on our own."
— Pete Cecil, Board President, North Shore Ice Arena

The partnership emerged to get North Shore Ice Arena a state-of-the-art LED video board the arena couldn't have built on its own. Its impact has been felt tremendously beyond that.  

The community has a game-day experience comparable to professional rinks. The arena has a managed sponsorship program bringing in national brands on multi-year contracts. And they facility has an edge in a competitive ice market.

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