This spring, baseball players and fans at American Legion Field at Seymour High School will be able to check the score or find out what inning the game’s in on a new LED scoreboard.

It won’t be much bigger than the old scoreboard, but the location will shift from right field to left to make it readable during sunny days.

The old scoreboard no longer works and needed to be replaced, Superintendent Rob Hooker said. The proposed changes in the size and location came as part of ongoing improvements being made to the field. Those upgrades are being paid for in part through a $25,000 donation from American Legion Post 89 in Seymour.

On Tuesday night, the Seymour Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3-1 to approve two variances for the school allowing it to erect the new scoreboard.

John Richey, a former Seymour Community Schools trustee, cast the dissenting vote. He said he didn’t think the scoreboard had to be moved to left field and that the school should examine other options.

The vote reversed decisions from 1997 and April of this year when the BZA denied the variance requests after several neighbors who live near the baseball field complained.

Since the April meeting, the school has made significant changes to its plans, including reducing the size of the board and planting large trees to help block the neighbors’ view of it.

Zoning board member Brian D’Arco, who also sits on the city council, made the motion to approve the variances Tuesday. He had voted against them earlier in the year.

“I see a good-faith effort on the part of the school system to make this work,” he said.

He also said the fact that having the scoreboard in left field will make it easier to access for maintenance helped change his mind on the issue.

Head coach Jeremy Richey said the team deserves a working scoreboard after playing a whole season without one. Having a working scoreboard in place will make Seymour eligible to host larger events, including IHSAA and American Legion tournaments, potentially bringing visitors and money to the school and the city.

“We’re not asking for anything special here,” Richey said. “We think we’re asking for what’s right.”

A couple of neighbors, including Norma McCord and local attorney Joe Black, returned Tuesday to reiterate their concerns the scoreboard would negatively impact property values and their quality of life.

McCord said she has lived in her home on Robin Hood Lane for 40 years and the location of the scoreboard has not been a problem for the past 17 years. She also said the new trees do not prevent her from seeing the scoreboard from her backyard.

“I have never heard that a baseball game was canceled because fans could not read the scoreboard,” McCord said. “The baseball players don’t play any better or worse based upon the score anyway; they try their best to perform well regardless of the score.”

Also attending Tuesday’s meeting were many supporters of the proposal, including current and former SHS baseball players, a representative from the American Legion, two local property appraisers and even a state representative.

Appraiser Mike Jordan, who has served on the city council, plan commission and zoning board, said that in his professional opinion the scoreboard would not cause a decrease in nearby property values.

One neighbor, state District 69 Rep. Jim Lucas, who lives across the street from the field, said he supported the scoreboard project as a way for the school to make its own money.

“One of the committees I’m assigned to at the Statehouse is the education committee, and we hear on a regular basis the need for funding for our schools and education facilities,” he said. “When I did research on this, athletics is a huge component of our educational system, and the money that that generates is obviously a positive aspect for the community.”

Zack Brown, a former pitcher for the Owls and current player at the University of Kentucky, said the scoreboard is an important element of the sport for players and fans. He said the scoreboard is located in left field in most of the fields where he’s played.

“As a player when I walk into the stadium, it’s the first thing I look at,” he said. “The scoreboard and its relation to the field is very evident to each player that walks through the gates of the field.”