Trackside boards

Trackside boards along routes and pitches

Trackside boards are advertising boards placed along a route, a pitch or a track that make sponsors visible to spectators, press and cameras. They are angled towards the crowd or towards the direction of travel, so the message stays legible for people passing by rather than looking at it head-on. It is one of the simplest and most durable forms of sponsor visibility there is.

They are used by sports clubs with their own grounds, by organisers of road, running and cyclo-cross events, by local authorities along a route or finish area, and by riding schools, athletics tracks and velodromes that show advertising throughout the season. Because the boards are reusable, clubs spread the cost over several seasons and sell the positions to their sponsors by the year.

Applications

• Sponsor advertising along football, hockey and athletics pitches
• Perimeter advertising on cycling tracks, cyclo-cross routes and motocross grounds

Versions

There are roughly three families. Fixed boards with their own frame and legs are set into the ground and stay up for a season. Folding boards and A-boards stand loose on the ground and can be put out and taken away in seconds, which is handy for a temporary route. Fabric boards in a tension frame combine a lasting structure with an interchangeable fabric, so that when a sponsor changes you only replace the fabric.

Materials and technique

For permanent set-ups we work with rigid panels such as aluminium composite or foamed PVC in a metal frame, with a UV-resistant print or a protective laminate layer. For fabric boards we use PVC or mesh fabric in a tension frame. Mesh is advisable as soon as the board area is large and the set-up stands in the open, because it greatly reduces the wind load on the structure.

When designing, watch legibility in motion. A trackside board is read by someone passing by or by a camera panning across. A large logo, a short name and strong contrast work. An address, a website in small type and three messages on one board do not.

Placement, wind and safety

On the pitch side a simple rule applies: the board must not present a risk to anyone who runs into it. Keep enough distance from the field of play, avoid sharp edges and protruding corners, and where athletes pass close by, choose boards with rounded profiles or a soft front.

Wind is the second point. A row of boards is a continuous surface and acts as a sail. Anchoring into the ground, fixing to fencing or ballasting with sufficient weights is essential, even when the board looks solid. At a temporary event you as organiser are liable for boards that blow over onto spectators or participants. Agree who takes the boards down when wind is forecast.

When trackside boards are not the right choice

If the sponsor changes several times a season, a tension frame with an interchangeable fabric works out better than new rigid boards each time. For a one-off event lasting half a day, fence banners are usually quicker and cheaper. The common mistake is putting too much information on a board: at a distance nothing of it survives.

What determines the price?

The price depends on the size and the type of structure, the panel or fabric material, single- or double-sided printing, the number of different designs and the run per design, the finish and the fixing or anchoring method, and any on-site installation. A series of identical boards works out differently per unit from a few unique ones. Send us the size and the number you want and we will put a proposal together.

Working out your board plan

Let us know how many sponsors you want to make visible and where the boards will stand. We will propose a size, material and fixing method that suit your site. Get in touch for a quotation.