Digital scoreboard for football pitches and stadiums
LemonScore is LED scoreboard software that turns any LED screen into a professional scoreboard for the football (soccer) pitch: score, match clock, team logos and sponsor advertising that earns your club new revenue. Developed in Switzerland.
Every installation is calculated for your ground: size, pixel pitch, mounting. You receive a written quote. In many Swiss cantons the Sportfonds covers a substantial share, and the sponsors on the wall carry the rest.
More than a score display
One piece of software runs the whole scoreboard: match day, sponsorship and entertainment.
Live score and match clock
Goals, cards and substitutions appear on the scoreboard instantly. The match clock handles halves, added time and extra time, and can be corrected at any moment.
Advertising area for sponsors
Sponsor logos and advertising banners rotate beneath the score, and video playlists run during the breaks. The scoreboard pays for its own running costs.
Control from a phone or tablet
Operate the scoreboard comfortably from the touchline: via the mobile app, a browser on the local network or an Elgato Stream Deck.
Score display software: what runs on the scoreboard
A digital scoreboard consists of the display surface and the software that drives it. LemonScore runs on a Windows or Mac computer and outputs the picture via HDMI to the LED processor.
- Score, match clock with halves, added time and extra time
- Team names, club logos and match information
- Goal and card animations plus penalty shoot-outs
- Sponsor banners and video playlists during the breaks
Pick a layout from the gallery or build it pixel-perfect
Choose a layout from the template gallery or build your own: a 3 x 2 m wall with 450 x 300 pixels holds the score, the match clock, team logos and a sponsor banner side by side, and you place every element to the pixel. Whether you call it an electronic scoreboard, a score display, a video scoreboard or a results board, the same software drives it.
An existing LED wall can be kept as well, including Novastar COEX integration for brightness and status. Which software suits which club is covered in our scoreboard software buyer's guide.
Outdoor scoreboard: size, pixel pitch and brightness
An outdoor scoreboard at a sports ground has to get three things right. In this order: first measure the maximum spectator distance, derive digit height and screen size from it, then choose the pixel pitch, and only then request quotes.
Size and digit height
Distance in metres divided by 2 gives the digit height in centimetres. A typical club ground needs 3.5 to 4 m of width and digits 50 to 60 cm high, or 5 x 3 m for video and sponsorship. Table by spectator distance
Pixel pitch
It sets the distance from which the picture looks clean, and the price. Outdoors 6.67 mm is the all-rounder, from 4 x 2.5 m upwards 8 or 10 mm are enough, indoors 2.5 to 3.9 mm. Pixel pitch explained
Brightness
Indoors 800 to 1'500 nits are enough, outdoors it should be 5'000 to 7'500 nits. A south-facing screen fights the sun in the afternoon.
As a rule of thumb an LED wall costs CHF 2'000 to 2'500 per square metre all-in, including modules, frame, control, cabling and standard mounting. Work out your own size in the configurator.
From the idea to your own scoreboard
Which hardware, what does it cost, who drives the wall, how does the signal get to the pitch? Our guides give the answers from the day-to-day experience of Swiss clubs.
Buy an LED wall
Complete package with installation and software: configure size and pixel pitch, request a quote.
Hardware guide
Club laptop, LemonScore Controller or mobile case: the three proven setups.
What does it cost?
CHF 2'000 to 2'500 per square metre all-in, electricity, maintenance and a 15-year calculation.
LED controller
What the LED processor does and why we recommend the Novastar COEX KU20.
Wi-Fi at the sports ground
No network, your own hotspot or the clubhouse Wi-Fi: three setups for remote control.
Build it yourself?
What a DIY project really involves: purchasing, structural engineering, foundation, signal path and LED processor.
Software buyer's guide
Football scoreboard software for LED screens: what to compare before you buy.
Funding: Sportfonds, sponsors, annual general meeting
CHF 12'000 to 15'000
3 x 2 m LED wall all-in
around 40 percent
Swisslos Sportfonds equipment grant
8 to 12 sponsors
at CHF 600 to 1'200 per season
A 3 x 2 m LED wall costs CHF 12'000 to 15'000, and the club treasury rarely covers that in one go. Three sources carry the investment. Equipment grants from the cantonal Swisslos Sportfonds (a lottery-funded sports grant) cover around 40 percent in many cantons, with construction projects requiring the application before work starts. The rules are published by each canton: Zurich, Aargau, Solothurn or Basel-Stadt.
Sponsors fund the rest: with 8 to 12 sponsors at CHF 600 to 1'200 per season, the wall is paid back after two to three seasons; how to find them is covered in Finding sponsors for your football club.
And to get the annual general meeting to say yes, Convincing the club meeting of an LED scoreboard answers the typical objections and suggests deciding in two resolutions. To run the numbers for your own club, use the sponsor calculator on the scoreboard for football clubs page.
Advertising on the scoreboard: your digital sponsor board
The advertising area is the reason the scoreboard pays off for many clubs. Beneath the score, the banners of up to six sponsors rotate, the main sponsor sits permanently next to the match clock, the goal animation with logo plays at every home goal, and at half-time the playlist runs 15-second spots.
A slot on the board is therefore worth about 1.5 to 2 times a static perimeter board, and the reach can be documented with spectators, home matches and displays. How to build slots, prices and rotation is shown on our page about advertising on the scoreboard.
References and installation in Switzerland
At FC Seuzach, our installation partner installed a FABULUX Platinum LED wall measuring 5 x 3 m with a 6.67 mm pixel pitch; LemonScore drives the score, match information and advertising slots that open up a new source of income for the club at the touchline. In the stadium of FC Wohlen, LemonScore ran the U20 internationals of Switzerland against Germany and the Czech Republic, with national crests in the layout and the national anthems with a full-screen flag through the playlist function.
The installation partner supplies panels, structural engineering, mounting, cabling, controller setup and warranty from a single source; LemonScore takes care of software, layout and setup. If you would like to discuss your project, reach us via the contact page.
“Before, we had a home-built solution that kept causing problems. With LemonScore our scoreboard now looks like a professional club's, and match-day setup takes only minutes.”
Roger Stadelmann
Head of Club Office, FC Wohlen
Frequently asked questions about digital scoreboards
How is the scoreboard mounted: on a floodlight mast or on the fence?
Both are common. Larger LED walls usually hang on their own steel structure with a concrete foundation or on an existing floodlight mast, smaller boards on a fence or wall structure. The deciding factor is the wind load on the total area including the frame: a 3 x 2 m display quickly becomes 3.4 x 2.4 m overall. Structural engineering and the foundation belong in the hands of a professional. A bottom edge of 2.5 to 3 m has proven itself as a mounting height, so that standing spectators in the front row do not block the view. Our installation partner clarifies structure, foundation and mounting during planning.
How big does the scoreboard need to be for our pitch?
Measure the distance from the board to the furthest standing area you want to serve. As a conservative rule of thumb: distance in metres divided by 2 gives the required digit height in centimetres. Up to 60 m, a 3 x 2 m screen with a 6.67 mm pixel pitch is enough; up to 100 m (board behind the goal on the main pitch) we recommend 4 x 2.5 m; up to 150 m, 5 x 3 m. Most club projects end up between 8 and 10 square metres. Before ordering, it is worth testing with a printed digit at the planned location.
What power connection does an LED scoreboard need?
A permanently installed LED wall needs a fixed power connection at the site, installed by a qualified electrician. The connection values are in the manufacturer's data sheet; for larger walls, suppliers typically specify a 400 V CEE connection at 16 A. Running costs are low: for match use alone we calculate around CHF 34 of electricity per season, and with an allowance for setup, tests and training matches it usually stays under CHF 150 per year. If the board runs permanently as an advertising surface, expect several hundred francs.
Do we need a building permit or an advertising permit?
In Switzerland, a permanently installed scoreboard requires a permit in many places; whether a building application (Baugesuch), an advertising application (Reklamegesuch) or both is needed is governed by the cantonal planning and building act and by the municipality. Because sponsor advertising runs on the board, it is often assessed as an advertising installation carrying third-party adverts. Clarify this with your municipal building office before ordering, and plan night switch-off and automatic brightness control from the start: it eases the permit and prevents objections from neighbours. Important for funding: for construction projects, the Swisslos Sportfonds almost everywhere requires the application before construction starts.
Are digital sponsor slots worth more than a static board?
Yes, in practice about 1.5 to 2 times as much. Swiss clubs charge CHF 300 to 650 per season for a static perimeter board. A rotating banner on the scoreboard is moving, bright and visible at every goal; in the Swiss 3rd and 4th league, CHF 600 to 1'200 per season is realistic for that, and CHF 2'000 to 3'000 for the main sponsor with its logo next to the match clock. Unlike with a perimeter board, you can document the reach with spectators, home matches and displays per match. Sponsors are changed on the laptop, without sheet metal or mounting.
Who installs the scoreboard in Switzerland?
For the LED hardware we work with installation partners. The partner supplies panels, structural engineering, mounting, cabling, controller setup and warranty from a single source; at FC Seuzach, our partner installed a FABULUX Platinum LED wall measuring 5 x 3 m with a 6.67 mm pixel pitch. LemonScore takes care of software, layout and setup and supports the club after the installation. If you already have an LED wall, you can keep using it: LemonScore drives any scoreboard that can be connected as a screen.
Who operates the scoreboard on match day?
The announcer, a committee member or someone on the bench. The board is operated from the touchline, via the mobile app on a phone, in a tablet's browser or with an Elgato Stream Deck. No internet is needed for that: a phone's hotspot or a small router is enough. Anyone who can use a smartphone can use LemonScore; the controls are explained in a few minutes, and the match clock can be corrected at any time.
Can our club afford a digital scoreboard?
Usually yes, if the funding is planned from the outset. A 3 x 2 m LED wall costs CHF 12'000 to 15'000 all-in. In many cantons, equipment grants from the cantonal Swisslos Sportfonds (a lottery-funded sports grant) cover around 40 percent. With 8 to 12 sponsors at CHF 600 to 1'200 per season, the wall is paid back after two to three seasons. If you want to start small, begin with a compact 2 x 1 m wall and expand later. The software packages are on the pricing page.
The software packages are on the pricing page.
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Pick size and pixel pitch in the configurator, see the guide price and request a written quote. Usually within two working days, with no obligation.
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